Is new book on making LEGO firearms harmless or scary?

[GreenStormCloud]

Parents preoccupied with creating a conflict-free Utopia for their kids would seem to have little to fear from a Danish toy maker, an ingenious and enterprising British youth, and a small San Francisco publishing company. Yet this trio causes much handwringing in the May 16th edition of "The Mommy Files," an online parenting blog published by the San Francisco Chronicle.

The source of the anxiety is LEGO Heavy Weapons, a guide to building toy guns out of LEGOs. The author is Jack Streat, a 17-year-old resident of the United Kingdom, and the book is published by the San Francisco imprint No Starch.

http://blog.sfgate.com/sfmoms/2012/05/15/is-new-book-on-making-lego-firearms-harmless-or-scary/

Jack Streat is an accomplished LEGO weapons builder. The 17-year-old living in the U.K. can make an exact replica of an AKS-74U assault rifle with folding stock from tiny plastic blocks (No it doesn’t shoot real bullets! Think about it: The plastic would melt).

Streat shared his creations on YouTube and his dozens of videos have received over 16 million views. A video on building an AK-47 was viewed more than 3.3 million times and received nearly 6,000 comments. His fans cheer him on with colloquial zeal: “Like for awesome,” “OMG The greatest Lego gun ever!” and “You are good Dude!”

Yes, Streat has a huge following and his work is well-loved. That’s why No Starch Press, a small San Francisco-based publishing house, approached the teen about producing a book, and this month LEGO Heavy Weapons goes on sale for $24.95.

While Streat’s fan base is psyched some parents might be concerned because the book recommends using a well-loved children’s toy to build replicas of weapons designed to kill. When the same publisher released the book Forbidden LEGO: Build the Models Your Parents Warned You Against in 2007, Britain’s Daily Telegraphed dubbed it the “the Anarchist Cookbook of the nursery,” according to Fox News.

MORE AT LINK.[/div

Be sure and go to the link. The article is more in depth, and the pictures of the LEGO toys are awesome.

As for the fuss 'n' feathers over the book, well, as Shakespeare said, "Much ado about nothing."

[gejohnston]

1. My son will love it

he made cool Lego models as a kid, and likes guns.

[Speck Tater]

2. Harmless.

Back in the 40's and 50's all us kids had toy guns. Cap guns, cork guns, dart guns, guns that shot little wooden bullets with a spring. There was one kid on the block whose parents didn't approve of toy guns so when we played war he either borrowed a gun from somebody else or used a stick for a gun.

A few decades ago when I was still young enough to survive the physical stress and strain I used to enjoy paintball wars with friends. I still very much enjoy first person shooters in the style of Duke Nukem, Unreal, etc. and I love to run around in a virtual world blowing my enemies to smoldering bits.

In the real world, once, 60 years ago I shot a bird with a BB gun. Afterwards I felt terrible about it, and I still regret it. I don't own a gun, and I don't want to own a gun (although I owned a target rifle for a few years after leaving the Air Force). I'm a passivist, and I think there should be more gun control, not less.

And I can't wait to build some of those Lego toy guns. They really look cool!

You see, the thing is, like most everybody 5 years old and above, I am able to distinguish between fantasy/play and reality.

[Remmah2]

3. National Replica Association money making scam.

Oh that damn NRA.

[Clames]

4. LEGOs weren't that cool when I....

...played with them. Did have a really extensive collection though. Can only wonder were those 5-gallon buckets of LEGOs I had are now.

[shadowrider]

5. They're scary. Take them away.