Technabob » Battlestar Galactica

The 111-Pound LEGO Battlestar Galactica Valkyrie

Range — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 16:00:08 +0000

Did you think that Garry King’s 54-pound LEGO Battlestar Galactica spaceship was impressive? Check out his new latest creation, the BSG Valkyrie, made entirely of LEGO bricks, and weighing in at a whopping 111 pounds!

In addition to its weight, Valkyrie is huge. Gary’s new model measures 122 inches in length, 43.3 inches in width and 14.9 inches in height. The landing bays are 51 inches long. It took Gary five months to construct this 42,341-piece model of the Valkyrie. It was made only using images found on the Internet, so it might not be as accurate as some superfans would like. It’s still an amazing build.

It’s cool that this time around Gary actually built one of the ships that we’ve grown familiar with in the most recent series. Gary thinks that there are probably a few turrets missing. To be honest, I don’t really miss them. The build looks pretty darn amazing as it is.

You can find more photos and details about the Valkyrie model over at MOCpages.

[via Brothers-Brick]

Kids Building a Battlestar Galactica Viper Flight Simulator

Conner Flynn — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 23:30:27 +0000

Imagine flying in the cockpit of a Colonial Viper, maybe even right alongside of Starbuck and Apollo. Some enterprising kids are on that. In preparation for the next Bay Area Maker Faire, 5 high school students and some adults from Marin, Oakland, and San Francisco, are working on a full motion flight simulator inspired by Battlestar Galactica.

This Kickstarter project is looking for backers to help make it a reality. There are 27 days to go and it’s already passed its $2,500(USD) goal. As of this writing they have over $4,000, so they’re definitely moving forward with the build.

Go ahead and give them your support if you think it’s worthwhile. Um, a Battlestar Galactica flight sim? Of course it is worthwhile. These kids are our future Boomers, Starbucks and Apollos – hopefully not Baltars. These kids are my heroes.

[Make: via Kotaku via Geeky-Gadgets]

BSG Colonial Viper Helmet is Awesome (and No You Can’t Have One for Halloween)

Technabob — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 12:15:00 +0000

Fans of the classic Battlestar Galactica series will be drooling over this epic bit of cosplay gear, just announced. It’s a helmet based on the ones worn by Colonial Viper pilots, and it’s a perfect replica of the original.

This 1:1 scale replica helmet is made from fiberglass and resin, and was cast from an original helmet from the classic TV series. It even has lights built into the opening, just like the ones worn by Dirk Benedict, Richard Hatch and that other guy who played Boomer. If you have any doubt how authentic this thing looks, have a look at the original here:

Now to spoil your Halloween plans, this helmet isn’t going to ship until December 2011, so you’re going to have to cool your heels if you want one. And priced at $599 (USD), I’m sure you’re not all going to rush out and buy one anyhow.

But if you’re a super-fan of the original BSG, you might need to head on over to Entertainment Earth and place your pre-order now. Only 500 are being made, so chop-chop. To complete the look, of course, you’ll need to drop another 500 starbucks on a Colonial Viper jacket to go with.

Giant 54-Pound LEGO Battlestar Galactica Spaceship Taunts Cylons

Shane McGlaun — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 21:00:48 +0000

I was a huge fan of Battlestar Galactica both when the original series aired when I was a kid and when the new series was on Syfy. I was pissed both times the show was cancelled. Another geek out there named Garry King loves the show too, and his favorite thing to build from LEGO is giant recreations of the ships from the old and new series. His latest creation is called Battlestar Berzerk.

Personally, I don’t recall this ship, but apparently, it was only seen for a short time in the first episode of the new show, right before meeting its demise. The ship is very detailed and King says it was his most difficult project yet. It took two months and the finished model is approximately 73 inches long x 24″ inches wide x 14″ inches high and weighs in at a hefty 54 pounds.

The ship is so large and heavy that it requires internal supports made from wood and steel – and that 54-pound weight doesn’t include the support structure. The support was required after parts started to bend and shear off the craft.

King detailed the project on MOCpages along with many more photos. This is one awesome LEGO project!

[via Brothers-Brick]

Cylon T.P. Dispenser: Bathroomstar Galactica

Technabob — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 16:15:59 +0000

I have no idea what would compel someone to either make or buy this thing, but the sheer absurdity of it made me want to mention it. What you’re looking at, my friends, is what I’m reasonably certain is the first (and last) ever Cylon Centurion toilet paper dispenser.

Yep, you heard me right. This ridiculous thing is an original BSG Cylon Centurion that holds on to a roll of T.P. for you. Thanks to the miracle of LED technology and a microcontroller, its scanning mono-eyeball glares at your ass while you’re sitting on the pot – so don’t make any sudden moves or he might blast your butt.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

This (presumably) one-of-a-kind curiosity can be found over at Supertrone’s Etsy shop for $100 bucks. Surprisingly, it hasn’t yet sold to this guy yet.

[via Botropolis via Walyou]

Panasonic Jungle Handheld: Mmo on the Go?

Lambert Varias — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 11:48:16 +0000

To celebrate the 17th anniversary of the 3DO, Panasonic is getting back into the video game business. Just kidding about the 3DO part, but who knows. What’s true is that the company is working on Panasonic Cloud Entertainment, a platform with an emphasis on online gaming and cloud-based media. The first device for this platform is called the Jungle, a portable system that’s loaded with controls.

As CrunchGear has pointed out, the Jungle is equipped with at least a keyboard and a touchpad. I’m not sure if both of the circular shapes on either side of the touchpad are directional pads, but at least the one on the left is indeed a d-pad, as shown in Gizmodo’s exclusive image. We can see shoulder buttons in there as well.

There’s no mention if the screen is a touchscreen, but apparently it displays HD, and when it was tested by a few people at PAX they were very impressed with its quality. Look at the first picture and you’ll see that the Jungle does have a mini-HDMI port, so I guess that’s a yes on the HD screen. Here’s the very ugly and vague teaser for the Jungle:

Currently, only one game has been officially announced for the handheld – Battlestar Galactica Online.

I hate teasers like that, because they barely give any indication of the game’s quality. So all we know is that players will be have the option to play as a Cylon. Those two videos – as well as a third that introduces a weekly show by Machinima – can be found on the handheld’s official website, and there’s literally nothing else on there at the moment.

I am quite curious though about the possibility of playing MMOs on a handheld. Will we see separate versions of popular MMOs? Perhaps there’ll be a complementary version with limited functionality, similar to WoW’s Mobile Armory for iOS devices? Or, since we’re just speculating, could full versions of MMOs make it to the Jungle? What do you guys think?

[via CrunchGear & Gizmodo]

Cylon Teddy Bear: You Will be Assimilated!

Range — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:01:18 +0000

Teddy bears are supposed to be all cute and fuzzy, but what happens when an intrepid DIY-enthusiast decides to make one look like a Cylon?

The Cylon Teddy Bear Mark 1 was created by Instructables user Dragonvpm, probably to scare his girlfriend! He actually did create this as a Valentine’s gift for his girlfriend.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

It says “By your command” and has got that creepy LED eye scanner. If your significant other has a sense of humor and likes science-fiction, well this might be a great gift to make for her. Check out his full Instructable guide on how to create yours.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

I think this is a fun weekend project for Battlestar Galactica and Caprica fans. Heck, it makes me want to buy a teddy bear and try the mod myself!

[Instructables via Ubergizmo]

Cylon Centurion Rings: What the Frak?

Technabob — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:27:56 +0000

Here’s a sure-fire way to tell if your girlfriend really loves you. Get down on one knee -there ya go – then whip out the velvet ring box – yep, that’s it – then give her this awesome Cylon Centurion engagement ring and ask her for her hand in marriage. If she says “yes”, it’s true love.

Each one of these chunky retro Cylon Centurion rings is made from a silver-toned metal, with an inset red glass scanner eye. Unfortunately, it doesn’t move back and forth. Too bad there’s not enough room to hack in one of these LED eyeballs.

Galactica fans, you can find the Cylon Centurion rings over on ThinkGeek for $39.99 to $49.99 (USD), depending on size.

…oh, and if she tells you “no”, just whip out your laser blaster and evaporate her.

Tiny Cylon LED Kit: Battlestar Galactica Gets Miniature

Technabob — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 19:00:37 +0000

This DIY electronic kit lets you live out your Battlestar Galactica fantasies in miniature. Dale Wheat’s tinyCylon circuit is a pint-sized version of the chasing red LEDs found in the helmets of everyone’s favorite Battlestar baddies.

The tinyCylon gets its tiny little brains from the programmable ATtiny13 controller chip, and loaded with more patterns than you can shake a stick at.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

A simple press of the button lets you toggle between a bunch of mini light shows: classic Cylon bi-directional scan, left-to-right, right-to-left, glowing eyes, a couple of random modes, cyclops, and the oh-so-thrilling “off”.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

You can grab the tinyCylon kit over at the MakerSHED for just $10. If you’d rather have one pre-assembled for you, just add $5 bucks. Me, I’d plunk down a couple hundred donuts and build my own mini desktop Cylon army.

‘Portal’ Companion Cube Cookies- Obscure but Tasty

Karen M. — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 02:58:36 +0000

I recently spotted these ‘weighted companion cube’ cookies from the somewhat obscure (or maybe that’s just me?) video game Portal.

I’ll freely admit I’ve never even heard Portal until about 15 minutes ago when I saw a picture of this cookie, but I did some reconnaissance and learned that in the game you get a weighted companion cube as some kind of reward. The creator of this masterpiece Jennyvier helpfully shared a picture of a real weighted companion cube alongside her copy to show her pastry prowess. (Quick question: how does she have a “real” one of these if it’s from within a video game? But I digress.)

There’s something about the art genre of representational dough and frosting video games that really drives me wild. But here’s the kicker. This cookie is made from the dough left over from making Battlestar Galactica Cylon cookies. And I thought I was a geeky girl! Clearly I’ve got a long ways to go.

[via GeekCake, a new site devoted entirely to nerdy baked goods]