Lucas Supports Charity With Lego Spaceship

[Mr March]

Posted on the Internet Movie Database news today:

Lucas Endorses Sale of Lego Attack Cruiser

An 8-foot model of a Star Wars Rebel Attack Cruiser made entirely of Lego blocks was being offered on eBay Wednesday, complete with a certificate of authenticity signed by George Lucas, the Lego Group said. Proceeds from the sale will benefit Habitat for Humanity's hurricane relief effort. According to the posting, the model includes "functional elements and secret treasures." Bidding, which opened at $2,500 on Wednesday, had risen to $6,100 by mid-morning today (Thursday), with nine more days left to go in the bidding.

IMDB News

I wasn't aware the toy companies created offers such as this, but I have to admit the item looks fantastic. However, any Star Wars fan can tell you it's definitely not a Rebel ship, it's certainly a Star Destroyer. It's too bad such a lousy charity had to benefit from this sale, but at least their hearts are in the right place...or their public relations agents, depending upon your level of faith/cynicism

It appears eBay will not let you link to an ongoing auction (thanks to bsu legato for pointing this out). Just go to eBay.com and type in LEGO Rebel Attack Cruiser and you'll get a featured item which you can click.

EDIT II

A Link That Works (thanks to Kanata67)

http://cgi.ebay.com/8-Ft-One-of-a-Kind-LEG...1QQcmdZViewItem

Edited December 19, 2005 by Mr March

[zeo-mare]

for some reason the item is no longer showing up on ebay.

chris

[bsu legato]

HERE is a link that works. That's some damn impressive Lego.

oh, and ROTFLOMGWTFBBQ did you see how small that dude's hands were?

Nope, it appears you can't link to the auction directly. Just search for "Lego Cruiser" and it pops right up.

Edited December 15, 2005 by bsu legato

[Flaming Guantlet]

Thats a helluva awesome lego. Must have took a lot of patience to create something like that. I'm tipping my hat to the builder.

[Majestic]

oh, and ROTFLOMGWTFBBQ did you see how small that dude's hands were? 

Laugh out loud. No seriously.

Anywayyyy - that looks damn good and kudos to the Lucas camp for endorsing the sale.

LEGO Master Builder! I would kill to have that guy's job! Probably not too impressive when picking up women though.

[Agent ONE]

oh, and ROTFLOMGWTFBBQ did you see how small that dude's hands were? 

Laugh out loud. No seriously.

Anywayyyy - that looks damn good and kudos to the Lucas camp for endorsing the sale.

LEGO Master Builder! I would kill to have that guy's job! Probably not too impressive when picking up women though.

352691[/snapback]

I think SW is the exception to that rule... I meet chicks all the time that love SW stuff.

[zeo-mare]

wow that came out awesome, that has to be one of the nicest star wars lego builds i have ever seen.

chris

[Sundown]

It's too bad such a lousy charity had to benefit from this sale, but at least their hearts are in the right place...or their public relations agents, depending upon your level of faith/cynicism

Lousy charity? How so?

[Agent ONE]

It's too bad such a lousy charity had to benefit from this sale, but at least their hearts are in the right place...or their public relations agents, depending upon your level of faith/cynicism

Lousy charity? How so?

352710[/snapback]

Its Christian.

[Noriko Takaya]

Definitely for the uber-geek Star Wars fanboy who could afford it. Geeze, some poor sap is going to go broke buying that thing.

[Sarensaas]

Nice...he must get a ton of request to build the Falcon now.

[Mr March]

*snip*

oh, and ROTFLOMGWTFBBQ did you see how small that dude's hands were? 

352676[/snapback]

You just had to, you cheeky bastard :)

[Mr March]

It's too bad such a lousy charity had to benefit from this sale, but at least their hearts are in the right place...or their public relations agents, depending upon your level of faith/cynicism

Lousy charity? How so?

352710[/snapback]

As the old addage goes, if you can't do better, then quote...

"a wildly expensive way to help small numbers of the non-poor"

I'll leave the sexual charges of the HFH founder as icing on the cake

[Agent ONE]

It's too bad such a lousy charity had to benefit from this sale, but at least their hearts are in the right place...or their public relations agents, depending upon your level of faith/cynicism

Lousy charity? How so?

352710[/snapback]

As the old addage goes, if you can't do better, then quote...

"a wildly expensive way to help small numbers of the non-poor"

I'll leave the sexual charges of the HFH founder as icing on the cake

352734[/snapback]

But its how they use it... Here is how I feel:

You give a homeless man 10 grand and he dies of an overdose.

You give an educated blue collar guy 10 grand and he may start a business and employ others.

Totally destitute people are there for a reason. There is no way to help them.

[Mr March]

It's too bad such a lousy charity had to benefit from this sale, but at least their hearts are in the right place...or their public relations agents, depending upon your level of faith/cynicism

Lousy charity? How so?

352710[/snapback]

Its Christian.

352715[/snapback]

LOL. If only life were so simple. I'm afraid charities are like anything else, lousy doesn't care if you're religious, atheist, black, white, smart, or dumb, it'll nail you just the same

[Mr March]

*snip*

But its how they use it... Here is how I feel:

You give a homeless man 10 grand and he dies of an overdose.

You give an educated blue collar guy 10 grand and he may start a business and employ others.

Totally destitute people are there for a reason.  There is no way to help them.

352735[/snapback]

And I'm sure it's a wonderful world you live in too It's also a topic for another kind of message board...ergo, not this one.

[Guppy]

had a thought.. if I bid on and won this auction, and proceeeds go to charity, can I claim it on tax!!!????

[JB0]

I wasn't aware the toy companies created offers such as this, but I have to admit the item looks fantastic.  However, any Star Wars fan can tell you it's definitely not a Rebel ship, it's certainly a Star Destroyer. 

One of the Old Republic's Venator-class Star Destroyers, specifically(according to a rapid Google search).

Which is relevant because it's not the Imperial Star Destroyer we all know and love.

[rnurmin]

Wow, that is some Lego

[Sundown]

Its Christian.

352715[/snapback]

I don't think a charity having faith in the person of Jesus as god, regardless of whether someone would actually agree or not, automatically makes it a "lousy" one if the less fortunate are helped, and if they're lives are improved, and if they do grow in the ability to support themselves. And if their work is based on Jesus's teaching and example in the way he served and healed society's most shunned and rejected, and it does actually restore lives, then one might consider their faith an actual asset to their work. Then again I'm Christian, so I may be a tad biased.

Mr. March's assertions worry me a whole lot more if they're true, especially having worked with Habitat before.

But its how they use it... Here is how I feel:

Totally destitute people are there for a reason. There is no way to help them.

There have been cases where the destitute have become self-supporting through the work of non-profit organizations. These organizations don't simply offer basic necessities or throw wads of cash at them, but extend education and training so that the poor can better help themselves. Religious counsel and education are also sometimes offered if the organization happens to hold to a certain faith.

Much of third-world poverty is a result of lack of education, certain cultural and environmental conditions, and corrupt governments. Those who suffer in the third world are often the most destitute of destitute. But there's an overwhelming amount of evidence that they aren't actually beyond help, and conditions can and have been improved. U2's Bono is a firm believer of that, is deeply involved in African Aid, and actually seems to be one of the few celebrities who know what they're talking about-- attested to by a staunch Republican Senator no less.

So here we have a celebrity vocally tackling a social issue. He's addressing the poorest of humanity, those supposedly beyond help. And he's a Christian. That should be three strikes against him in certain books... yet he's backed by someone traditionally associated with conservative empowerment, wealth, and helping the middle class over the bottom rungs of society. What's going on here?

You give a homeless man 10 grand and he dies of an overdose.

You give an educated blue collar guy 10 grand and he may start a business and employ others.

Sure, throwing money at the homeless with abandon isn't much of a solution, because more than likely, they will do just that-- squander it out of not having the habits and skills needed to make that money last. But do we cling to that one thought to excuse ourselves from ever showing compassion, or from working to make things better for them in some other form? Do we selectively tell ourselves easy semi-truths to make it easier not to give a damn? Well, at least I know I'm often guilty of that.

"a wildly expensive way to help small numbers of the non-poor"

For what it's worth, Habitat requires those benefitting from its housing projects to put in their share of work on the house they'll be living in. I have to admit that I've wondered if it's the most efficient way of helping the most amount of people with the least amount of resources, but the families that are helped do qualify as low income families. Should we only help the most destitute? Apparently A1 would disagree. Should we only help those who are low-middling class and might be able to build wealth through something like subsitized home ownership? Obviously Mr. March wouldn't subscribe to that. So where do we meet, or do we just shrug our shoulders to all poverty because we can always come up with a compelling reason not to help one group or another? Or maybe there's room to aid different segments of those needing help, and it's not a all or nothing thing...

EDIT: Err. That's some neat legoing. Although I would have preferred it if it were an OT destroyer. (Weak attempt to stay on topic, I know.) =P

Edited December 16, 2005 by Sundown

[Spatula]

Well, I like how the highest bidder at this moment is some 0 feed back dude. LOL.

Edited December 16, 2005 by Spatula

[Mr March]

Mr. March's assertions worry me a whole lot more if they're true, especially having worked with Habitat before.

Should we only help those who are low-middling class and might be able to build wealth through something like subsitized home ownership?  Obviously Mr. March wouldn't subscribe to that.

(Weak attempt to stay on topic, I know.) =P

352803[/snapback]

Not nearly as worrying as the knee-jerk reaction to a dissenting opinion, a generalizing tirade, and ignoring the request to stay on topic, something even A1 did when "Mr. March" asked.

Your position and fervor have been made quite clear, but we'll continue the actual topic. Thanks.

[Mr March]

*snip*

One of the Old Republic's Venator-class Star Destroyers, specifically(according to  a rapid Google search).

Which is relevant because it's not the Imperial Star Destroyer we all know and love.

352749[/snapback]

That's the one! I knew I read the name Venator-Class somewhere, possibly in one of my Star Wars Cross Section books. Yeah, you can tell it's a Star Destroyer, the wedge shape is unmistakable.

[Mr March]

Well, I like how the highest bidder at this moment is some 0 feed back dude.  LOL.

352810[/snapback]

$15k! With still over a week to go, I'm really curious to see how high this thing gets

[GobotFool]

That is some impressive work. I'm really shocked at the level of detail he was able to create from just lego bricks. I wonder how much just the raw materials cost to build the thing.

Edited December 16, 2005 by GobotFool

[JB0]

U2's Bono is a firm believer of that, is deeply involved in African Aid, and actually seems to be one of the few celebrities who know what they're talking about-- attested to by a staunch Republican Senator no less.

So here we have a celebrity vocally tackling a social issue.  He's addressing the poorest of humanity, those supposedly beyond help.  And he's a Christian.  That should be three strikes against him in certain books... yet he's backed by someone traditionally associated with conservative empowerment, wealth, and helping the middle class over the bottom rungs of society.  What's going on here? 

Bribery.

[glane21]

had a thought.. if I bid on and won this auction, and proceeeds go to charity, can I claim it on tax!!!????   

352748[/snapback]

No, because you will have received goods or services for your donation. You could only deduct the amount of donation that exceeded the value of the lego ship - if you could prove through appraisal that the fair market value of the ship is less than your winning bid. But the fact that you bought it in a free market auction would tend to make that impossible and the IRS would crawl straight up your rectum.

[JB0]

had a thought.. if I bid on and won this auction, and proceeeds go to charity, can I claim it on tax!!!????   

352748[/snapback]

No, because you will have received goods or services for your donation. You could only deduct the amount of donation that exceeded the value of the lego ship - if you could prove through appraisal that the fair market value of the ship is less than your winning bid. But the fact that you bought it in a free market auction would tend to make that impossible and the IRS would crawl straight up your rectum.

352887[/snapback]

Tally the block count and work the value out based on off-the-shelf lego kits. That'll reveal fair market value fast.

[Sundown]

Not nearly as worrying as the knee-jerk reaction to a dissenting opinion, a generalizing tirade, and ignoring the request to stay on topic, something even A1 did when "Mr. March" asked.

Your position and fervor have been made quite clear, but we'll continue the actual topic.  Thanks.

352870[/snapback]

Actually, I do really apologize for missing the request to stay on topic. I'd actually missed that until after I'd hit the post button (and ended up adding that half-assed bit at the end when I saw it). Was also hoping for more discussion than just trading cynical quips about a particular charity, but I realize now that this isn't the place for it.

Okay, not quite sure where I'm generalizing here-- I was attempting to specifically address each of the generalizing statements that were already made in this thread-- but if I'm inaccurate and generalizing in anything I've stated, and if it's something you'd care to do, I'd really appreciate it if you'd point them out over PM. If there's anything I hate, it's being innaccurate myself when I take issue to a generalization someone else has made.

But yeah, I do see how my response could have been seen as kneejerk and a tirade-- being this detailed and verbose response to a few casual comments. So I gotta apologize again for that. I'd actually spent some time thinking through my response before posting, but yeah, I'll admit that having disparaging things said about two things I care about whittled a bit away at my normal restraint. So sorry guys, for not catching the request to go back on topic, and sorry again for extending the discussion where it doesn't belong.

[Sundown]

What's going on here? 

Bribery.

352883[/snapback]

With what? Starving Africans? Black labor? But that's so 1600's.

Maybe he just threated to play Pop.

[kanata67]

over 20k already.

http://cgi.ebay.com/8-Ft-One-of-a-Kind-LEG...1QQcmdZViewItem

150 lbs of legos in one auction. Damn good thing shipping is included

whats next... the at-at I can live in

[bsu legato]

150 lbs of legos in one auction. Damn good thing shipping is included

whats next... the at-at I can live in

352939[/snapback]

Did I not link you to the 1/4 scale AT-AT? I'm sorry, here you go:

http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewIt...DME:B:WNA:DE:12

[Sumdumgai]

I want a 1/1 scale Lego Death Star, that would stay floating in orbit above the earth by use of the stuff being worked by massive technic legos.

[Mr March]

That is some impressive work. I'm really shocked at the level of detail he was able to create from just lego bricks. I wonder how much just the raw materials cost to build the thing.

352879[/snapback]

I'm curious about the number of custom parts. When I was a kid playing with LEGO, there were so few customized parts, so much of the LEGO was generic blocks, panels, and windows. Sure there was the space LEGO that had quite a few odd parts and I did love the sleek designs (the pieces made great helicopter and jet parts), but for the most part the pieces could be utilized outside their original design.

So many of the parts here look custom made to suit. I'd be interested to know more. The number of pieces and time to build (not design) would also be interesting.

[Mr March]

*snip*

Actually, I do really apologize for missing the request to stay on topic.  I'd actually missed that until after I'd hit the post button (and ended up adding that half-assed bit at the end when I saw it).  Was also hoping for more discussion than just trading cynical quips about a particular charity, but I realize now that this isn't the place for it.

Okay, not quite sure where I'm generalizing here-- I was attempting to specifically address each of the generalizing statements that were already made in this thread-- but if I'm inaccurate and generalizing in anything I've stated, and if it's something you'd care to do, I'd really appreciate it if you'd point them out over PM.  If there's anything I hate, it's being innaccurate myself when I take issue to a generalization someone else has made.

But yeah, I do see how my response could have been seen as kneejerk and a tirade-- being this detailed and verbose response to a few casual comments.  So I gotta apologize again for that.  I'd actually spent some time thinking through my response before posting, but yeah, I'll admit that having disparaging things said about two things I care about whittled a bit away at my normal restraint.  So sorry guys, for not catching the request to go back on topic, and sorry again for extending the discussion where it doesn't belong.

352929[/snapback]

You're trying hard Sundown, but we're staying on topic. The enthusiasm is appreciated though