Hasta La Gadget!

Fans of Futurama will immediately recognize the image below as the Planet Express ship. It turns out that maker of all things awesome, Volpin Props, is working on a set of three custom-built Planet Express models, and they’re shaping up to be great as we’ve come to expect from expert propmaker Harrison Krix.

From the video posted on Volpin’s YouTube channel, we find out that the ships even have illumination built in, operated by an Arduino Pro Mini controller. Those tail lights look especially sweet.

Ok, that looks pretty awesome to me. I can imagine tiny little versions of Fry, Leela, Bender, Zoidberg, Hermes, Professor Farnsworth and Amy Wong hanging out inside, causing all sorts of interplanetary mayhem.

Great job as usual, Harrison!

This week, viewers can take their pick of big events coming to TV screens: the NFL is back, Futurama is going away for good, The League and Always Sunny are launching on a new cable network, Diablo III is arriving on consoles and Ace Ventura is out on Blu-ray. There’s also the Blu-ray release of Sharknado and Luther’s entire third series is airing on BBC America this week. Fans of Matt Groening’s animated series will want to check out the Comedy Central website for a half hour before and after Futurama airs Wednesday to chat with the people who made it all possible. Need help finding out where FXX is on your cable or satellite TV lineup? This is the place to go, and check after the break for our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

Comments

Yes, Game of Thrones is over, but there are still a few other interesting shows on TV. While Futurama begins its farewell tour, Wilfred and Copper return for the summer and Discovery kicks off a new reality show that drops contestants off in the jungle with nothing — and by nothing we mean no clothes. Look below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames.

Futurama
Yes, sadly, Futurama has been canceled again. The 13-episode final final season starts Wednesday on Comedy Central and will feature the show’s entire original voice cast. Special guests this season include Larry Bird, Emilia Clark, George Takei and more, check out a clip from the new season embedded after the break.
(June 19th, Comedy Central, 10PM)

Whodunnit?
It’s a reality show — wait, wait, this one might be different! This time ABC is taking on the murder mystery genre, as 13 players compete to solve a different mystery each week. Solve it and survive to proceed to the next episode or else face elimination.
(June 23rd, ABC, 9PM)

NBA / NHL Finals
And then there were two. The NBA finals are almost over as the Spurs have pushed the Heat to the brink of elimination, while on the NHL side the Blackhawks and Bruins are tied 1-1 after two overtime contests, with Game 3 tonight. Enjoy your sport of choice while you still can, before the long offseason begins.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

Comments

Futurama’s Bender is quite possibly the greatest robotic character in the history of television or the movies. Sure, there are more sophisticated robots like David in Prometheus, but none has made us guffaw as hard as the perpetually drunken, self-absorbed, belligerent, and conniving robot that is Bender Bending Rodriguez. It turns out that one man likes Bender so much that he turned him into a wood stove.

This bad-ass ‘bot was made by a guy going by the name of “Rob Halftroll”, cut from old gas bottles, welded together to form his torso, neck and head. Bender’s legs were fabricated from tube steel, and cylindrical bands of metal were used for his arms.

Clearly, there was plenty of bending (and welding) that went into the fabrication of the Bender stove, so it might have been nice to have an actual Bender robot to help with the construction.

Check out Halftroll’s full build log for the Bender wood stove here.

Bender is a complete wise-ass. So are many toddlers – they just don’t realize it yet. At least if you see a little kid wearing this hat, you’ll know they could be trouble.

These robot hats are made by Michelle “Chell” Black, and are crocheted with the potty-mouthed robot’s trademark antenna and googley eyeballs. They’re available in multiple sizes, so whether your kid has a tiny noggin or a huge one, she’s got you covered.

It’s available over on Etsy for $25(USD). Shiny metal ass sold separately.