Hasta La Gadget!

Most of the nixie tube hacks and mods we’ve seen involve clocks, which isn’t surprising considering the tubes were primarily used to show numbers. But there are also tubes that display symbols, and those are the ones put to good use by Lasermad in its Nixie Chessboards.

Lasermad uses ex-Soviet Nixies from the 80s. They also designed a neat chessboard that uses induction coils to power the tubes. All you have to do is plug the board to an outlet and the tubes will automatically light up when you place them on the board.

Here’s a demo video of the board:

You can order the Nixie Chessboard from Lasermad either as a ready-to-assemble kit for $340 (USD) or as a fully built set for $759. Note that the DIY kit is not for beginners, although Lasermad does have a help forum for people who opt to get their hands dirty.

[via The UberReview]

The battle for Hoth just got all brainy and strategic. This large scale (18″ x 18″) custom chess set by Brickplace puts the Empire against the Rebel Alliance in an all new way.

The detail is amazing. You have the Rebel troops in Hoth gear, the Snowtroopers, some AT-ATs, an Imperial Probe droid and of course the Wampa monster and more! All lovingly made out of LEGO. This isn’t some overpriced Franklin Mint set that just looks gaudy. This is pure geek joy.

It even has Luke in his watery Bacta tank and Han riding a Tauntaun. Man, I wish I owned this awesome chess set. I would play chess all day just to play with the figures. Check out more amazing pics on Flickr.

[via IT LEGO via Obvious Winner]