As great as the cheap factor is here, the best part about it is that it will fire hundreds of Airsoft BBs before you even need to reload. Say hello to my (cheap) little friend! You’ll need a plastic soda bottle, a quick release air compressor adapter, an air compressor blowgun, and a 7mm by 6-inch brake line. And of course an air supply. Not the soft rock band.

You could also use a portable air supply so you are untethered and free to hunt your prey. It seems simple enough to build, so it won’t take you long until you are unleashing hellfire on various objects and your enemies. I wouldn’t recommend shooting it at others, though, as Airsoft pellet hits can be pretty painful.

[via Geek]

She will be beside herself when she sees what builder Mark Stafford has come up with using these little pink blocks and LEGO Friends characters.

Peter’s creation has little lipstick fingers, a gun, and it’s in the requisite pink that any seven-year-old girl requires. I suspect I will spend the night rebuilding this thing each time the monster Ken Barbie tramples it to pieces.

It reminds me more than a little of the recon Mechs from my favorite videogame growing up called MechWarrior. Check out the photos in the gallery and see for yourself.

[Flickr via The Brothers Brick]

…unless the message you want to send is “eat my shorts,” of course. But if you are feeling brave, you can make these edible briefs in three easy steps. Just season some ground beef and create some sheets of it. Then carve up your these sheets into sections using your own briefs as a template. Then you just tie it together with Slim Jim string.

Lastly, present it to your Valentine and prepare to get smacked upside the head. Very simple process. But don’t. Really, just don’t!

[via Obvious Winner via Geekosystem]

Namely, it would keep me from the daily morning conversation with my seven-year-old about the weather outside. She rolls out of bed each morning and comes in my office and wants to know how hot or cold it is outside. Her little brain doesn’t work in absolutes, so telling her it’s going to be 65° out means nothing to her. She’s also got a lot that fiery Italian in her thanks to her mom, so she gets pretty upset if I tell her she needs long sleeves and a jacket in the morning, and then she gets hot on the playground.

What she needs is this Cryoscope gadget, which lets you feel what the temperature outside is like without leaving the house. An LED glows to give you an indication at a glance if it’s hot or cold outside. The current build actually lets you feel what tomorrow’s temperature will be like, but there’s no reason it couldn’t be used for current weather too.

To build the Cryoscope, Godshaw took a Peltier element and placed it on top of a heat sink with a cooling fan, and a RGB LED on the bottom. The system gets its temperature information from a web-based application, relaying it to an Arduino controller. The controller and the Peltier element then heat or cool an aluminum cover to the appropriate temperature, with a range of 0 to 100°F. Then you simply lay a hand on it and know exactly what it will feel like when you go outside tomorrow. It even compensates the temperature to account for wind chill, humidity and the properties of the aluminum cube itself.

I wonder how hard it would be to build one of these for myself.

[via CNET]

Check out the video. I love the way this thing moves and lights up. This is a hack that any Invaders nerd will want to do, but only a few of us will ever answer the call. Grant Gibson, we salute you.

[via Make:]

He calls his Transformer Plasmashock. The man has a way with names. Much better than “Crappy gun used only for Duck Hunt.”

If you want to build one yourself, just check out the instructions provided by von Brunk.

His next project should be even neater. He plans to do a similar project involving an actual NES, that would “transforms into a giant robot, much akin to Metroplex and/or Fortress Maximus!” Sounds pretty awesome. Why doesn’t LEGO sell more stuff like this themselves? Oh well, their loss.

[via Kotaku]

The iPhonograph takes things back to a simpler, more civilized age, giving you the old mixed with the new. Michael Greensmith’s creation includes a handmade wooden base, along with brass components to give it just the right look.

If you like your gadgets to look all old-timey and retro, you can build an iPhonograph yourself. Instructables will show you the steps to make your own. You’ll need to go hunting for supplies like an old Cutlery box, a brass horn and a Mini Stereo Amp to name a few, but the end result should be worth all of your hard work.

[via Instructables]

This DIY gauntlet “rolls” the die for you. Doesn’t matter if it’s a 6 sided die or a 20 sided die since no physical die are involved. It’s a wearable cuff that will roll 100, 20, 12, 10, 8, 6, and 4-sided die for you in response to your arm movement, thanks to an accelerometer, an Arduino controller, and a 7-segment, 4-digit yellow display.

This would come in handy for quite a few games that I can think of besides D & D. Just flip the switch, shake your arm, and it works it’s magic. If you want to make your own, follow the instructions found over at the Spark Fun Electronics Blog.

[via The Mary Sue]

This hack comes courtesy of Stacie Grissom and it uses a silk scarf, that needs to be about 60 inches in length, three key rings, and a couple of other odds and ends. The ends of the scarf will need to be cut, then folded over and sewn with the a keyring popped in. Two small leather straps can be added to decorate your scarf-strap to make it look cooler.

The end result is a pretty sturdy and stylish looking camera strap – though you won’t be able to use it to keep your neck warm with that camera attached. Of course, you can really do this with any fabric you want, so you can have your own personal design.

Head on over to Photojojo for instructions on how to make your own scarf camera strap.

Rodrigo took the old computer parts and layered them into a mold, and then poured in a mixture of resin and some sort of melted aluminum. The finished product is called the N+ew Stool. I’m sure that resin is hard and not particularly comfortable to sit on, but these may still be some of the coolest stools ever.

It’s hard to tell from these pictures, but I wonder if some of the computer parts stick out from the sides of the stool, or if he managed to keep the edges smooth. The parts look awful close to the sides.

The stools are a limited-edition and it’s not clear if you can buy them or what the price would be to get your own. I would think looking at the stools if you have a bunch of old computer parts lying around, can build your own form, and can get your hands on resin you could probably make one of these yourself.

[via Inhabitat]

As he shows in his video, as soon as you stretch the rubber band on a slingshot, the band heats up, which gives the slingshot more firing power. Right away the band cools and as the heat leaves, the power declines too. The problem is if you want to have your slingshot loaded and ready to fire you end up losing power. The answer to the problem of losing that power is to apply heat.

Sprave took a heating element and encapsulated it and the rubber bands in an enclosure that traps the heat and keeps the bands nice and warm for firing. This way when he stretches the bands, he can heat them up for maximum power. The heater is powered by a rechargeable battery and appears to heat quickly. He’s also included an interior/exterior thermometer for optimizing the temperature.

It would be interesting to see what would happen if Joerg heated up the rubber bands on some of his more destructive creations like the circular saw slingshot or the slingshot cannon.

There is no info on how this thing works – Tim just says it’s “air-powered.” All I know is that it is creepy as hell when it moves. Call in some F-17s to spray this thing with Raid before it reproduces. You can see more of Tim’s work here.

[via Propnomicon via SuperPunch via Neatorama]

Keep an eye out this weekend on the National Geographic channel because the LEGO factory in Billund, Denmark is going to be featured. If you have ever wanted to know how the bricks of awesome are made, this is the show for you. Hopefully, they’ll also show how LEGO comes up with the designs for the stuff they package.

I bet the job of the guys and gals that come up with new kits is a highly coveted position. Check out a clip from the episode here to see what the show will be like. This should be a really cool episode. And set your DVRs for Saturday, January 21 at 8pm Eastern.

(P.S. If you happen to live in Europe, it looks they already ran this on the show Megafactories, and you can check it out on YouTube now.)

[via Brothers-Brick]

He says that it is harder to make than it looks, but if you are up to the challenge, he offers detailed instructions on how to make one for yourself – though I recommend leaving it to the professionals. What you see in the video below is just a prototype, and he says that the forward locking system is not as strong as it could be.

Hopefully the next version will have some kinks worked out. If you hell-bent on trying to build one, be careful and remember that safety comes first.

[via Kotaku]

The boombox is powered by a Pyle Pro stereo amplifier. I could be going deaf, but I’m pretty sure Davis said the amp’s model was “PNA4″, a model that I am certain – based on my exhaustive 5-second research – does not exist. There is a Pyle Pro PTA4 stereo amp though. Bottom line, there’s a stereo amp inside. Davis then used second hand speakers that he got from a thrift shop and some plywood for the front panel. Watch the video below for the full build and some witty banter:

So what are you waiting for? Go grab your stuff, tools, things and ideas and make your own toolbox boombox. Check out Floyd’s website if you want to see his Gentleman’s Boomboxes. As far as I know, he doesn’t have an online store for his products, so if you want to order or commission your own boombox your best bet is to contact him. I bet you’ll have a fun conversation.

Using a screenshot from Halo: Combat Evolved, Thorsson made a 3D model in TurboCAD. He then used the model to make molds made out of MDF. The replica itself is made of styrene plastic. He then added nylon webbing for the hinges, a latch made of foam PVC and neodymium magnets and finally a vinyl sticker for the icon and voila. A Halo lunchbox! I mean a first aid kit!

Clearly Thorsson is the Master Chief of craftsmen, but if you think you’re up to the task, ride a Warthog to his blog for the full build instructions. The rest of us grunts will have to be content with the pictures on Thorsson’s Flickr page.

[via Make:]

Technically, the bOne isn’t even DIY because it already comes with a metal frame and pre-formed upholstery blocks that come in a bright green color. Instead of hammering out your own chair, all you’ve got to do with the bOne is bend the legs and back into position, squish the upholstery into the holes, and sit.

Sounds easy, but I think stuffing those cylindrical pieces of upholstery in might be a little harder than you think.

The bOne Chair was designed by JDF Raum und Kunst, and according to the firm, the bOne is “a chair with a playful air for people with a sense of humor. Its support structure mimics our bone structure, its upholstery our skin cells, and just like these cells the seat, too, conforms – like the rhytm of inhaling and exhaling – to the individual’s unique ergonomics.”

It’s pretty clever. I certainly never thought of a chair like that. No word on if the bOne chair will ever become a product you can buy, or if it’s just a design concept though.

[via Beautiful Life via Gadgets Matrix]

This project cost Mike $1.00 in cardboard, $54.60 in servos, and $29.95 in servo controllers. In the video he does a simple motion test and it would appear that it is looking pretty good, judging by how the bot is shaking it’s thang.

He already has his eye on some improvements that he can make now that this one is underway. You can find instructions and materials over at Mike’s website. Who doesn’t want to make a cheap robot?

[via Make:]

Everything about the set is made from LEGO parts, and the coolest parts is that the backdrop behind Superman actually scrolls. The guy even went so far as to make little fluffy clouds from LEGO blocks too. If you think it’s cool sitting still, check the thing out in action as the background scrolls quickly by.

I think that is really awesome, I’d like to know how he built that scrolling background. Sadly, there are no build notes, other than the fact that the backdrop pieces are mounted on bulldozer treads – so if you want to create your own version, I guess you will need to wing it.

[via Brothers-Brick]

It’s the work of Chris Weibert, who’s also known as ChristopherTalosian on YouTube. The whole thing was jury-rigged together using everyday items. The water vapor is produced by an ultrasonic humidifier that’s been hacked onto a laminar flow nozzle, which in turn is made out of a bunch of drinking straws. Now that’s a cool use of straws. The humidifier came from a thrift store, while the fans came from computers.

The thin, even sheet of vapor mist is able to catch light projected onto it from the rear, giving it an effect not dissimilar from the original projected Leia in A New Hope. Now he just needs to build the projector into an R2-D2 robot and it’ll be perfect.

[via Mike Senese via Make:]