A Kickstarter campaign for a revolutionary new construction toy - that complements LEGO
Posted by FlagsNZ,
A Kickstarter campaign has been launched for a brand new product called Flexo, which stands to change the face of playing with construction toys such as LEGO. It was invented by Mark Stolten, a New Zealand engineer.
The campaign aims to raise NZD $120,000 (approximately USD $87,500, GBP £65,800) to start manufacturing Flexo, and to see it enjoyed by LEGO-lovers all over the world. This level of funding will allow production of Flexo in New Zealand and enable world-wide delivery of the product in time for Christmas.
The Flexo system
Flexo is a simple system consisting of construction bricks and flexible tendons. It is compatible with all current brick brands and will revolutionise what you can do with your LEGO. The Flexo tendons have a full range of movement up to 180 degrees and are available in four different lengths offering varied flexibility.
Introducing flexible components to traditional brick sets opens up a world of dynamic constructions; suspension for bridges and cars, hinges, a bow and arrow, balls, swing bridges, train tracks, catapults and even wearable ‘bling’.
Flexo video
This short video shows you the potential of this product.
Mark Stolten says the idea for Flexo came to him when he was visiting the local physio after having torn a tendon in his forearm. “Seeing a diagram of how bones, tendons and muscles work together, I had a light bulb moment - of how this principle of physiology could be applied to revolutionise brick construction toys. From this Flexo was born.”
Discussing the Flexo concept with LEGO
The Flexo team have been in contact with LEGO for many years, and have signed a number of Non-disclosure Agreements. They have had the honour and privilege of visiting and meeting senior Directors of LEGO; during one memorable visit to Billund, Denmark they were able to enter the prestigious LEGO Concept Lab for talks and discussions.
While the team have presented a number of patented concepts to LEGO, including Flexo, they have not been successful in winning the hearts of the LEGO Directors: it did not fit their business strategy at that time. However the Flexo team have remained committed to enhancing brick construction play potential.
Flexo is not competing with LEGO or any other construction brick. Flexo has been designed and developed to allow fixed construction play to move into the universe of flexible construction play. It is a complementary product. Flexo is not a LEGO endorsed product.
Flexo Packs
As part of the Kickstarter project, people who pledge support to the project will be rewarded with Flexo packs depending on the level of support. 
The Flexo parts cost about 5 cents per part regardless of pack size.
The USD, Euro and GBP prices are approximate, and based on recent exchange rates.
Kickstarter progress
With 30 days left for the Kickstarter project, Flexo has had 25% of their target funds pledged.
See the full set of Flexo video's here.
Flexo is one the global patents that Mark has had registered. Mark and his wife, Elizabeth, have a huge passion for helping the poor and underprivileged and are also extremely passionate about family and youth. In 2004 they launched Genesis Family Today, an organisation that would generate wealth through creative design and interactive family activities, and would support various endeavours working in these important sectors.
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64 comments on this article
Nope, sorry. If it's not Lego, it might as well be MegaBloks or something like that. Unless it's a source for half-price road plates or train rails, I'm not crossing that line.
Its not LEGO but it really looks brilliant. Anyone who has read this article, seen the pictures or watched the video will already have a handful of projects in their mind, where they want to use this. If only they would sell the patent to LEGO...
If the quality is as high as it seems in the video, I am willing to cross that line.
Good idea but I could promise it's not the first one I saw.
Also these rubber pieces will wear out quickly :P
Hmm, what if Lego have already started developing things like this, or if not. What if they see Flexo potential in the future and bought the company
I'm afraid if it's not real Lego I'm not interested.
Is it me or does this article seem very... advert-y? Feels a lot more like a paid promotion than a genuine article, which I wouldn't mind so much if you, y'know, stated this was a paid promotion somewhere?
^ It's not a paid promotion, just me trying to support a great kiwi initiative.
I saw this on the news last Thursday and immediately got in touch with the Flexo team.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/flexo-kiwi-inventors-idea-make-lego-better
If it's not LEGO, it's a no from me.
These non-LEGO LEGO-compatibility ventures are never good.
It looks complementary to me. I hope it gets off the ground. Good luck to all those involved :)
Humm, leaves me kind of split / two faced: no doubt a great idea offering lots of new possibilities (and obviously made with love by a committed team) and at least in vids and pics looking like well done quality, on the other hand it's not "original" and the question is whether it's not kind of "cheating" to overcome the "limitations" of LEGO with such things. Similar to just 3D-Printing the 5x3 brick you always looked for ;-). In the end I always think if I were TLC and saw an idea / product that is really good and could have a bright future, why not integrate in my very own portfolio?
Seems wonderful and with a lot of potencial. For those who are die-hard lego fans, don't forget that Lego doesn't produce guns and you seem very comfortable in using third party guns mixed with Lego. Everybody has seen this in Lego exhibitions. As long as the plastic quality is good, I'll go for it.
Sorry, a No-Go. Feels like something seen before anyway.
@FlagsNZ : Do you think there's any chance they could have something ready for display at the Auckland Brick Show? Could be a good opportunity to raise their profile if there's a prototype that can be demonstrated.
To be honest, I don't see anything revolutionary here. Lego already used flexible bricks as a coupling mechanism for cars and trains in the 1960s. Maybe no customizable length, but they were made of nylon, which sets its quality and durability apart from this plastic. Unfortunately the sets are not in the brickset catalog or images are missing, so I'll have to redirect to bricklink: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=650&colorID=60&in=A
Nice complenmentary!Fortunately we will have suspension in small scale cars again!
If TLC wants to do something like this they should have bought the idea. Turning it down suggests to me that they don't have plans for a similar product any time soon, so I'm happy to back it. Besides, brand loyalty doesn't get you anything - I like Lego products, but if someone wants to sell me something compatible that isn't just a knock-off and it interests me, why shouldn't I say yes?
As mentioned above by one other person i just wonder about the durability and longevity of the pieces. Nothing is mentioned about this that i noted. It does look like a cool idea though.
"To be honest, I don't see anything revolutionary here. Lego already used flexible bricks as a coupling mechanism for cars and trains in the 1960s." -- Lego_max
The pieces were last done almost fifty years ago, in one size and one color. And there are seemingly less than 1400 pieces available for use / sale across the planet.
Methinks your standards are a wee bit too critical.
This is a seriously cool idea.
@FlagsNZ: Ah, that makes sense then. It just seemed a lot like a press release at first glance, which set off warning lights in my head. Guess I was being a bit too cautious.
Another cool idea after the light bricks. Hope the stuff works as good in real life as it does in the video.
Weird looking. Definitly not supporting.
Weird looking. Definitly not supporting.
Personally, I don't see much use for this. Even if I wanted to make something flexible, some of the functions they show here could easily be done with just LEGO. That catapult could be built with rubber bands, and we've seen car suspension many times before. I just don't see enough potential.
I can see why LEGO passed. It's really kind of useless.
(Watch LEGO copy it in late 2017.)
Dang, we got haters in the house today. I'm pretty into this concept.
Yes. Not everyone in the world needs to agree with you. If you want it go sponsor it but a lot of us see it as kind of useless in the demos they showed.
Call me a purist, but this just further dilutes the Lego brand. I'll pass.
I like the spirit and dedication behind this concept. They really went all the way to get this into real LEGO form, and they were not stopped by the fact that TLG refused it. The pieces seem well-designed and of high quality. Light bley would have been a better colour for MOCs, I think.
Unfortunately for them, I'm a purist to the bone. ;)
EDIT: Please make FLEXO KNIGHTS a thing!
Interesting. Looks pretty strong and durable. The only thing is that because of their nature, they take up quite a bit of space. The smallest the connection can be is a 2x2 plate that needs to connect to another 2x2 plate. LEGO's own suspensions and connections with rubber-bands are much more flexible in this regard. However for large projects that needs some flex, this can be useful. I don't know how often I would use this product, but I can see its appeal to some LEGO fans.
I'd be very careful with these kickstarter projects. One that was even reviewed here (http://brickset.com/article/21166) ended up being a fraud with many backers not receiving their reward (two years and counting) and with the project promoters using the money to produce and sell and make money from the product on their website, not fulfilling the kickstarter backers.
I like the look of these and am going to go in on the bottom tier to try them out. It was the bridge that sold me, I can just see it used on the bridge of the Ewok Village set. I also own a pack of VersaBricks and they're quite handy too. Also, because Flexo are so easily identifiable as a unique brick i would have no problem mixing them in with Lego, I'm sure they won't cause that 'Ugh' feeling that you sometimes get when finding a non-Lego piece mixed in with a 2nd hand model.
personally i like the concept and i hope that they get it funded. that being said i will not be funding this project simply because i would not use it. i do not do mocs and even if and when i do i do not think i would use them. but good luck to the team i hope the succeed.
@joao Kickstarter is indeed a risk. Although my own personal experience with it has been fine, there are many examples of scams occurring (although the vast majority of projects are legitimate).
Everyone is all "If its not Lego its not for me" which I can understand but can't we consider the chance that Lego and Flexo might team up on some kind of Joint venture? That would be pretty cool.
you know some times i see something like this and wish that lego would find and adopt systems like this one in to lego brand and make it true lego.
however now someone has come up with this system lego can not use it.
will not use this idea.
this system if picked up by lego would have been grate.
now?
it just a nice thing most of us will never get to see.
This seems really useful, I will support them monetarily (for now) but I will help spread the world.
Meh. If its not real Lego than its not for me, no matter how great it is.
I do agree some examples on the video and photos are not 'killer examples', but some are pretty neat. I found this concept nice enough to make my first Kickstart pledge. I think £17 is low enough to warrant the small risk of non-delivery. Maybe TLG didn't back this up because they'd prefer a more specialised approach that can't be used by other construction systems?
@chrisalddin The saddest part is that they did offer it to Lego, and they said no.
This looks great!
@Cindipool Lego group will have some serious grunt behind market analysis to determine if something is viable. You only need to go back to the early 2000's to find a Lego group close to bankruptcy through a series of bad marketing decisions.
You people are very strange. I mean sure I can understand that the "it's not Lego" argument is valid when it comes to Cobi or some other Honhai Fake Special Brick Co from Shengzhan Province but this is not a fake Lego version, but an extension. Something that gives you MORE options.
But just because it comes out of some other factory it is not OK...? Are you Lego loyalists, or creative people? Why would this be an issue? Astonishing... and highly informative of human nature I guess ;)
A lot of those who are commenting are clearly breaking the "Ye shall not open thy pie hole till ye have read ye article" rule. I hope karma rewards them with MegaBloks on their birthdays.
Fit with Lego, give me more possibilities, why not?
Lego it's a religion or dogma. If the quality is good enough to fit with Lego, sure it's a good idea.
The best will be if Lego bring this idea to them and insert this concept in their products.
Still waiting on my metal rails too...
I was sold after watching the video. I can see heaps of good stuff coming from it. It would make me go the Auckland show only to see this product if they would be there.
I am usually a complete purist when it comes to Lego, but these seem very interesting. If they are as high quality as they seem, I would definitely get some. I would like to see more articles like this on Brickset.
^ The Flexo team pitched their product to LEGO. It is such a revolutionary brick connection system that Flexo has its own patent. The acid test will be whether Lepin clone Flexo.
I think it's a very clever idea and I'm quite willing to use it to supplement Lego in some of my MOCs. Since I don't hang out much at Kickstarter I'm very glad that people at Brickset are willing to make us aware of Lego-related projects there; thanks, @Huw and @FlagsNZ!
@thehornedrat Are you a bit jealous that this is a kiwi product? ;-)
About my earlier comment, that was my mistake I misread the article and did not notice the part where it said that Lego rejected the product.
I'm pretty purist, but I think its an ingenious idea and I wish them all the best. May even offer some support on Kickstarter for them. I do wish it was in other colors, or maybe at least black. I am sure that may happen in the future, or perhaps I missed that somewhere.
In what other hobby are people so "purist"? If you run model trains do you only build with Hornby? If you build model kits do you only use Airfix? What about paint? Do you stick to one brand and never mix them? Please just enjoy different building experiences and use and support whatever we like.
It's an ingenious idea and I don't shy from using third party parts, but I share tallblocktoo's concerns about durability. I have MOCs dating back over 20 years that I intend to keep indefinitely. If I created a MOC using Flexo parts, I may want to keep it. What assurance is there that Flexo parts won't become brittle and crack or otherwise lose their elasticity over time?
Have opposite opinion - hater. F**k logic.
Considering most of the opposing opinions here aren't based on logic in the first place? ;)
Love what they're trying to do but their pricing is WAY out, from both a production point of view (especially in NZ) and marketing (minimum pack size 400 units with how many variations!!???). These guys have no idea. I want them to succeed, but the prices will be 3 or 4 times that, and that's even before they try and get it up to lego quality. Not to mention that the upfront production investment would require huge scale for anything like a viable business case ... There is no way in hell they're going to make this in NZ, but if they are I'd love them to put me in touch with the people who are making it happen because they're bloody wizards!
I can't understand all the haters either. "If it's not Lego, it's not for me" ??? WTH
To each his own, but is this a religion? Are we the "it's a shoe" versus "it's a sandal" crowd?
Come on, what's so bad about this idea not being official Lego? It's certainly no rip-off, no clone and no counterfeit. It's just a great idea that can offer many good uses. If you are not one to need those things, fine, so be it. But just because it's not from Lego, it can't be any good?
Oh and @Lego_max: thanks for the info about the old Lego couplings. I ordered some of those on one of my recent BL hauls, not even knowing what they were or when they were in production. I just bought them because they looked fascinating and I had never ever seen them before. Plus they were dirt cheap. Even more interesting to see how rare they are nowadays. Mine look like new. Will definitely find something useful to do with them.
And about official Lego suspension parts. I think it's a pity that they don't produce them anymore, like those used in 6648 Mag Racer for example. Great system imho, loved them, was reminded of it when I saw the Flexo suspension in the video.
Interesting, but I loathe the idea of mixing these up in a LEGO lot as they are not LEGO. But the one main issue I have is not that they are 'not LEGO' but the flexi bits could break which means the sole purpose for them is gone.
The one issue I have with this is that the prices are orange. Unless of course that's just a base color or something along those lines.
Neat idea. Certainly I can see the appeal of designing your own parts and as far as those go these should have fairly broad use. I'm not sure it's something I'm interested in at this time, tho.
Anyone else's first thought when reading this is that's the name for Bender's twin?
I have watched the video. I have read your posts but I still cant see purchasing these.
I am excited to see what I can build and what others can build will working within the limitations.
Once we start working with other products of course we can make something amazing but the problem is we have cheated the challenge that is inherent when building with lego bricks!