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star wars tauntaun costume: hoth or bust!

tauntaun_costume

I’ve seen some pretty impressive geek costumes over the years, but this one might just take the cake. This precision-engineered Tauntaun costume has to be way up there at the top of the list.

Created by Scott Holden for the recent Zone Ball in Sacramento, this Tauntaun not only looks great, it actually walks. Scott…

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November 15th, 2009 comments stumble it! digg it! author: technabob

filed under: geek art + craft strange + wonderful

someone should make speakers that look like these

Here’s a nifty idea for some nifty desktop speakers. All you need is 6 cheap square Mylar speakers, 21 cable ties, and the patience to stitch ‘em together into a see-through cube. Et Voilà!

This speaker cube was recently spotted over on the MAKE: Flickr Pool and seems like a really cool concept. Macetech, the…

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August 13th, 2008 comments stumble it! digg it! author: technabob

filed under: hacks + mods

make your own custom lightsaber!

Lightsaber

I don’t know what’s up with me loving the Star Wars action so much lately but this is too cool to pass up. Instructables has all the deets you need to make a Jedi-licious custom lightsaber!

The project is from Instructables user Ricardoaraujo, and utilizes cutting-edge LED and AA battery technologies. Admittedly in parts the…

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June 13th, 2008 comments stumble it! digg it! author: karen m.

filed under: cool toys geek art + craft hacks + mods retro

build your own robot in 2 hours or less

2 Hour Robot by Fritsl

Every day, I come across all sorts of cool homebrew robot projects, but never thought I had the skills or patience to make my own. Now, thanks to a generous member of the ‘bot building community, even the most novice builders can crank out their own little robots with ease.

The easy to follow 2…

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March 25th, 2008 comments (5) stumble it! digg it! author: technabob

filed under: hacks + mods robots

zetalink nixie tube clocks offer funky fonts

Zeta Nixie Clock Example

This wouldn’t be the first Nixie tube clock I’ve ever seen, but it sure offers some different display options than the typical numeric display they usually feature. Raymond Weisling’s GeekKlok not only can display time using traditional digits, it offers custom “fonts” which can tell time using special characters.

The GeekKlok comes in kit form,…

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December 11th, 2007 comments stumble it! digg it! author: technabob

filed under: design retro timepieces

homebrew star wars at-st learns to walk

Star Wars AT-ST Robot

Check out this awesome homemade Star Wars AT-ST walker, built from a mish-mash of electronic parts, brass tubing and custom cut circuit boards.

The bipedal MiniMechadon walker is fully functional, and can hobble around just like the ones in the motion pictures. While it’s not quite as polished as the movie robots, it certainly captures…

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November 6th, 2007 comments stumble it! digg it! author: technabob

filed under: hacks + mods robots

hats off to this led chapeau

LedHat

While you might think that top hats went out of fashion a hundred years ago, this funky hat hack uses modern technology to bring the classic cap into a new era.

The LedHat is a handcrafted wonder that involved soldering a grid of hundreds of individual green LEDs around the crown of a top hat.…

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October 18th, 2007 comments stumble it! digg it! author: technabob

filed under: geek art + craft strange + wonderful

playstation reincarnated as robot insect

Harold Ilano’s Mercury BEAM Robot

I’ve seen some interesting hackjobs in my day, but nothing quite like this. Builder Harold Ilano has built himself a little robotic insect from the remnants of an old Sony  Playstation console.

Harold’s Mercury BEAM Robot was scavenged from a variety of junk parts, but an old PlayStation console was the primary contributor, giving the…

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September 10th, 2007 comments (3) stumble it! digg it! author: technabob

filed under: hacks + mods robots video games

giant nintendo controller won’t fit in your hands

Giant NES Controller

You won’t have any trouble finding the buttons on this massive replica of Nintendo’s famous NES controller.

Game fan Philip Torrone and his team of builders put together this 5-foot wide joypad for the recently completed 2007 Maker Faire. Constructed mostly out of wood and assorted other parts, the controller is fully functional for playing…

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June 10th, 2007 comments (2) stumble it! digg it! author: technabob

filed under: hacks + mods just plain fun retro video games

tetris gets an led makeover

Sparkfun Tetris Board

A team of tech wizards working with Spark Fun Electronics has built together this awesome wall-sized Tetris game that’s uses colored LEDs to animate the game.

The game features a unique interface that controls the movement and rotation of the game pieces by pressing on square backlit LED buttons. The build team painstakingly assembled a…

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May 12th, 2007 comments (3) stumble it! digg it! author: technabob

filed under: design retro video games

xgs micro edition: build your own retro games

XGS Micro Edition DIY Game Console

If you’re into video games and technically inclined, you might want to check out this kit that helps you learn how to build your own video games.

The $199.95 XGameStation Micro Edition isn’t particularly “next-gen,” but it lets you build your own games similar to those found on the old Atari 400/800 and Commodore 64…

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February 9th, 2007 comments stumble it! digg it! author: technabob

filed under: retro video games

build an xbox live arcade game and win prizes

XNA Game Studio Express Contest

A while back, we reported on the availability of Microsoft’s XNA Game Studio Express, which allows you to roll your own homebrew games for the Xbox 360 and the Xbox Live Arcade.

Starting on January 2, 2007, you’ll be able to participate in Dream Build Play, a competition offering a shot at prizes including a…

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December 11th, 2006 comments stumble it! digg it! author: technabob

filed under: video games

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