Created by Scott Holden for the recent Zone Ball in Sacramento, this Tauntaun not only looks great, it actually walks. Scott modeled out the original plan for the behemoth costume using SolidWorks, and then built out a stilt mechanism to stand on while walking around in it. And no, those aren’t the rider’s real legs dangling there on either side – they’re actually hidden inside standing on the stilts.

He built the Tauntaun’s main body using PVC pipe and fabricated custom stilts with snowboard bindings to hold the wearer’s feet and legs in place while walking.

Scott created a custom silicone mold for the head, and airbrushed the details on a final foam cast form. To give the beast its fuzzy coat, Scott covered it with layers of faux fur, fastened to the body with zip-ties.

Check out the video below to see the costume in action:

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You can check out the complete build log here. All I can say is wow.

[via Make:]

Yep, don’t let the dominating size of the AT-AT walker take all your attention: Luke’s speeder from the Battle of Hoth is there, too, wrapping that vehicle up and taking it down.

This cakealicious masterpiece is the product of Charm City Cakes, and from the looks of the background in the above photo, this isn’t the first impressive project they’ve prepared. It probably wasn’t even the only one that day. But I bet it was the most action-packed cake of the week.

[via Super Punch]

The first of the game systems is called Classic Battles, which features a controller that looks like Darth Vader. The plug-and-play game includes five Jedi-themed battle games, including ship flying, lightsaber wielding, and battle droid blasting among others. Keep in mind that most of these games look like they’ve been recycled from an earlier version of the system.

The second console is brand new and looks like a major improvement over the Classic Battles system. Republic Squadron, which consists of a series of flying missions, played with a unique ship’s yoke style motion-sensing controller that let’s you really get into the action.

While Battles features mostly retro-style sprite-based games, Squadron appears to have graphics that look nearly as good as what you might find on a PS2 or Wii console. At least that’s how it looks from these screenshots. I haven’t had a chance to see the games in person.

You can find these and other Star Wars TV Games over on Amazon for about $30 bucks each.

[photo credit: kidstechreview]

And, of course, the best thing to immortalize in brick from from Fallout 3? The two-headed mutant cattle (and shotguns). Add in a Deathclaw and I’ll declare myself BioniSean’s biggest fan.

Actually, on second thought? Hold the Deathclaws.

BioniSean’s Flickr stream has a number of interesting projects for the LEGO fan to peruse, including Star Wars-themed projects, and that staple favorite: zombies!

There are humans inside! YouTube user sowtime444 posted the video and said that the public service announcement was one of the several Star Wars ads that his grandfather produced (Grandpa sowtime is also in the video; he’s the chap with the red-orange vest). This is actually the first time that I saw Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker in what I call “cyborg mode”, i.e. in their C-3PO and R2-D2 suits respectively, but with their faces still showing.

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Here’s the public service anouncement:

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Maybe Kenny Baker was saying that he had whooping cough?

And this isn’t just any old Yoda tree-topper. This one features a light up LED lightsaber, perfect for taking down Sith and other Imperial baddies who happen to make their way into your living room. And while the Star Wars guys don’t have any pictures of exactly what this guy will look like sitting on top of your tree, I’ve taken the liberty of creating this artist’s rendition for those of you with no imagination…

Want Yoda on your tree this holiday season? Head on over to the StarWarsShop and pre-order him now for $39.99 (USD).

Plus points for the R2-D2 head/hood. frosti’s selling it for $92 (USD), but before you hit the link, know that it’s only available in XL. If you’re a Large (and a Boy Wonder), you may wanna settle for the Robin hoodie, also made by frosti but is hella cheaper at $42:

Classic. I actually like this one more than the R2-D2 hoodie.

He moves! He glides! He staggers in robotic fashion! And if he doesn’t talk crap about you in a series of boops and beeps, why, then I’d bet that’s the plan for the next version. If it’s not, it should be. I’ve had a lot of critters and things smart off to me in my day, but I’ve never been insulted by an itsy-bitsy robot, and that alone makes me wish I had the know-how to build myself a tiny R2.

He’s actually pretty impressive on the move. Check out the video:

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This R2 unit is an amazing 1/18th the size of the real R2, and was made with three of Solarbotics GM15 pager gearmotor (and, probably, a lot of spare time).

[via MAKE]

Well, that’s one way to market your crafty supplies. One awesome way. I think I just officially got over custom action figures. There aren’t even any snakes! But I must say, they’re awfully… rigid… with those lightsabers.

This display was spotted at a craft store, which means that someone probably got paid for painting pumpkins black and putting together costumes. I never thought I would actually aspire to retail, but if I could actually sew, I’m pretty sure I would consider that a viable career choice. I’m sure I could manage to paint. Probably.

[via NerdSalad]

Actually, for seasoned crafters, this little Yoda costume doesn’t seem too difficult. Creator Susan completed it within a week, and that’s with making multiples of some items (like the adorable hat). But for we plebeians, I expect it might take a little longer, even with the tutorial. Totally worth the effort, though. My son’s going to be Luke Skywalker this year, and now I half wish we’d gone the Yoda route. It seems fitting while they’re short, after all.

I can’t say it doesn’t make sense, because if I were to build a steampunk robot, he might end up looking a bit like C-3P0. However, I can’t quite shake the feeling that this R2 isn’t steampunk. Really, he was just buried for a while in the sands of Tatooine and just needs a good scrubbing. Then again, the two aren’t mutually exclusive. That dust had to come from somewhere.

[Tokyobling via Gamefreaks]

These Jedi bath robes are made from soft cotton velour, which is the first thing that comes to mind when I think “Jedi”. As a matter of fact, I think Old Ben Kenobi once said something like “A Jedi can feel the Force flowing through his velour robe.” But I could be remembering the line wrong.

The Jedi bath robe is available for pre-order now over at Find Me a Gift, and sells for £59.99 (appx. $95 USD). Just remember not to use your lightsaber in the tub or you might electrocute yourself.

[via Wonderland]

If little Anakin was wearing that when Qui-Gon Jinn met him, I’m sure the Jedi Master would’ve iced the Naboo slave on the spot. Or not. The costume is cute after all. But what if your kid is a little older, and really wants a taste of the Dark Side? Etsy seller katesy has got just the thing. Give her your child’s measurements (your child’s sir, not yours) and $200, and she’ll whip up this…this…thing.

The picture reminds me of this joke I read somewhere: dad buys his son a Darth Vader mask, son wears it and goes, “Daddy, I am your father.” Anyway. We have to call on Yoda to defeat this Crocs-wearing Sith Lord!

FORCE SMILE! It works all the time. The Yoda costume is also available at Amazon for $22. But what about your little girl? Dress her up in this Princess Leia Costume. It sells for $19 to $28. Cinnamon roll hair included.

If on the other hand you think your kid will grow up to be a robot enthusiast, you might want to get the $20 R2-D2 Costume. Actually don’t. I only included it here for the sake of completion; I’m sure you can come up with something better than this.

What about for parents who hate their kids? I’ve got something for you as well: for only $20 to $37, the Chewbacca costume will ensure that your kid will have no treats – or friends – come Halloween. Your kid will look like Ultimate Warrior dunked in poo.

What if you want to eat your kid? Two words: Pizza Baby.

I’m not really that big of a Star Wars fan though, so I don’t which Episode Pizza Baby appeared. Was Pizza Baby in the Cantina scene?

Seriously, banana creme? Darth Vader shouldn’t taste like bananas. He should taste like anger, hatred, and old man sweat. You know it had to be rank under that mask at the end. I doubt he was really keeping up with his dental hygiene, either.

This compelling piece comes from the House of Cakes in Dubai, and so I’m a little surprised it’s not even more of an architectural wonder… though anything more would probably be pretty excessive.

[via Great White Snark]

While there aren’t many details about the heritage of this mod, what we can see from the picture is that the little droid is loaded up with a Dreamcast, an Xbox, an N64, an Atari 2600, a SEGA Saturn, an NES, an SNES and a PlayStation. It’s also got a projector and sound system built-in for good measure.

Though R2-D2 may have been designed as a utility droid, I think he’s finally found his real purpose – gaming droid.

[via Hack N Mod]

Over at AnimalsWithLightsabers they do one thing, and one thing only. They put dangerous lightsabers in the hands of woodland creatures, pets and other animals. Actually, they don’t. You do. All of the wacky photos and videos are contributed by people just like you and me – with a little PhotoShop or video compositing skill and a sense of humor. They even take care of the hard part by providing lightsaber images you can layer onto your own pet’s photos. Here are some of my favorites:

For more wacky animal/lightsaber antics, head on over to AnimalsWithLightsabers and check out the complete gallery.

And a damned fine R2-D2 coffee cup it is, complete with a removable dome that’ll keep your coffee warm when you leave it sitting on your desk. For the time being, CubeWorks’ ceramic R2 mug is only available in Japan, but I’m hopeful somebody will decide to import some so I can finally satisfy my Starbucks and Star Wars addictions in a single maneuver.

I found these over on Japan’s Tanomi hobby site for ¥1800 (appx. $20 bucks) each, but by they time to pay to ship something this fragile from Japan, I’m betting you’ll be paying more for shipping than the mug itself cost.

Technabob geek gift tip: Goes great with this Star Wars Coffee T-shirt.

[photo via Japan Star Wars]

It really does look like an upside down Vader helmet. I think Hailrazer should have called it NintenDarth64, but what the hell, it’s an awesome and highly polished mod. He can call it whatever he wants. The system also packs a couple of 5000 mAh rechargeable batteries good for about 3 hours.

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The Evil Emperor Hailrazer sure sounds a lot like Jack McBrayer. “Everybody knows plumbers can swim. Especially fat little plumbers.” I don’t know why, but that cracked me up.

[via i am handheld]

That’s the Vader hoodie ($100 (USD)) together with the X Wing Pilot hoodie ($150). I wonder why the Vader hoodie is cheaper than the X-Wing Pilot hoodie; it’s sure to be one of the bestsellers of this line.

Those are the “Real” Trooper ($100) and the Clone Trooper ($100) hoodies. Man… I don’t know if not having a credit card at times like this is a good or a bad thing. Dammit. The Star Wars hoodies (and jackets) will be available this October. Go to Marc Ecko’s online shop and pre-order one for me will you? They have other Star Wars designs as well. You can get those. Just get me the Vader hoodie. and the Real Trooper hoodie. and all of them. ALL OF THEM!

[via Street Level via Switched]

And this, I believe, is the palette swap = $$$ formula at work:

The droids are also quite detailed, so I’m thinking these are collectibles with some functionality. Here’s a closer look at the R2D2 hub:

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The R2Q5 and the R2D2 USB hubs are available at GeekStuff4U for about $74 (USD). Giant Artoo not included.

[via 7Gadgets]