Rank: Official Spokesman
Joined: 9/13/2007
Posts: 4,421
Location: Chicago
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“Who Decides What Weapons Brickarms Produces?”To gauge interest in what items should be part of each mold, Brickarms sends out thousands of questionnaires to a meticulously chosen cross section of Brickarms patrons to solicit their ideas for new items. After these forms are returned, highly trained psychologists, statisticians, and business managers spend thousands of man-hours analyzing the results, making use of highly-complex mathematical formulae to accurate gauge what items are most in demand.
These results are then thrown out, and Will asks his sons what they’d like to see.
Seriously.
From the very beginning, Brickarms has been a “Mom and Pop” . . . well, “Dad and Sons” business. Brickarms first got its start when Will’s sons asked their dad if he could try his hand at designing them some detailed, high-quality modern weapons to compliment their minifigs. Will gave it a shot, produced some amazing accessories, and had a great time while doing so. In fact, he enjoyed the process so much, he decided to share his gift with the entire building community. Since then, Will’s family has continued to have the most say in what items are included in each mold.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that Will isn’t open to suggestions; hearing what items Brickarms fans would want to see was one of the primary reasons why he started this board!“I’ve got a great idea for a weapon! How likely is it that it’ll be produced?”Will considers a number of different factors when deciding if a weapon should be added to the Brickarms line-up
1) Does it fit with what Brickarms has already produced?
Brickarms continues to focus on weapons from WWII, the present day, and a few inspired by weapons featured in works of science fiction. If you have an idea that doesn’t fit into one of those categories, there’s still a chance Will might still be interested, but those are the items his boys like best, and they always have final say over what’s included and what isn’t.
2) Can it be accurately adapted into a minifig-compatible weapon?
Will prides himself on producing minifig accessories that are highly-detail, accurate adaptations. However, because of the limitations of the anatomy of a minifig, many weapon designs, particularly the bullpup design, cannot be held by the minifig in a way that makes for good posing. If there’s any question if a minifig can hold the weapon you’re interested in and look good doing so, chances are it won’t make for a good Brickarms accessory.
Of course, some people have noted Will could “adapt” the weapons to suit the design of the minifig and change the weapon design as necessary. However, Will considers each one of his designs tiny works of art (who doesn’t?) and thinks they should be accurate both in and out of a minifig’s hand.
Darn those minifigs and their stubby little arms!
3) Does the weapon have historical value?
Especially for older weapon designs, if it played a major role in history, there’s a better chance Will might want to add it to the Brickarms list of products.
4) Is the design of the weapon attractive?
The design of the weapon you’re suggesting should be fairly stylish. Certainly there have been a few “ugly ducklings” that have made a difference on the field of battle, but Will’s more fond of producing weapons that feature distinctive, eye-catching designs.
5) How distinguishable is the weapon from what’s already being offered?
If you’re suggesting a weapon, think about how it might look when shrunk down to a scale in proportion to a minifig and see how that compares with the items Brickarms already offers, keeping in mind the amount of detail Will can put into an item. Will your item be significantly different enough from everything else he’s already made? This goes especially for smaller items where details that make the weapon unique can easily be lost once the design is taken down to minifig size.
"... and that's when the C.H.U.D.s came at me" Flickr
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