Hasta La Gadget!

The Tauntaun was the best way to get around the frigid surface of the ice planet Hoth. It was also the place to keep warm if you were hypothermic, assuming you have a friend with a lightsaber ready to cut the beast open. ThinkGeek has a cute little Tauntaun plush that you don’t have to gut to keep you comfy at bedtime.

The little stuffed animal looks like a cuter cartoon version than the rather ugly horned animal Luke rode in The Empire Strikes Back. When you squeeze the stuffed animal it makes authentic sounding noises that you’ll recognize from the film. You know, things like “RRREREOREROOERRRRR….”

The plush toys were made for Star Wars Celebration Europe II, and carry that name on the foot. Each one measures 12-inches toes to ears and 15-inches nose to tail.

ThinkGeek says that these are very limited edition and once they’re gone, no more will be produced. So put on your warmest winter garb and head over there now to pick up your own stuffed Tauntaun for $29.99(USD).

I wonder if you could install a zipper into its chest and stick your Luke Skywalker action figure inside.

This giant Cthulhu plush toy is great for so many things. It’s decorative of course, can be used as a kids seat, a giant pillow with arms that wrap around you, and even crib decor as seen here. Of course you risk scarring your child for life.

So what if your child never ever goes for a swim. That’s nothing next to the fun you’ll have scaring him or her with this giant beast. It even has a freakish gaping mouth that looks as scary as the rest of it. This crazy huge Cthulhu monster was made by Etsy seller KfiatekGiftedHands and it certainly makes a statement in your nursery.

Unfortunately, this thing will cost you a wallet-eating $460(USD) or so. On top of that, you need to pay to have it shipped from the U.K. Hey giant Cthulhus don’t come cheap.

[via Creepbay]

Technabob contributing author Conner Flynn has a hidden talent – and I’m not talking about walking and chewing gum at the same time. The man knows his way around an Atari 2600 like it’s nobody’s business. Now it’s been a while since he built his epic Atari 2600 guitar, but his latest mod looks like it was worth the wait… I give you Atar-E…

Conner found this Wall-E Learning Laptop at a thrift shop, but he didn’t see a laptop at all (neither do I). Instead, he saw the home for his next portable Atari 2600 mod. Inspired by the modding prowess of Ben Heck and Bacteria, he tore apart the Wall-E toy and gutted it.

His design incorporates an actual Atari 2600 circuit board, along with authentic Atari woodgrain pieces. He went off the board with the controller and used an NES D-Pad instead of a traditional Atari joystick. Isn’t that sacrilege? Dogs and Cats sleeping together!

The controller replaced the original keyboard found on the toy, and he even rigged it so the controller section can still fold shut when there’s no cartridge in place. One thing Conner struggled with was where to put a battery pack for the system, so he gave Wall-E a little backpack. Isn’t that cute?

Games are displayed on a tiny color LCD screen, mounted where the monochrome display on the original toy was located. On the one hand, you’ll have to squint a bit to play on this thing, on the other hand, the pixelated 8-bit graphics look so much better when they’re shrunk down like this.

While it would probably take you a ton of work to try and build one of these for yourself, Conner says he may soon list it for sale over on his online toy store over at Botropolis, so keep your eyes peeled. On second thought, peeled eyes sound like a really bad idea.

[via Botropolis]

I haven’t played The Last of Us yet – RIP, PS3, you served me well! – but from what I’ve heard about it anyone who’s played the game needs a massive dose of sunshine and rainbows afterwards. These plush dolls of Joel and Ellie should help.

These adorable post-apocalyptic survivors were made by deviantART member viciouspretty. She said that The Last of Us was the reason she bought a PS3. She’s made a lot of chibi-style dolls, but she got burnt out and took a break. Then her husband suggested that she make a doll of Joel, knowing that she loved The Last of Us’ male protagonist.

Look at those cute little bricks. They’re perfect for tossing at plush clickers. Of course, once she made a Joel doll she had to make one of Ellie. They go together like fungus-infected peanut butter & jelly.

I’m sad that I don’t get that comic book reference. Grab your supplies and head to deviantART to see more of viciouspretty’s work. Her Mass Effect dolls are good enough to be official merch.

[via ALBOTAS]

Last year, Hasbro reinvented 1998’s hottest stuffed holiday sensation for the early 21st century. Furby got a full-on reboot, bringing improved locomotion, wireless communication, a tablet app and some vaguely creepy glowing eyes to the robotic pet. The toy company opted not to wait another decade and a half for an update, offering up Furby Boom for the world to see today. On the surface, the update looks a fair amount like last year’s model — same moving beak, glowing eyes (with more emotional options) and twitching pointy ears. This time out, however, the company’s offering “six fashion forward patterns” on its fur, including waves and zigzags, with more coming later in the year. Things have been souped up a bit inside, including more on-board storage.

The real upgrades, however, are mostly on the software side of things. The new Furby Boom app, which is coming to iOS and Android, ups the ante for Furby activities. Owners can use it to name their Furby — a name the toy its Furby friends will learn. It also requires some standard pet maintenance, featuring meters for health, hunger, cleanliness and, yes, bathroom breaks. If your Furby gets low on any of the above, you’ll have to help it out. We’ll save the graphic description for the video after the break, because really, why read about a Furby taking a dump, when you can watch it in glorious 720p?

Filed under: Robots

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