Hasta La Gadget!

Etsy shop Chinook Crafts is a treasure trove of geeky trinkets. I was going to feature its Pokémon Kanto gym badges by way of GoNintendo when I spotted an unusual category in the shop’s list: tombstones.

But if we think about it it’s actually kind of surprising that we don’t see more of these. Video games are ripe with death after all, from the ones we don’t even think about…

…to the ones whose deaths are given and thus inconsequential.

There are also deaths that jump start a game…

…including ones that turned out to be the start of an alternate reality and an entire series of games.

And as in real life, there are deaths in games that we’ll never forget, the ones that will leave you reeling in shock and despair. Like, The Transformers animated movie level of shock and despair.

The tombstones cost $10 (USD) each plus a variable amount of sadness. Check out Chinook Crafts for more designs. You creep.

3D printing shop Mixee Labs – makers of awesome geeky jewelry – will soon launch a custom bobblehead printing service called Mixee Bobblers. As with the jewelry, Mixee Bobblers will let you design your own bobblehead right from your browser.

Mixee Labs opted for cartoonish parts and features, making its bobbleheads look like a lot like Nintendo Miis.

Each Mixee Bobbler is 2.5″ tall and is 3D printed – spring included – from sandstone and nylon plastic.

You can make and order your own Mixee Bobbler starting January 21 for just $25 (USD) each.

Many of the so-called smart TVs today have built-in browsers, apps and other fancy features, but most of them can only be viewed one at a time, i.e. when you’re not watching TV. A new company called SeeSpace wants to make cable TV smarter with InAiR, a device that displays information without interrupting what you’re watching.

InAiR is meant to plug in between your HDTV and your cable box. It also needs a spare USB port for power as well as a Wi-Fi connection. Once it’s online, supposedly InAiR will be able to detect what you’re watching and provide links to contextually-relevant content. How it detects the content you’re watching is unclear, other than to say that they have a patented content recognition engine which works this magic.

For instance, the video below shows InAiR displaying information about an F1 race being shown on TV. The concept videos and photos also imply that you’ll be able to connect to social networks with InAiR. All of the things that InAiR displays will appear to float on top of your TV. The floating effect should be more distinct on a 3D TV, but InAiR will work on non-3D HDTVs as well.

You should check out the demo video below if you have a stereoscopic 3D display or a pair of stereoscopic 3D glasses.

You’ll be able to control InAiR using your Android or iOS mobile device as a wireless trackpad. SeeSpace will also add support for reading gesture commands with the Kinect and Leap Motion.

Pledge at least $89 (USD) on Kickstarter to get an InAiR unit as a reward. You’ll need to pony up at least $119 if you want the 3D capable version. While SeeSpace says the InAiR is compatible with all cable, satellite and broadcast TV content, it’s unclear if it works with streamed content or movies played from disc.

[via InStash]

Miniatures and figurines are some of the best aspects of tabletop gaming. But if you’re playing a tabletop RPG, you might not be satisfied with the figurines that come with your game or even the ones you can buy online. And while we already have relatively affordable 3D modeling software and 3D printers, it requires a bit of training to use those tools. Hero Forge wants to meet you halfway.

Currently seeking funding on Kickstarter, Hero Forge will let you create your own figurines right from your browser. Hero Forge’s web-based creation tool looks a lot like the character creation screen in many video games. Its options include gender, clothes, weapons and poses. Naturally, your character’s 3D model will instantly reflect your choices. Once you’re satisfied you can then order a 3D print of your figurine from the tool itself.

The founders of Hero Forge claim that 3D printing has big advantages over injection molding, one of them being the ability to print on demand. Miniature makers that use injection molding have to make products in batches for the process to be cost-efficient, which means they’ll only make designs that they think are guaranteed to sell. But with a 3D printing service like Hero Forge, you can create and print a miniature even if you’re the only one in the world who’s willing to buy what you made.

Apparently, 3D printers can also pull off aesthetic tricks that are hard to emulate through injection molding, such as interior or recessed details as well as moving parts.

Another advantage of Hero Forge is that you can easily scale the size of your created character. Hero Forge plans to offer three sizes at launch: 28mm, 3in and 6in.

Customers will also have two print qualities to choose from. One is very durable and cheap but not suited for painting, while the other one is more expensive but is very detailed and is suited for painting.

Finally, like many video games Hero Forge will save your 3D models. You can have them reprinted, modified or both as often as you like.

Pledge at least $20 (USD) on Kickstarter to receive a customized miniature as a reward. It would be awesome if the creation tool allowed you to upload your own designs for even more customization. Wouldn’t it be awesome to have a miniature that looks just like you?

Even though 3D printing is still a young technology, customers already have a lot of brands and types of 3D printers to choose from. The founders of Deltaprintr hope to set their device apart by coming up with a great balance of simplicity, efficiency, quality and affordability. And by removing a vowel from the printer’s name.

Save for the 3Doodler, the Deltaprintr is the most barebones printer I’ve seen. It has aluminum beams, laser-cut carriages and drive reels, three stepper motors, an acrylic build platform and a fishing line instead of belts to control the carriages. But it still has a print resolution of 100 microns, on par with other 3D printers on the market.

The Deltaprintr will also come with a probe for automatic calibration, a feature that you won’t find in many other 3D printers. Finally, it will be expandable. Longer aluminum towers will soon be available as a separate purchase for those looking to expand the build volume of the Deltaprintr.

As of this writing there’s still more than a couple of days left to pledge for the Deltaprintr on Kickstarter. Pledge at least $655 (USD) by Saturday January 4th to get a fully assembled printer as a reward.