Henkbot

[David Kirk]

Keith wrote me yesterday and suggested the idea of trying to commercially produce one of Henk's designs as a tribute, and as a fund raiser for his daughter. It's a lovely idea in both regards, but I would be concerned about it becoming a problem rather than a benefit. So, I wondered if perhaps at least the financial miseries of such a project could be averted by selling the toys by advance subscription to at least cover the cost of production, so that nobody would lose too much if it didn't work, and if it did work, there would be the chance of a small nest egg for Emma.

Here's my specific question. How many of us would fork over say two, to five hundred dollars apiece (I'm just guessing) to get the first of the Henkbots, maybe in some special form, and then not mind seeing them continue in production at a lower price to make more money? I expect you'd be investing that money a year or two ahead of ever seeing your toy, and you'd be paying a premium as well. It wouldn't be an investment you'd get any money on, just the robot and some satisfaction. If it worked, there could be more of his designs made. I'd certainly go for it. Gustav is one of my favorites, and I'd love to see more, as well as to do something for Henk that he would have liked to see done. Remember too, it might not be a sure thing. I don't know how it is getting things made in China, but I've heard it's difficult. Perhaps Volker, or someone else who knows what they're doing could tell us what the real cost and trouble would be.

[Guest Tetsujin28]

don't know how it is getting things made in China, but I've heard it's difficult. Perhaps Volker, or someone else who knows what they're doing could tell us what the real cost and trouble would be.

Great idea!

Myself and Jay at Robot Island can help on dealing with China.

Jay

Robots Inc.

[duxastrogirl]

It's a great idea...and maybe we should all vote for a Henk's robot design we want produce (of ourse considering robot candidates that are not too complicated to mass produce)...

[David Kirk]

Jay, Perhaps you could give us a little idea of what it costs. How much for instance, did the lantern robot, or pug robby cost? How many units? How much per? or overall? These seem like they'd be in the range of dynamo, for instance. Is someone making a profit on these, or are they not to that point?

[laserman]

For what its worth, Robert Johnson kinda made such an offer in the original thread about Henk's passing. It stated:

"I shall miss you my old friend. In some way i will make sure you live On

My deepest condolences to his family.

Robert Johnson"

Here is a way to help Henk's artistic talents live on. Just a suggestion.

I vote for the Dynamo robot he originally tried to get produced. It illustrates Henk's love of the "traditional" style of robots.

[steve]

It's a lovely idea - but one must be practical and go about it in a business like manner. Many of these guys are not money makers and we might be very lucky indeed to come away with any profit for Henk's family.There has to be a deep commitment by an experianced person to make this work. I would definately suggest Jay of Robot Island (for so many good reasons) if he so desires. If not then we go to phase two. Also it has to be a practical design that would both sell and not be overly expensive to produce. We can come up worthy a few candidates and then have a vote similiar to the Botstock poster vote.

[dratomic]

In theory, I would be interested. As Steve said, it's a big job and needs to be really thought out and handled right. But if it looks like it could happen, you can count me in.

[Volker]

Well - sorry - in the first moment the idea sounds good - but when you think about it .. mmmh

A Henkbot must made by henk , if we make a copy of a Henk design it is not the same.

And you must make an invest in tool and moulds - so you must pay in the first step for a Projekt.

I don,t know if the family of Henk have now problems ?- but for Emma If problem or not , we here at

theAlphadrome make a

kind of godfather for here and , if you all agree , spend money to an acount for her.

Her Father was a good friend of us - and this is a littel part that we can give back to her .

I know , this is a much better way to help her - ok we had no henkbot - but maybe - after some time

we can manage a projekt - but with the agreement of the Family Gosses and of course Chris .

Volker

[David Kirk]

Volker, I can certainly see there could be difficulties. Still, I think that that many Henkbots have already been made by Henk, so there's something there to copy. The Dynamo was one he was trying to get produced for years, so obviously, he didn't feel it had to be made with his own hands. How could it be a problem for his family—they would have no part of the expense. You probably know lots about this from your experience. Do you say it couldn't make profit? What did you have to put out as an initial investment on the ST1? I'm sorry to have to ask, but you are one of the few people who could give us a realistic assessment.

[Volker]

David , of course you can make a profit .

But you must spend many time and many bucks into a TinToy projekt before you can earn the first buck.

the father and familyman is gone , NOW - and maybe the Family Gosses had NOW a problem . Maybe - I don,t know. ( Chris ? )

I hope you understand what I mean .

I know Henk was in contact with some companys - but I don,t know what it happend with this projects.

Ozzie start with a Robot - but I had heared nothing again ???

volker

[David Kirk]

Yes, I see what you mean. I'd love to see the issues be addressed together, but maybe seperately makes more sense. I'd help in any way I could, with either approach. Probably Christian is the one to figure out how to best use our efforts. I'm sure we'll hear from him.

[robotisland]

David, it is a beautiful idea, but I agree with Volker. A Henkbot is only a Henkbot when produced by his passionate skilled hands. If you would like to learn more about the costs of manufacturing, feel free to contact me directly.

Jay

917-575-9331

robotisland@aol.com

[RotoBadger]

I'd like to add a thought. First, I think this is a wonderful idea and would be a great tribute to someone as creative and passionate as Henk. I certainly don't know anything about the costs and issues involved with having a robot design produced but I think the DESIGN is what is important. Henk was an incredibly skilled designer and builder. But think about this: Ferraris are designed by someone and then built. They are the finest automobiles in the world and their design (Pininfarina) is known internationally. The designer does not build the car. The same idea can be applied to most anything. Clothing, architecture, electronics, etc.

To have a Henk designed and built robot would be fantastic. But I, for one, would pay for a Henk design. I guess what I'm saying is that Henk's vision is what is important. With that said, I can understand there may be many other issues involved with having this project realized and folks like Jay (RobotIsland) and others would be far more qualified to comment on this than I.

I would love to contribute to keeping Henk's vision and memory alive.

[Ranger]

I can see where you are coming from to try and raise funds for Henks familyand think it's a commendable idea, but would Henk really have liked his robots mass produced and made in China, I'm not so sure? Chris can probably answer that one? Someone, David I think mentioned Gustav as a possible candidate. Re Henks Gustav, I know he was very disappointed re the one that Chris put on ebay a couple of months ago. It only had 2 bids and luckily it was me that won it but it sold for less than the original asking price of $245. I was amazed it did not fetch a higher price. Maybe Henk would have liked to make more Gustav robots but he set the production quantity at 25. I don't know if he would have made more but for the fact he had to make them himself and a larger quantity was just too much work? I agree with steve, it would be a big job to take on and will need a lot of thought. I think Volker has a point too, what made an Henkbot an Henkbot was of course the fact it was totally made by the great man himself. It's a tough one this.

[David Kirk]

Ranger, I know for a certainty that Henk would have been happy to get Dynamo produced in China. He was trying to get it done. I tried to make a few contacts for him. He sent me some parts, or maybe it was the whole toy, that I then sent off to Rocket USA for him. They even had it on display at toy fair that year. That's disappointing about the Gustav not bringing a better price on ebay, but I'm not sure if it means this couldn't work. I never even saw it, and I'd certainly have loved to get another! I saw on somebody's post that theirs came with a little certificate. I think I got the first one he sent out, and I guess he hadn't gotten around to that yet. Anyway, lets keep looking into this project. I'll talk to Jay. I suppose the first question still remains, who'd spend money ahead of time and hope for the best? If there aren't enough people to do that, then those of us who can, might be better off to follow Volker's suggestion and just send money.