Do you remember the days of floppy disks? The ones with a whopping 1.44 MB of data? Yeah. I recall turning in school papers saved on floppies and having to label each one in a certain way. Fortunately, there’s a use for these out-dated tools. You can build Star Wars ships with them!
Yes, I like the idea of using old technology to build little models of futuristic space ships, and so does Jetpack5. He’s created tutorials that will walk you through making the Millennium Falcon, the Death Star, and an X-wing. Hopefully, you can still buy floppy disks at your local office supply store.
(@ThinkGeek via Craftzine)
After reading the graphic novel The Five Fists of Science, which pits Nikola Tesla and Mark Twain against Thomas Edison and Guglielmo Marconi, Rob Flickenger was inspired to create a functional Tesla gun similar to the example used in the novel. The result is a cast aluminum NERF gun equipped with a spark gap Tesla coil and powered by an 18 volt drill battery.
The housing for the primary coil and high voltage switch is made out of porcelain, and was 3D printed–it’s a pretty custom switch after all. All the power supply is housed in silicone.
The gun is capable of firing over 20k volts of electricity, which is just as deadly as it sounds. That means that any copycat projects must have a properly designed case to prevent electrical current from grounding itself through the user’s body—though it’s best to never attempt anything like this ever.
Check out a photo of the gun in action after the jump.
[click to continue…]
So many products. So little money. Here’s your solution. All you need is a little time and some paint and you can make your very own Avengers bookmarks. Yes, they’re supposed to be for kids but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with making one for yourself. Or two. Or all of them. You can get the full supply list and a step by step over at Crafts by Amanda, but this one looks easy enough to just figure out on your own. Besides, there’s no Black Widow or Thor, and you can’t have partially assembled Avengers.
See more pictures after the jump…
[click to continue…]
Nerd Approved reader Mike Iverson informed us about his incredible Gears of Wars sawed-off shotgun prop that he fabricated to open and accept shells. As you can see from the image above, the final product looks fantastic.
Check out images of the breach mechanism after the break.
[click to continue…]
Here’s what happens when a Fallout fan uses his powers for good. Aleator777 of Instructables created this prototype PIP-Boy and it actually works. He wanted to do something a little different than the usual replicas that use iPhones so he used a 4.3″ LCD and wrote the code to make it all work.
It includes basic GPS navigation, an RFID reader and even a Geiger counter—but it’s far from complete. He hopes to build a fully functional PIP-Boy 3000 and has included a how-to in hopes that others will contribute to the project and help him realize his dream.
(Adafruit via The Verge)
I know you’ve all been hoping for jet packs and flying cars, but how about a working Star Trek phaser instead? It makes the right sounds and it shoots out a laser light that can pop a balloon halfway across the room! Guys, this is just about the coolest thing ever. Whoever built this is a genius. I’m hoping an Evil Genius because then we’re in trouble and the Vulcans will have to come help us and the age of space travel will be upon us. My only question is, should he be aiming that thing around a garage full of flammable, blow-up-able stuff?
See the video of the phaser in action after the jump…
[click to continue…]
Reddit contributor “Echoobrain” scratch-built this awesome arcade cabinet in his spare time which plays any SNES cartridge, complete with an arcade quality joystick and buttons. The only downfall, besides being limited to SNES, is that the system caters to single-player gaming, which necessitated an extra controller in the cabinet’s front drawer.
Echoobrain states that he is looking for the step by step photos of the build, which he plans to eventually post. Check out some additional pics after the break.
[click to continue…]
If you think you have an idea for the next Superman, you’ll need a way to work out the character’s appearance – that’s where this Create Your Own Superhero Kit comes in.
The kit, which is currently available for pre-order and slated for release in August, offers 3 articulated 4″ tall base bodies, 5 heads with different mask and hair configurations, 2 pairs of spare hands, 2 capes, 2 brushes, 6 plastic jars of paint and 1 decal sheet contained within a window-box package with a silver age comic book design.
The only questions are whether you’ll be able to craft the face in your likeness or conjure up a character more creative than The Flaming C.
Product Page: ($30)
In East L.A, nine-year-old Caine spent an entire summer building a cardboard arcade. He used boxes from his dad’s auto parts store and taped together everything he could imagine. He cleverly developed a claw game, games with hoops, and waited for the customers to come. He even made tickets and had little prizes.
Nirvan Mullick stumbled upon the Caine’s Arcade and was so impressed by what Caine had built that he decided to make a short film about it. He also organized a flashmob to visit the arcade—and if that bit of the video doesn’t make you feel warm and mushy, you might need to oil your robotic innards.
Watch the short film about Caine’s Arcade after the break.
[click to continue…]
Keenan Bosworth gave a lucky friend this custom Nintendo 64 coffee table, which includes an 18″ pine N64 logo as its base. This is actually Keenan’s second example of the table, the first being a Christmas gift for his brother.
Although the table isn’t available for sale, Keenan is in the process of creating an Instructables page for the project and has posted a number of additional photos of the build on his imgur thread.
(Reddit via The Penny-Arcade Report via Technabob)
