Hasta La Gadget!

There are plenty of replica sonic screwdrivers out there for fans of Doctor Who to collect. The last one we talked about was the War Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver. If you have a collection of sonic screwdrivers that you need a place to store and show off, this is the perfect DIY project for you.

One Whovian going by the name 00failure has used MDF and wood veneer to create an awesome chest that displays his collection of sonic screwdrivers. The collectables are tucked away inside foam with cutouts the perfect size to keep them in place.

The builder went so far as to laser cut Gallifreyan symbols into the veneer. The finished products is very cool. However, I must confess to not watching the show, so I see what appears to be a tube of lipstick, a pocket watch, and some odd keys inside as well that I don’t know the significance of.

[via The RPF via Nerd Approved]

Flappy Bird became a worldwide phenomenon – more so when its creator Dong Nguyen pulled it out of various app stores. While he’s still mulling it’s return, the flapster is still very much alive in the hearts and minds of people all across the globe (and on their phones.)

An unusual way of immortalizing the awesomeness of Flappy Bird is this three-dimensional figure of the titular character that’s crafted from solid gold.

The gold Flappy Bird was created by Vietnam-based goldsmithing company N3D, who explain that they are created it in order to “honor this world changing bird and demonstrate the craftsmanship of Vietnamese people.” Makes sense, since Dong is Vietnamese.

Farther down the listing, N3D add that proceeds from the sale of the bird will be used “to support people with difficult situation in Vietnam.” That’s pretty vague, but at least it sounds like they have some good intentions.

You can check out the auction listing for the solid gold Flappy Bird here.

[via C|NET]

Watch out Ken. Barbie’s packing some steel. Actually Jim Rodda’s Barbie armor is made of biodegradable plastic. Jim originally wanted to print glitter cannons that fit on My Little Pony toys as a birthday gift to his niece, but it proved to be too complicated. Four cups of coffee and a hot shower later, the idea for Barbie armor sprang out of his mind, fully formed.

The field plate armor in the image above and in the video below is one of Jim’s first prototypes. He’s currently designing a parade armor, a more detailed version of the field plate armor that has “filigrees, engravings, gewgaws, gubbinses, and assorted skeuomorphisms.”

Aside from being silly, Jim is also generous. He’s sharing the 3D files for the Athena Makeover Kit, another Barbie costume, on his website.

Pledge at least $5 (USD) on Kickstarter to get the 3D files for the field plate armor as a reward, while a pledge of at least $10 gets you the files for the parade armor. Jim will most likely make those files available after the Kickstarter, but he isn’t planning on selling the printed armor themselves because that would be beyond his means.

If you want to get the printed armor right away, pledge for the higher reward tiers ASAP because Jim probably won’t print anymore of them after his fundraiser ends. Pledge at least $200 to get the field plate armor set and at least $250 to get the parade armor set. This reminds me, I’ve yet to finish Jeanne D’Arc.

Late last year we found out about Looking Glass, a volumetric printing service. Each 3D object consists of printed slices stacked and stuck together in a case. This month the company relaunched with a better and more affordable service.

I talked with Looking Glass founder Shawn Frayne shortly before their relaunch. Shawn said they’ve “made dramatic improvements in the resolution and color-fidelity” of their product since we first heard about them. They can also now make prints out of CT scan data, in addition to .obj, .ply and .skp files. With the help of these improvements, Shawn said that they’re barely keeping up with orders. Doctors in particular have been asking Shawn for prints of CT scans.

The two images above show a Looking Glass print of an injured foot based on CT scan data. Shawn says it’s the first volumetric printed object with varying opacity. Speaking of which, Shawn said that Looking Glass isn’t looking to compete with 3D printing services. The company is focused on making prints that are great to look at instead of ones that are meant to be touched or used.

http://vimeo.com/88536241

In my first article about Looking Glass, I mused that the prints would be much better if the slices were removable. Shawn said he’s gotten requests about that option as well and that it is possible, though his company isn’t going to offer that option anytime soon. I wonder if making the slices removable is a lot more complicated than it sounds.

Shawn did offer an alternative to my suggestion. Instead of one Looking Glass print with removable slices, the company can take a 3D model and split it into multiple prints: “We do however offer cross-sectional prints, where several Looking Glasses can be combined like building blocks to reconstruct, say, a heart or enlarged cell volumetric image.  When these blocks are pulled apart, the internals of the volumetric image can then be examined.”

Looking Glass accepts orders online if your source file is .obj or .ply. Their standard size is 9 cm x 5 cm x 4 cm (approx. 3.5″ x 2″ x 1.6″), and costs $65 (USD) plus $10 shipping anywhere in the world. Email Shawn at smf[at]lookingglassfactory.com for other print requests, such as printing from CT scan data or printing large objects. Shawn says they can make prints as large as a person if they want to. You can also check out and buy customer-submitted prints on the Looking Glass site.

Redditor bacongrease00′s wife made this tome of bread and icing. It bears the cover of The Book of the Dragonborn, one of the books in Skyrim, but inside you’ll find vanilla cake and cannoli cream filling.

Unfortunately for bacongrease00 he won’t be able to stash even a crumb of the cake, because his wife made it for someone else. At least he got some karma out of it.

[via Reddit via Insanelygaming]