Brainstorming thread

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Michael Hraba

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Oct 27, 2020, 7:08:00 PM10/27/20
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I was looking at their upcoming auction, and had the idea to contact them, as to whether they would even do the legwork required to see if anything is salvageable, etc. I wrote to them, and asked them about our situation, and if they would even be curious to see if they could step in and get involved. I am sure the legal stuff is a nightmare, and peeling back layers of the onion might prove that the whole thing was a smokescreen and there wasn't even production, etc.

However, maybe it wasn't a scam and there's parts and production and plans, and maybe someone could step in and save this. There's no way people want to see this fail in the dying light... it's more than backers that would love to see this thing pull through.

SO:

a) What other companies, brands, people could we reach out to and inquire if they could help take the project on and save it?

b) is there any way to become involved and find out what really exists, how much, wear, how far along they are and how far from finish, or does the legal angle make this an opaque black box of info?

c) random, but how much *MORE* money would you pay to get your product, vs just being out all of it? That idea might anger people, but if a company stepped in and said "we need the backers to give an extra $50-100 to makes this viable"????

Ken Wiebe

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Oct 27, 2020, 11:50:22 PM10/27/20
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Thanks for starting this thread.  I wish I could help with answers to a & b but I don't know the answers.

As for question c, I would be willing to put in more money under the right circumstances.  Basically I would be willing to risk more (maybe even substantially more) -- as long as the new effort was pretty much the polar opposite of the Indiegogo fiasco.

Like having insight into the project more as a partner (like a real investor would), oversight to an extent, financial visibility and expenditure accountability, having the project team on the hook for timelines and rigid update requirements, etc.

After going through this with Indiegogo I realized what the fundamental flaw is/was:  Just like any investor in a project, Indiegogo backers are taking a risk.  However, unlike traditional investors, Indiegogo backers are merely suppliers of dollars and are walled off from the projects they invest in, with no opportunity to detect problems and correct course before the problems become insoluable.  Clearly, this is by design with crowdfunding.  Virtually all risk is thereby shifted to "backers".

Investors indeed.
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Ian Brodie

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Oct 27, 2020, 11:54:55 PM10/27/20
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Yes, with provided guidelines I would invest more. I just want Hal on my wall.

Ian


Rob Hollander

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Oct 27, 2020, 11:57:00 PM10/27/20
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A better structure might be a down payment vs  all upfront. Like a 1/4 or a 1/3 down. 

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Ken Wiebe

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Oct 28, 2020, 12:31:30 AM10/28/20
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Good idea

Marc Teerlink

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Oct 28, 2020, 5:17:15 PM10/28/20
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 Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 28, 2020, at 05:31, Ken Wiebe <hal...@networkguy.me> wrote:



Marc Teerlink

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Oct 28, 2020, 5:27:31 PM10/28/20
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So - as you can see from my previous post, I mailed mr Dymszo

Just to ask — as we are brainstorming here 

Find Below his reply 

Might shed some clarity in the feasibilityto reuse the work done and team up together 

He responded in minutes to my mail btw 

Group - your two cents?

Cheers

Marc 



 Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 28, 2020, at 22:17, Marc Teerlink <marc.t...@gmail.com> wrote:



Ken Wiebe

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Oct 28, 2020, 5:46:19 PM10/28/20
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Interesting.  Not sure what to make of this.

Sounds rather suspicious as the costs he quotes add up to almost the original cost.

Is he now saying they grossly underestimated the effort originally or is he sticking to his story that everything was fine right up until the saboteurs arrived?

Something doesn't add up.  Even allowing for restart-related extra expenses.

We need a money trail specifically as it pertains to this project and I don't think we're going to get it from him.


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sundancejedi

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Oct 28, 2020, 5:58:11 PM10/28/20
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The bankruptcy letter I received said "no property appears to be available to pay creditors"

Michael Hraba

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Oct 28, 2020, 6:04:27 PM10/28/20
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The letter moving from 11 to 7 stated it was because there were no assets.
However, "no property appears to be available to pay creditors" doesn't mean "nothing" but that everything would be tied up in the legal side of this, and plaintiff is likely holding anything as a bargaining chip or something? I'm no lawyer, but I would like to be a skeptic and weigh the opaque aspect of a lawsuit vs not trusting the guy. Complex game theory here.

Any idea if he is aware of this group and checking in on us?

jon allitt

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Oct 28, 2020, 6:58:05 PM10/28/20
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I thought he said  the factory deemed the current design "unmanufacturable"

I think "The Wand Company" who have a proven track record of delivering complex electronic prop replicas from Star Trek, Harry Potter, Dr Who...  and probably have a much better relationship with Warner Brothers  (Potter) that SD does - should take it on...

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Michael Hraba

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Oct 28, 2020, 7:31:03 PM10/28/20
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I've contacted them, FWIW. Will let you know.

Clyde Wilson

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Oct 30, 2020, 11:44:14 PM10/30/20
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Does anyone happen to know the name of the person who was Warner Brothers licensing contact for MR?  I have a family member who works in archives at Warner Brothers I have contacted. Having a name will make things move faster in any attempt to potentially learn something more behind the scenes. 

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On Oct 28, 2020, at 4:31 PM, Michael Hraba <hrabahospital...@gmail.com> wrote:

I've contacted them, FWIW. Will let you know.

severstal81

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Nov 5, 2020, 5:59:11 PM11/5/20
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Even if we could get ahold of the CAD models for the command console we could put together one with the Nook they planned on using and 3d printing. People have already made 3d files to print the basic HAL and use a Kindle Dot inside. That would be something at least.
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