Hasta La Gadget!

Last month we saw a pair of custom R2-D2 heels that used components from a toy Artoo to light up and make sounds. Instructables member Seamster used the same tactic but instead of making a shoe, he made a bra that some of you might have been looking for.

Seamster made two pairs of ‘bot bras, one dubbed the “R2-DD2″. The first one uses duct tape for the dome and is relatively easy to make, while the one pictured here has a dome made of papier-mâché and wood fillings. It’s harder to make but as you can see the end result is really cool. Though it doesn’t look very comfortable.

Head to Seamster’s Instructables page to find out how to make one of these awesome bras. C-3PO must be so jealous of Artoo.

[via Geek Crafts]

To all the people who keep on asking me for instructions on building a replica of Iron Man’s arc reactor (or Wonder Woman’s invisible jet): a) my offer was clearly a joke, b) for the millionth time, I didn’t make the arc reactor, this guy did and c) you’d be better off buying this T-shirt from ThinkGeek. It’s a black t-shirt with a chest-mounted light that looks like the arc reactor in Iron Man 3.

Unlike Tony Stark’s arc reactor, the one on this t-shirt doesn’t provide power. In fact it needs three AAA batteries for it just to light up. The chest panel is connected to a battery box via a cable, but I don’t know where the battery box is located. I hope it’s not too big that you’ll have to tuck it into your pants pocket or something.

You can order the t-shirt from ThinkGeek for $30 (USD). No instructions or assembly required.

If the folks behind Sandboxr have their way, someday you won’t have to wait or hunt for figurines of your favorite game character. You’ll just log in to a website or even a mobile app, pick the character and order a 3D printed statue of it. You’ll even be able to customize its pose and accessories. It sounds too good to be true, but you can help make it real.

3D printing your own figurine is nothing new. Some of you may have used FigurePrints to get a replica of your Minecraft world or World of Warcraft character. Last month we also featured Autodesk123D Creature, which lets you make your own character and then order a 3D print right from your iPad. What should set Sandboxr apart are two things. First and most important of all is the company’s dream of becoming a central platform for 3D printing videogame characters, like a Steam for videogame figurines.

MAKE has a neat example of how Sandboxr could be integrated into videogames: “Imagine a game where every time you defeat a boss, you unlock that character’s model in Sandboxr. You can then order a print as a trophy rack, or fashion them wearing a tutu, signifying your total dominance of your enemies. Or a game could allow you to pose and outfit your in-game character in their best gear.” How awesome would that be?

The second potentially big thing about Sandboxr is in how it lets you tweak character models before you have them printed. They made it so you can run through a character’s various animations and then freeze the pose that you like. Imagine having your own unique Link statue. Or owning statues of the Team Fortress 2 characters in hilarious poses.

Right now Sandboxr is in closed beta, which you can get into by pledging at least $5 (USD) into their Kickstarter. As of this writing they’ve only raised a little over $14,000, way below their $125,000 goal. But the state of their Kickstarter is not why I’m not so optimistic about this service. It’s just that I don’t see major game publishers partnering with Sandboxr. Why would they do that when they can start their own similar service and keep all the money for themselves?

Indie games could be all over Sandboxr, but they don’t have the reach or appeal of mainstream games that Sandboxr needs to grow and prosper. For example, Sandboxr has already partnered with Supervillain Studios, maker of Tower Wars, Order Up! and Fat Princess. They’re good games, but I’m sure more gamers would rather order a Magikarp, Nathan Drake or Master Chief statue. Without in-demand game characters, Sandboxr loses much of its appeal.

But I am wondering if Sandboxr can become the deviantART of 3D models, i.e. a community of artists who upload “fan-made 3D models” of copyrighted characters that people can then order as statues. Or will deviantART get there first?

[via MAKE]

Dwarven Forge is known in the tabletop gaming world as a provider of high quality miniature terrain. But with high quality comes a high price tag. Until now. The company has launched a Kickstarter fundraiser for their new product called Game Tiles. They’re more affordable that Dwarven Forge’s current sets but are still durable and beautiful.

As you can see the tiles are meant to evoke a dungeon setting. Each set of Game Tiles is made of 34 pieces, which consists of straight walls, corner walls, floors and swinging doors. With the exception of the doors, all of the pieces have a 2″ x 2″ area, so you can rearrange them as you see fit and even combine multiple sets together. Game Tiles will come in two variants: one that’s been pre-painted and one with a uniform dark gray finish.

Here’s Dwarven Forge’s Kickstarter pitch:

Pledge at least $65 (USD) on Kickstarter to get a set of Game Tiles. I don’t even play tabletop RPGs anymore and I still want a set.

[via Geekosystem]

Etsy seller and fan of our sister site The Awesomer, Gerald Von Bargen recently pointed us to one of his wares. It’s a wooden cutting board engraved with the periodic table of the elements! I’m not sure if the table will come in handy while you’re preparing a meal, as I am sure that you shouldn’t be eating half of what’s listed on there.

The cutting board is available in maple, white oak, beech and walnut. You can also customize the board and have your name and initials take the spot of the 118th element Ununoctium.

As you can see in the gallery Gerard can also make a personalized cutting board by using symbols of the elements to form a word of your choice. You can order any of these cutting boards from his Etsy store Elysium Woodworks for $45 (USD) each.