Category: Cool Toys

This isn’t about being amazing at Guitar Hero; lots of people are amazing Guitar Hero players. No, this little patch of the internet is dedicated to being amazing at doing the obvious (and I mean that in a good way).

I can admit it–I’m attracted to the idea of finding lost things in the sand or dirt, but there are two problems with traditional metal detectors: a) you have to carry them around (lame), and b) they’re pretty obviously metal detectors and you might as well throw on some black socks with your sandals.

Modder/droog/man of the moment David Penfold aka Mremulator was inspired by an award-winning custom rig and decided to go totally bolshy yarblockos with his own build. First he picked orange and black for the colors of his SilverStone TJ07 computer case – which incidentally was the same model used in the custom pc that inspired him  – and came up with the theme later: A Clockwork Orange.

First we had the watch, and now we have a model. The 6-foot long remote-controlled RMS Titanic is a faithfully reproduced 1:150 scale model. It took 400 man-hours (that’s about 1600 dog-hours, or 879,592 mosquito-hours) to assemble.

If I ever have kids, I’ll be sure to pass on to them everything that I know about anything. Like the joys of reading, or the merits of moderation. And thanks to all of the fascinating things I’ve read about since I started writing here, if someday my kids come to me and ask, “Dad, where can I find some of the strangest shit in the world?”

Yeah, yeah, I know that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is coming out in a couple of weeks, and a million and one of you are going to run out on the first day to go see it.

It’s comforting to note that Star Wars favorite R2-D2 is just as cool when he’s stripped of his iconic blue and white. At the recent Maker Faire, a colorless version was on display, and really stands out next to the more accurate replicas. All of the character but none of the color.

Oh, that Arduino. Is there anything you can’t accomplish with an Arduino and a little bit of know-how? Whether your project is of a serious nature, or dedicated to playing Pong with your eyebrows–like this one is–the potential here seems limitless.

Welcome to another edition of Cute or Stupid?, where we examine stuff and mull over their existence, whether they are useless but cute or just plain useless and therefore stupid. Today we have Perfect Petzzz, “life like” puppies and kittens that do nothing but sleep.

Here’s a warning to all the bullies out there who like to make fun of nerds: don’t mess with people who can build flamethrowers out of LEGOs. See, all they need are some bricks and a bottle of butane, and they’ll be pwning your ass like a Pyro on a Spy.

Just because you’re a robot in disguise doesn’t mean you have to be huge. These tiny little versions of two popular Transformers autobots prove quite the contrary. The latest in TakaraTomy’s Robo-Q series, these palm-sized Optimus Prime and Bumblebee robots are just too cute to be capable of any real destruction.

Remember playing with ant farms when you were a kid? You know, the type where you’d get sand all over the place and proceed to kill all of your insect friends within a matter of minutes as you tried to fill it up?

For many of us, the days of arcades are long past (and if you’re lucky enough to have one nearby, cherish it!), but we remember plugging in all those quarters with a particular fondness. Well, prepare to have that fondness exploited, in the form of adorable miniature arcade cabinets. Even if it were possible to count the number of hours I wasted on games like OutRun, I wouldn’t want to.

Perfect for closet crime-fighters, this replica Bat Signal will definitely give you extra geek cred the next time your friends come over. The miniature replica Bat-Signal features a sturdy metal construction and stands about 12-inches tall.

Crafty Star Wars fans will have their goods on display this year at Stitch Wars this summer, and one contribution is this pair of plushies from The Empire Strikes Back. One part Luke, one part tauntaun, all chilling-in-innards fun.

You know the Terminator franchise has officially jumped the shark when 1) Terminator: Salvation can get trounced at the box office by a Ben Stiller movie and 2) they start making bobble-head versions of the deadly T-600. I really don’t care that its eyes glow with red LEDs just like a real Terminator.