Hasta La Gadget!

Stargate is a big deal in my house. My wife and I have been married for nearly 17 years now and our first date was to see Stargate when it hit theaters. After we were married, the first time we agreed to splurge on cable was when the Stargate SG-1 series was on Showtime. We moved to satellite solely to be able to watch the show and its spinoffs when they moved to Syfy. We really like the movie and series.

Some DIY geeks who like the franchise as much as we do have begun construction on a life-size replica of the Stargate. PodPadStudios’ replica is being made from MDF and wood studs. The guys behind the build say that when its done it will be complete with lighting effects.

About the only thing it won’t have it its own event horizon. The coolest part about this is if you want to build your own, they’ve been documenting all of the construction steps over on Instructables.

Their goal is to complete the build by April 2014. We look forward to seeing pics of the finished build.

[via Nerd Approved]

One of the hassles of playing tabletop games is that pieces are often moved out of their place or sometimes even off the table. It’s a minor inconvenience at best and a game-stalling dilemma at worst, as you try to figure out which piece should be at which position. That’s the problem that BFR Games wants to solve with GripMat.

As its name implies, GripMat is made of a material designed to create a enough friction to prevent pieces from accidentally sliding about. It’s waterproof and retains its form even after you roll it up or crumple it. It’s also great to roll dice on. It muffles the sound that dice make and quickly stops them in their tracks. What I don’t know is if GripMat makes it easier or harder to pick up paper-thin items like cards.

As shown in the video, GripMat comes in a variety of designs; the ones in the gallery below are just a few of them. You can also customize your order further with tile or hex grid overlays.

Pledge at least $25 (USD) on Kickstarter to get a GripMat as a reward. It also comes in different sizes; naturally the larger ones are available at higher pledge tiers.

How does one go about with making the perfect peanut butter and jelly sandwich? What about the perfect sundae or a banana split? These are presumably some of the most commonly consumed snacks and treats in the country, so most people really don’t need any directions on how to make them.

In case you find someone who doesn’t though, then you absolutely have to get them a set or two of these Food Blueprint Placemats. They keep the table clean and provide detailed diagrams and various views of these foods that will make putting them together a breeze.

They’re  sold in sets of four and are priced at $20(USD) by Awkward Engineer.

[via Incredible Things]

The last time we featured console modder Ryan Fitzpatrick aka Platinum Fungi we saw his personal tribute to Mega Man 2. His latest finished project on the other hand is up for grabs. It’s a radical Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles NES.

As with the Mega Man 2 NES, Ryan worked with fellow modder Custom NES Guy on this mod. The star of the project are the cutouts on top of the console, which Ryan painstakingly made by hand. But there are also lots of tiny details to appreciate here, from the great color scheme and paint job to the four bundled controllers, each with an overlay representing a different member of the Turtles.

As I said, Ryan is selling this particular console. It’s going to cost you more than a box of pizza though. As of this writing you have to bid at least $1,275 (USD) on eBay to get a chance at owning the console.

[via Game Informer]

Laura Kinney aka X-23 was cloned from a damaged copy of Wolverine’s genes, and was created to be an assassin in the X-Men universe. With her sharp Adamantium claws, I certainly wouldn’t want to mess with her. And in real life, she looks even more deadly.

Photo: Gerardo Flores

This awesome costume was put together and modeled by KOCosplay for Katsucon 19 and NYCC earlier this year, and all I can say is that I wouldn’t want to run into her in a dark alley. Especially with those spikes on her boots – and her ability to heal from any wounds in seconds.

Photo: Eurobeat Kasumi

KO worked with Ravenswood Leather to create the leather bits of her costume, and built the rest herself, including those deadly claws, and that X-Men belt buckle.

Photo: Eurobeat Kasumi

Photo: Eurobeat Kasumi

Awesome job, KO! We look forward to what you come up with next.

Photo: Knightmare6

[via Geek Universe]