Hasta La Gadget!

A couple of years ago we saw a Final Fantasy cosplay that looked like an action figure come to life. This Darth Malgus cosplay on the other hand doesn’t just look like a life-size toy. Even though the costume is based on the Sith lord from the Star Wars: the Old Republic MMORPG, this dude looks like he stepped out of a Star Wars movie. From the future.

The artist behind (and inside) the costume is RPF member Darth Serberus. With the exception of the lightsaber prop, Darth Serberus designed and built the entire thing. He claims on YouTube that he has worked in the film industry for 20 years and now uses his skills for private commissions. The video below validates his claims:

Wow. I’m sure he’s a lot more imposing in person, especially since Darth Serberus is a ripped 6’6″ beast of a man. Head to Darth Serberus’ thread on RPF to read about how he made his costume, plus a bonus shot of him in a Bane costume.

Image and video by Kamil Krawczak Photography

[via Kotaku]

Here’s a board game that teaches you language and chemistry at the same time. It’s called Elemensus. It plays a lot like Scrabble, except you use symbols of the elements instead of just letters to form words. Plus the game board looks much cooler, because it has an image of the Orion constellation on it.

I know what you’re thinking: the element symbols can’t spell every word. To get around that, the tiles in Elemensus are reversible. One side has an element’s symbol, name and atomic number. The other side has what the game calls Dark Matter. These are letters that are not covered by the periodic table, like A, E, M etc.

You’re free to flip a tile and use Dark Matter letters any time, but there’s a penalty. Scores are computed using the total of the atomic numbers in the word you form, but Dark Matter tiles have negative atomic numbers, which means their values get deducted from your score whenever you use them.

You can buy Elemensus from ThinkGeek for $40 (USD). Folks in the UK can get it from Art Meets Matter for £24.95. No cheating!

deviantART member/LEGO enthusiast/alien host Carlos Valero made this life-size LEGO replica of the facehugger from the Alien series. It’s not the scariest replica of the facehugger that I’ve seen, but it is the only LEGO creation that I find repulsive. I never thought I’d be creeped out by LEGO.

Rest in peace Carlos.

I guess we’ll see a LEGO chestburster a few days from now. We need a bigger version of the LEGO Power Loader stat.

[via Carlos Valero via Obvious Winner]

Most of the replicas I’ve seen are of robots, vehicles and weapons. The inspiration behind Darius Bode’s creations is a lot humbler than that. But it’s one that is quite intriguing when you see it in action: a trash compactor. To be more specific, Bode made a working replica of the Schörling 2R rearloader.

In his making-of article (pdf), Bode confesses that he’s been fascinated by the compactor since he was a kid: “I think there is some kind of magic about this packer because it moves so stolidly (sic) and calm no matter what you throw in there.” He started with cardboard models of the compactor, but in 2009 he finally decided to make one that works just like the original. He ended up making a 1:11 scale replica using aluminum and steel. It takes its time, but the tiny compactor actually works. The video below shows it taking on some aluminum cans.

Aaaand we just spent a few minutes looking at a miniature trash compactor crush some cans which we could have just as easily crushed with our hands (or heads.) Thanks Internet! There’s more where that came from. Check out Bode’s YouTube channel for additional videos of the replica.

[via Darius Bode (pdf) via Classic Refuse Trucks via Doobybrain]

I’ve shared a couple of wild concepts for cameras here before. This one made by students from the University of Design Schwäbisch Gmünd is also highly unusual, but it’s also something that might actually make sense for most photographers. It’s called the Aspekt, an MILC camera with swappable components.

As you can see in the image above, Gabriel Brückner, Johanna Gedeon, Christoph Hiebinger, Bianca Koch and Jessica Lederer imagine the Aspekt as having separate components for the CPU, the 24mp CMOS sensor, the battery (which is connected to a camera grip) and a viewfinder with an OLED monitor and controls. Other modules that could be added to the Aspekt include a module with a Thunderbolt port and one with slots for external storage.

According to designboom, the team’s main goal with the Aspekt was to design a camera that will “enable users to attach older lenses which are not supported by SLR devices.” But wouldn’t it be neat if you could also upgrade your camera piece by piece like a desktop computer? Or if you could mix and match its parts to suit your needs? Or if it could transform into a giant robot that you’ll use to defend Earth from an alien race, only for you to find out later on that you’re half-human and half said alien race, so you venture to your other home planet and abolish the oppressive class system there with the help of your giant camera robot?

[via designboom]