Rings! Rings Everywhere!

[Narfolin]

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c322/Narfolin/BlackLanternRing.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c322/Narfolin/GLRingSmall.jpg

I just finished the black lantern ring carving last night, and that's the first mold pour up there. Turned out really nice, I think.


-Narfolin

[Jack Zodiac]

Awesome, man! That's awesome. The blue ring looks great, too.

[jchichuv]

wow the rings are great, love the legion and the blue ring

[COMIC GEEK]

nice job pal, you should make a crap load and sell them at your next comic convention..

hand out business cards so they could contact you and such...

think big :)

[DonC]

nice job pal, you should make a crap load and sell them at your next comic convention..

hand out business cards so they could contact you and such...

think big :)


That would be illegal. But they are nice.

[Mr Omnis]

Ooooh, I want one!

[COMIC GEEK]

That would be illegal. But they are nice.

actually I dont think it would be illegal to sell a product...

now he imprinted on the ring something like PROPERTY OF DC...

yeah then maybe.

thats like trying to say

making custom figures and then selling them is illegal.

[rwe1138]

Awesomeness.

[DonC]

actually I dont think it would be illegal to sell a product...

now he imprinted on the ring something like PROPERTY OF DC...

yeah then maybe.

thats like trying to say

making custom figures and then selling them is illegal.



Yeah, it is. You're profiting on someone else's trademark. DC has licensed deals for people to make power rings. Selling unlicensed ones is illegal.

[Spiffy]

Yeah, it is. You're profiting on someone else's trademark. DC has licensed deals for people to make power rings. Selling unlicensed ones is illegal.
I don't think the trademark is automatic--they'd have had to specifically apply for one for each ring design. I'd guess it would actually be the logo, the GL lantern design or the Legion "L", that the trademark would be on.

[Spiffy]

Hmm. Guess it might be easier just to all make our own...

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-Green-Lantern-ring--including-a-glow/

[COMIC GEEK]

Yeah, it is. You're profiting on someone else's trademark. DC has licensed deals for people to make power rings. Selling unlicensed ones is illegal.


so whats the difference of custom figures of a figure that is not on the market figure wise, but yet still owned by a company and selling those custom figures

[DonC]

so whats the difference of custom figures of a figure that is not on the market figure wise, but yet still owned by a company and selling those custom figures


Nothing. That's illegal, too. DC Comics owns the trademarks on all their logos. No one can legally produce merchandise, for profit, from those trademarks without permission from DC Comics. Does that stop everyone? No, but if you do it anyway and DC finds out they can take legal action against you. Guys selling small amounts of action figures on eBay won't attract much attention. That's why DC doesn't care about them. If you set up sinestrocorprings.com and start selling them for $20 a pop, though, expect a letter from DC's legal department.

[Narfolin]

Which is, basically, what my wife told me, DonC, in her most lawyery voice. I've no intention of selling them. For me, it's about the crafting.

By the by, I just finished up an indigo (compassion) symbol carving, and a recarving of the blue (hope) symbol, and have them in the mold-rubber right now. I should be able to post some finished pics tomorrow morning. I don't know if I have any "indigo" dye for the plastic, though. I recarved the blue symbol, because I felt the original one looked "sloppy" now. It was like the second ring I'd carved, and practice has caused improvement:).

-Narfolin

[jchichuv]

Hmm. Guess it might be easier just to all make our own...

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-Green-Lantern-ring--including-a-glow/

so the ring aren't fliyng in space or a almost dead alien gives it to you? My god i'ven living a lie all my life :eek:

[COMIC GEEK]

Do I need to hide the 4 titan figures that were made for me and that I paid for?

:eek:

[Narfolin]

Comic Geek:
There's a difference between owning the item (which you do), and owning the copyright/trademark of an item (which you don't). The 4 pieces of plastic, you own. Their likenesses, DC owns, whether DC produces them or not. If they wanted, they could "sit on" a likeness, say, of Lightning Lad (no clue if they do or not, just an example). By "sit on", I mean that they never produce the figure, AND they prevent anyone else from producing that figure.

Anyway, all a moot point, as I mostly just do it for fun, and to improve my carving skills.

-Narfolin

Edit: As promised, here's a pic of the blue and indigo corps symbols. They're not attached to a ring yet, but figured I'd show them first.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c322/Narfolin/BlueIndigoSymbols.jpg

[COMIC GEEK]

Comic Geek:
There's a difference between owning the item (which you do), and owning the copyright/trademark of an item (which you don't). The 4 pieces of plastic, you own. Their likenesses, DC owns, whether DC produces them or not. If they wanted, they could "sit on" a likeness, say, of Lightning Lad (no clue if they do or not, just an example). By "sit on", I mean that they never produce the figure, AND they prevent anyone else from producing that figure.

Anyway, all a moot point, as I mostly just do it for fun, and to improve my carving skills.

-Narfolin

your carving skills are impressive :)

[Ha1fdime]

does anyone have a link or pics of what all the different corps lanterns look like?

[Narfolin]

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c322/Narfolin/BlueBlackPurple2.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c322/Narfolin/BlackBluePurple1.jpg

Two pics, of the Blue (hope), Violet (Compassion), and Black (Death?) rings.


-Narfolin

[rZi]

Sell them on eBay and make a killing!

[Spiffy]

Sell them on eBay and make a killing!
I think we just got done with the discussion a mere page back that he dare not do that.

At best, a person could pay for his materials and he could make rings for individuals as a favor. He can't make a profit off of someone else's intellectual property.

[Superbeast]

There's a family friend I know who does custom jewelry up town in London and he has done a few comic and film related pieces on private order. However since he can't sell the final product he basically charges for custom design, materials and labour and gets around the legal issue that way. It works out the same really but as I said, he does them on private order, he doesn't make great bags of them or have replicas sitting in his shop window.

[Narfolin]

Here's all the various GL rings (including the Antimatter universe's Power Ring) I've done up so far (I didn't do the one on the far right, it's from the Mosaic handout in the 80s?)

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c322/Narfolin/GreenLanterns.jpg

And here's all of the various rings I've carved for the ROYGBIV corps (barring the GL one, of course).

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c322/Narfolin/RedBlueIndigoBlackOrange.jpg

[Blake Petit]

Nicely done, man. I'd love a blue ring -- awesome job.

[Cicero]

Yeah, it is. You're profiting on someone else's trademark. DC has licensed deals for people to make power rings. Selling unlicensed ones is illegal.

I'm not sure DC holds trademarks on the symbols of the various corps. The present extent of their use and the specifics of US trademark law produce a murky picture. I'd not be surprised to see actual legal advice fall either way (though such advice would probably be consistent regardless of the source of informed opinion).

[Cicero]

Comic Geek:
There's a difference between owning the item (which you do), and owning the copyright/trademark of an item (which you don't). The 4 pieces of plastic, you own. Their likenesses, DC owns, whether DC produces them or not. If they wanted, they could "sit on" a likeness, say, of Lightning Lad (no clue if they do or not, just an example). By "sit on", I mean that they never produce the figure, AND they prevent anyone else from producing that figure.

I'm almost certain that Lightning Lad isn't distinctive enough to qualify for likeness protection. Too many characters already bear striking physical similarities to Garth. One couldn't market a figure under his name, though - or bearing any indicators of the legion.

[Umberto]

very very beautiful....I want one too! :)

[Limelantern]

I love resurrecting Dead threads! But I thought it might be better than starting one of my own on the very same subject.



But I have tried my hand at making these too.
http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/2694/picture022jh6.jpg


And my newest one is not finished yet, it's still blue wax. I plan on casting it in yellow resin. I just want a Sinestro ring.
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/6297/picture033pq4.jpg

My first experiment in Sinestro ring makin'
http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/8800/picturexq4.jpg
I really was not happy with how they came out so I tried again with the one above.
So what do you guys think?

[Superbeast]

I picked up a silver plate GL ring on Ebay, planning to get a custom cast done for my birthday in July made of silver, enamel plate with an circular emerald gem inlay. If I can't get a decent quality replica, I thankfully know people who don't mind doing one offs on private orders. Might look at a gold and onyx Sinestro ring for next year.

[Limelantern]

If you have a source for metal Sinestro rings, I want in!

[Superbeast]

If you have a source for metal Sinestro rings, I want in!

Friend of the family who works up in London's Gold District. With the conversion rate it probably wouldn't do you any favours unless you're a fellow Brit. I'm looking at a 14k gold ring with onyx inlays but I'm probably going to only pay trade price for materials and labour with any luck.