We can’t do anything about that but wait, although you have the option of stoking the fire of anticipation by watching the teaser again and again. Or reading up on the movie over and over. Or you can just head on over to The Big Bad Toy Store and get your very own Dark Knight Mr. Potato Head.

Dark Knight Mr. Potato Head

If you are a fan of spuds, then you will need no convincing to get this toy. If you don’t have a single Mr. Potato Head in your home, what better time to start collecting them than now?

You have two options: Standard Grade and Collector’s Grade. The former will give you:

• The item is brand-new, in mint condition, and sealed inside its packaging.
• Packaging condition is verified to be 80% mint (C8), or better.
• Standard Grade items are suitable to display in the package, or to open.

For the latter, you’ll have:

• The item is brand-new, in mint condition, and sealed inside mint packaging.
• Packaging condition is verified to be 90% mint (C9), or better.
• If you upgrade, our warehouse will carefully choose items in mint condition.
• Each item will be wrapped in a clear poly-bag for protection during shipping.
• Collector’s Grade items are meant to be displayed in their packaging.

You only need to add $2 to get the Collector’s Grade toy.

The Dark Knight Mr. Potato Head is available on pre-order basis and is estimated to be available by June 2012. If you order from The Big Bad Toy Store now, you get a $2 discount from the list price of $19.99. That should leave you with enough to get the upgrade.

Occupy Cybertron

Sucklord has taken an interest in the Occupy Movement and has combined the concept with something everyone can relate to: the Transformers. So what do you get when you put together these two ideas? Occupy Cybertron, what else?

The project is taking on the form of a toy exhibit in New York, with toy figures wearing business suits topped off by Decepticon touches.

Occupy Cybertron Decepticons

Of course, it is obvious that what Sucklord is doing is rife with negative repercussions. He is tackling one of the most controversial topics today after all. To this, he said: “I thought long and hard and nearly pulled the plug on this release, for fear of running afoul of the movement. I’m squarely in the camp of the 99 percent, and I know it’s anathema to the movement to profit off of it, so I want to make my intentions clear before anyone makes any snap judgments.”

Now I don’t know if that explanation will make the Occupy camp happy, but you cannot deny that there is an appeal to Occupy Cybertron, can you?

Sucklord is not new to the toy scene. He is, in fact, one of the most well known names in his niche today, and if you would like to get your hands on some of his work (or at least discover what else he has to offer), visit the Suckadelic.

DNA Plushies

Having a teddy bear when you 20 plus or 30 plus is one thing, but having a set of these DNA plushies is a whole different thing. I discovered these DNA plushies on Kickstarter, and I just knew I had to post about them. (Aside: I do love Kickstarter!) The project of Jun Axup, the DNA plushies are not only cute and come in different colors, but they also bond magnetically where they are supposed to bond in real life! How’s that for scientifically sound DNA plushies?

You may not know the ins and outs of DNA – I don’t – but the idea of having these plushies is a cool one. They can not only serve as decoration, but in case you throw a party at home, you will have at least one conversation piece. And if you put them on your desk in the office, you are sure to catch the eye of that geeky person you have been wanting to talk to for eons.

Let’s do a quick review about DNA, shall we? According to Axup:

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is the most fundamental component in our biology and is composed of 4 bases: Adenine (green), Thymine (red), Guanine (black), and Cytosine (blue).  Furthermore, the bases interact with each other via hydrogen bonds (accomplished by magnets) to form base pairs.  Adenine and Thymine form a base pair via 2 bonds while Guanine and Cytosine form via 3 bonds. 

To give you an idea of the size of the DNA plushies, take a look at this photo.

DNA Plushies Size

Haunted Dollhouse

I have never been one to play with dollhouses or dolls. I think that the last set of dolls I got when I was a kid didn’t survive for very long. There is, however, this certain dollhouse that I certainly would not mind having around. In a separate room that is always well lit.

I don’t know if you have heard of The Bloggess, who is known as Jenny Lawson in real life. She has been working on a dollhouse for the past 11 years. So what is special about that (aside from the fact that 11 years is a very long time for a dollhouse)?

Well, this is no ordinary dollhouse. Forget sugar and spice and everything nice. Forget pretty in pink. This is a haunted dollhouse, down to every single detail. More than being haunted, the dollhouse draws inspiration from various fantasy and horror books. If I didn’t get drawn in from the photo of the dollhouse from the outside, this little detail totally suckered me in, hook, line, and sinker.

Dragon Hutch

A haunted dollhouse would certainly not be complete without dragons, would it?

Then there is the attic, which draws inspiration from Harry Potter, among many other things. You recognize Hedwig, of course, and whatever that thing in the mirror is, it sure is freaky.

Dollhouse Attic

There is even a witch cum herbologist, complete with a potion book.

Witch

And what haunted house would be complete without at least one hidden passage? It is amazing how The Bloggess incorporates these details!

Hidden Passage

It seems that The Bloggess likes her Edgar Allan Poe. Can you spot the references in the two photos that follow?

Cask of Amontillado

The Raven

So are you impressed or what? If these photos are not enough to get you interested, then I don’t know what will. For more awe inspiring photos, visit Kirtsy.

Since Puella Magi Madoka Magica aired, its mascot character, Kyubey, has been a big hit with anime fans around the world. This little alien cat-thing looks cute and adorable, but he’s actually a devilishly sly dealer of magical girl powers and miracles. Of course, Kyubey doesn’t just give out magical powers and miracles for free; everything comes with a price, and when fans found out what the price was, Kyubey’s status in the anime world was upgraded to one of a demon.
With such a controversial character, it was only a matter of time before companies found a way to sell people their very own Kyubeys. Whether you want one because it’s cute or so you can use it as a punching bag, here are four Kyubeys that you may be tempted to sign a contract with.

Medicom Plush Kyubey

This is probably the plainest Kyubey you can get. Manufactured by Medicom, this plush toy Kyubey is 40cm tall and comes at a price of ¥3800 ($50). The gold rings around the hands that stick out of his ears look a bit flimsy to me, but I’m sure Kyubey would just restore his body if you damaged it somehow. This plush toy was originally release September 2011.

Cube Hugging Pillow Kyubey

This pillow by Cube is probably what you want if you want a punching bag that looks like Kyubey, or something to sleep with and give you nightmares. The hugging pillow Kyubey is probably the largest Kyubey you can get, measuring 90cm in length. It retails for ¥7600 ($100) and will be released in December 2011.

Chara-Ani Cushion Kyubey

Another Kyubey product is this cushion of Kyubey’s face by Chara-Ani. I don’t know anyone who would be able to stand that demonic stare for very long, but you can just sit on it if you get creeped out. This cushion sells for ¥3333 ($43) and was released in August 2011.

Good Smile Company Soft Vinyl Figure Kyubey

Good Smile Company, known for its PVC figures, went with a 1:1 scale reproduction of Kyubey. Standing at 23cm and 35cm long, this thing is massive as far as figures go. Since it’s made out of plastic, it’s much more detailed than a plush toy, but far heavier. This Kyubey retails for ¥10000 ($130) and was originally released in July 2011. Good Smile Company also states that if you display Kyubey somewhere at home, he might grant your wish, very tempting indeed.

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

I actually cannot believe that I hadn’t seen this collection earlier – it has been on Flickr for about a month now; but since we’re all without new episodes of Game of Thrones, I thought it would be fun to take a look at these Game of Thrones LEGO minifigs. Technically, I think it should be A Song of Ice and Fire Minifigs, but most of the characters are in the TV series as well. Those that are not are bound to show up sooner or later. So yeah, there are some characters that will be unfamiliar to those who have not read the books.

Here are my favorite Game of Thrones LEGO minifigs. Look and drool.

The Stark Family

Game of Thrones LEGO Minifigs The Stark Family

Alright, time for a pop quiz. Name each family member in the image!

Jon Snow and Arya Stark

Game of Thrones LEGO Minifigs Jon Snow and Arya Stark

There’s no need to guess with this. I have not read Dance with Dragons yet, so I don’t know what has happened to Jon Snow and Arya Stark, but I am willing to bet that they will remain alive till the end of the series. What do you think?

Daenerys and Her Men

Game of Thrones LEGO Minifigs Daenerys, Jorah, and Drogo

The Lannisters

Game of Thrones LEGO Minifigs The Lannister Family

The Baratheon Brothers

Game of Thrones LEGO Minifigs The Baratheon Brothers

The Clegane Brothers

Game of Thrones LEGO Minifigs The Clegane Brothers

I could go on and on about these minifigs, but you can see all of them over at Dufresne07‘s Flicker account. Unfortunately, they are not for sale. What remains then is for you to go and get busy creating your own minifigs. That or convince the owner to sell.

Adult fascination with LEGOs never seems to die.  We’ve profiled the creation of a massive LEGO “Garrison of Moriah” by a Star Wars fan and the construction of an equally large LEGO replica of the “Love Boat” by a fan of the television show with the same name.  Now a fan of The Lord of the Rings has unveiled his own LEGO creation, The Dark Tower (Barad-Dûr), built for Brick World 2011.

For those unfamiliar with the story, Barad-dûr, also known as the Dark Tower, was the Dark Lord Sauron’s main stronghold in Middle-earth. Built during the Second Age, it was destroyed at the end of the War of the Ring.

Kevin Walter, LEGO and LOTR lover, built the tower pictured below out of the tiny bricks.  Unfortunately there isn’t an exact count of how many bricks Walter used in his masterpiece, but from his Flickr account  one learns that the tower measures 175 cm, or almost 6 feet tall!

He looks more tired than pleased with the finished product, no?

For more pictures of Walter’s “Dark Tower” click here.

Which LEGO creation, the LEGO “Garrison of Moriah,” the LEGO replica of the “Love Boat” or the LEGO “Dark Tower,” do you find most impressive?

Neatorama

Radio-controlled (RC) cars are super. The self-powered miniature cars or trucks controlled using a remote emitting a radio-frequency connecting both car and controller remain as neat today as they were when appearing on the Christmas list of yours truly for a decade during my youth. Now, thanks to technological advances, RC car love may skyrocket all because of lasers!

Certainly the current method of controlling an RC car is neat, but RC car controllers lack lasers. Two new RC cars for two different age groups, both young and old, want to zap some life into the RC industry.

The Lazer Stunt Chaser from Flair is a super-fast stunt car guided by a laser beam:

“These “light controlled” stunt cars literally chase projected light from an infrared remote that you control. They can be used in the dark or in full daylight, but if you want the light-up wheels to have the maximum impact then you’ll probably want to turn the lights down low.”

The Thomas and Friends Follow Me Thomas train uses the same laser pointer with the train following the laser as you move it around:

“Lead Thomas on his way! When you point and move the light from the lantern Thomas follows along. Press the lantern’s buttons for programmed moves including a circle, figure 8 and zigzag patterns. Hear engine sounds and phrases as Thomas chugs along!”

The Lazer Stunt Chaser will cost around $42 USD when it arrives in late July, with the Follow Me Thomas running $39.99 available in August.

Are you an RC car fan? Which laser-guided toy, if any, would you be more likely to purchase?

Saga of Crystar, Crystal Warrior #3

Newsarama today have posted an article entitled “TRANSFORMERS & Beyond: 5 Best Marvel TOY Comics”, yet I have to take issue with their choices. To my mind, they have missed out one of the very best toy-linked titles of all time.

Although no one can deny the quality of the Micronauts, ‘They come from Inner Space’; or Rom, Spaceknight, the latter of which I have sung praises about previously, there was another toy character that seemed to get lost in the shuffle.

Back in 1983, The Saga Of Crystar, Crystal Warrior only lasted for eleven issues, and like most toys was based on quite a simple concept. Beings of crystal fighting beings of lava. Set in an alternate, fantasy style world of Crystallium, the comic followed the release of the toys the previous autumn, and so like many, I had assumed it was a licensed property, the trademarks resting with the toy company Remco.

So researching this morning for this post, I was surprised to learn that according to the ever-infallible Wikipedia, the entire concept was wholly created and owned by Marvel, who had the express intent to license this to a toy company.

Those eleven issues for a teenager like me (at the time) had great characterisation, and all the requisite dramatic themes. The forces of Chaos versus Order; the poisonous rivalry between brothers, in this case princes of the realm that tear the country apart, numerous love interests; and even more importantly for me at that age, guest appearances from Doctor Strange, Nightcrawler and Alpha Flight.

This was my first exposure to the art of Bret Blevins, which I have to note had a dramatically different style to his later work in New Mutants. Remember that cartoony style during the Bird Boy saga and the Fall of the Mutants era? This was nothing like that. Combined with phenomenal colouring for the time, this had an epic feel to it, sort of like a more shadowed and dirty George Perez, said shadow giving an impression comparable to a lot of the Lord Of The Rings art books that were floating around in that time.

I must say, if Crystar and his fellows remain in Marvel ownership, which they most obviously do, then why is it that we have never seen another appearance of this cast? With such iconic themes, they would easily provide a backdrop for a story of many of the more popular teams. After all, if Marvel can reference the Space Knights or Baron Karza and other members of the Micronauts cast even after those trademarks have long flown the coop, then why not Crystar?

The reason brother versus brother plots keep reappearing is because they last the test of time; we love this stuff. Marvel continually tries to honour its history; even retcons only reinterpret what has gone before rather than ignoring it.

So why not Crystar? Let’s see him again, and soon.

NERF Vulcan

Non-Expanding Recreational Foam. NERF. Nerf. Call it how you wish. This toy line created by Parker Brothers (and now owned by Hasbro) has fascinated kids of all ages since the 70s and continues to be a rather popular choice these days. In fact, I have been frequenting toy stores recently, and I was really surprised to see all the different kinds of NERF guns available. I am not complaining, but I kind of miss those good old days when a simple gun (the toy kind, of course) was all that was needed.

Anyhow, with countless people having fond memories of NERF (not to mention people who continue to create new encounters with the toys), I thought it was brilliant that Rhett Allain of Wired conducted his own study regarding the physics behind NERF bullets.

While we all know that NERF guns just might be the safest – not to mention most fun – toy guns there are, I am sure that there are parents out there who still have safety concerns. With the guns getting bigger and more complicated (some spewing out bullets in quick succession), there is a practical application for Allain’s study. Then again, figuring out the safety issues should be done by the designers and testers as Hasbro. Let’s just talk about Allain’s report for the sheer fun of it!

Armed with a belt-fed NERF gun (naturally), a video camera, and Tracker Video (for analysis), he had some fun shooting the gun. Analysis came after, to determine launch speeds and other physic-ky data. The results? For the one shot, he got an initial velocity of 8.73 m/s. That’s not enough to seriously hurt someone, is it? (Ergo, NERF guns are totally safe.) Here’s the graphical representation of the data.

X Position

He also did other tests firing two belts’ worth of darts and got an average of 10.4 m/s with a standard deviation of 1.5 m/s.

X Velocity Two Belts

Another interesting result: the angle of the gun didn’t make much of a difference.

As I said, you might not be able to use the data in a lot of practical applications (except for convincing the “adults” that NERF guns are cool and safe toys), but it’s still fun to look into the details.

Oh, and in case you want to do your own tests, here is the video which Allain took.

Photo via animakitty

If there’s one thing missing from this world it has to be electronic cat’s ears that perk up or flatten according to one’s mood.  Fortunately humanity no longer has to wait for such a splendid creation to arrive thanks to Japanese inventors.

All one has to do is attach the fur-covered device to one’s head and the ears are programmed to react to your mood.

The toy, known as Necomimi, features brainwave sensors and depending on your mood, the ears flatten or stand at attention just like those of a real cat!  Splendid, I know.

Neurowear’s Kana Nakano:

“We were exploring new ways of communicating and we thought it would be interesting to use brainwaves,” said Neurowear’s Kana Nakano.

“Because the sensors must be attached to the head, we tried to come up with something cute and catchy.”

The video below shows the prototype Necomimi, developed in black in white versions (what no calico?) using a sensor produced by a company in Silicon Valley.

Tomonori Kagaya, a member of the team behind the product:

“Brainwave sensors used for medical equipment cost several million yen, but falling costs have allowed people like us to seek interesting ways to use them.”

Neurowear has yet to set a price for the Necomimi, but hopes release the product by the end of the year.  The question is, will you buy one?

BBC

Rubik’s Cube.  A  puzzle created in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of Ernő Rubik.  The multi-colored brick has been purchased more than 350 million times since its release, making it the world’s best-selling puzzle game and one of the world’s most popular toys.

Rubik’s Cube is a difficult puzzle to solve.  Despite giving it my best, rarely (once) have I been successful in defeating the little devil toy.   Even when provided with a guide to aid one in solving the puzzle, it remains vexing.

Attempting to demonstrate the superiority of robots (what other explanation could there be?), students at Swinburne University of Technology have created what they believe to be the world’s fastest Rubik’s Cube-solving robot.  The cleverly named robot, “Ruby,” can complete a Rubik’s Cube in a little more than 10 seconds.

Professor Chris Pilgrim, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Information and Communication Technologies describes how Ruby works,

“Ruby works by scanning each face of a scrambled cube through a web cam.  It then uses a software algorithm to develop a solution which is fed to the high-speed robot through a real-time embedded control system. The students’ combined expertise in robotics and software engineering enabled them to construct a robot with a fast computer vision-tracking system capable of very high precision movements and timings.”

While claiming Ruby is the Rubik’s Cube robot Queen, the 10 second record remains unofficial. However, the students behind the project are attempting to have Ruby’s speed deemed a Guinness World Record.  The world’s fastest Rubik’s Cube solving robot, the Cubinator, was able to solve a scrambled Rubik’s Cube in 18.2 seconds, which remains the current standard for robots.

Unfortunately the speed of Ruby is sloth-like slow in comparison to the world record for a human.  Currently the fast single time on a 3×3×3 Rubik’s Cube is held by Feliks Zemdegs with a time of 6.24 seconds.

Have you tried to solve a Rubik’s Cube?  Do you consider yourself a Rubik’s Cube savant or does the little brick baffle you?

Techspot

Legos, provided you can find the little bricks needed to complete a project, provide hours of fun. Whether it’s building a pirate ship, a national landmark, or simply free-form design, Legos are simply a joy, for children.

Gerry Burrows dispels the notion (perhaps a personal one of yours truly) that Legos are for children with his “Garrison of Moriah,” housed in a 540-square-foot room, the “Lego room.”

A fan of Legos since childhood, his dream of building something massive using Legos finally became a reality. In an interview with Wired UK Burrows states:

“I entered what Lego fans call ‘The Dark Ages’ — where I didn’t do anything with Lego — but when I graduated college and bought my first house, I unpacked a box of my old Lego bricks. I started thinking how I now have the money and space to actually build the things I wanted to build — without a little sister to rampage through my Lego creations.”

And Burrows, despite the massive size of the project, indicates the creation isn’t complete:

“It’s still growing. The bridge isn’t complete, nor is the other end of the bridge. And I’m building a fleet of custom ships.”

How large is the project? The Garrison of Moriah is 28 feet long, between 24 inches and 59 inches deep and measures between 6.5 to 12 feet tall.

How did Burrows create the Garrison of Moriah?

“Nothing ever touched paper or computer. But as I would start to build and focus on individual structures, I would spend time thinking of the specific structures’ design. As I built I would get inspiration on cool directions to take.”

Is Burrows creation one of the more amazing Lego creations you’ve seen? What other Lego structures have you encountered which merit profiling?

As a child my mother didn’t have the disposable income necessary to provide my brother and I with the latest and greatest toys on the market. Instead, on rare occasions we received a G.I. Joe action figure, but more often than not we were presented with a plastic bag of small, green, army figures. These figures and our imagination occupied much of our formative years.

Be Your Own Souvenir, upon reading up on the project and watching the video below, instantly brought those tiny plastic toys and my youth to mind.

From the creators behind Be Your Own Souvenir, Barcelona’s BlablaLab:

“This proposal aims to connect street users, arts and science, linking them to under-laying spaces and their own realities. The installation was enjoyed during two weekends in January 2011 by the tourists, neighbours of La Rambla and citizens of Barcelona.”

Using 3 Kinect sensors and openKinect, Be Your Own Souvenir scans people in real-time and generates a miniature figurine. Absolutely amazing.

According to BlablaLab:

“All the software used in this project is free and open. Custom software has been developed using openFrameworks and openKinect in order to produce a tunable full 360 degree point cloud. Using a midi controller, the three different input pointclouds (3 Kinects) can be adjusted in space and resolution. The resulting combined point cloud is processed by Meshlab to produce a mesh reconstruction. Skeinforge takes the mesh, previously cleaned up through Blender, and outputs a gcode file, which can feed a cnc machine (Rapman 3.1).”

While not available for mass use at present, as soon as it is, I for one will rush to wherever the machine is setup and have my own figurine created.

What about you? What pose would you strike for the miniature you created?

NotCot

Be Your Own Souvenir! from blablabLAB on Vimeo.

I haven’t folded paper in ages and haven’t even really thought about paper airplanes. Then I discovered this site called Paper Airplanes HQ via Reddit. I don’t know if the term “paper airplane geek” even exists, but since everyone is a “something geek” these days, why not? In any case, this site is a veritable treasure trove of paper airplane designs – all of which actually fly. You just need to know how to make the proper folds and how to throw them in the air the right way.

Check out some of these designs that I know I would never have thought possible.

Jet and Bomber Airplanes

These designs draw inspiration from modern day jet fighters and bombers.

SSTs and Stealth Airplanes

These paper airplanes are modeled after stealth and super sonic transport aircraft.

Starships

And saving the best for last – starships of the likes that you can see in your favorite sci-fi show.

Needless to say, many of these designs require a high degree of accuracy when folding. They are a tad more complex than the usual paper airplanes that we used to make as kids, but the next time your electric power goes out and you find yourself having nothing to do, grab a stack of paper and start folding! All designs come with specific instructions for folding.

Leigh Nunan and I made a talking plush Turret from Portal. It can sense when you’re there, when you pick it up, and when you knock it over, and it responds appropriately.

For more information, visit

http://upnotnorth.net/projects/portal-turret-plushie/

Valve nailed it with Portal 2. GLaDOS, Atlas & Peabody, Cave Johnson, Wheatley and yes, the sing-song Turrets. This is a plush toy Turret with built in motion sensors that emotes our favorite lines when you pass in front of it, topple it or lift it off the ground. Please mass produce.

I don’t know if you are familiar with a toy company called Palisades that created Muppet Show Character figures almost a decade ago, but they stopped production in 2006. They also released some playsets, but many toys which were in the works never materialized due to the company’s bankruptcy. Being the Muppets enthusiast that he is, Lance Cardinal decided to go ahead and create his own playset.

The result? Something that belongs to our Dept. of Awesomeness! Here are a few images Lance’s blog entry about the completed project.

Looking at those images, you will not be able to help but notice the attention to detail. I may not know much about the playsets that Palisades has released, but Lance’s work looks nothing but professional, don’t you think? If this project has impressed the Muppet fan in you, then you should follow what Lance is doing as he is planning on creating more in the future (Musicians pit for Muppet Theatre, box seats for Statler and Waldorf, opening arches for Muppet Theatre, Muppet Labs (From TV series, not the Palisades Muppet 3D version), Fozzie’s comedy Backdrop, and Vetrinarians Hospital – to name a few).

I usually despise April Fool’s Day pranks, but this one is so awesome, I wish it was real. I would totally play with this with my kids. It’s a miniature Apple Store in the form of a Playmobil playset.

This thing looks so real, it would be easy to believe it is. I don’t know how they pulled off such an amazing fake, but it’s sprinkled with all kinds of awesome. The sales floor is perfect, down to the wooden tables with iPads and MacBooks on top, along with the friendly staff members with their lanyard-style nametags. There’s a kids’ area, where Mom and Dad can drop off the younguns while they drool over the sexy, stainless steel electronics. There’s a Genius Bar, where the happy nerds fix computers.

And there’s even a “Keynote Theater,” where Steve Jobs himself is giving his recent press conference about the iPad 2. ThinkGeek — who created this incredible hoax — says that you can use your own iPhone 4 as the screen behind Jobs in the Keynote Theater.

My favorite feature has to be the “Optional Line Pack,” a collection of Playmobil characters that you can arrange as a long line of customers waiting outside the store. Best part: the Woz is in the line, waiting atop his Segway. After all, what would an Apple Store line be without the Woz?

Earlier today, George R.R. Martin published a note on Facebook, leaking images of the newest batch of miniatures from the series. I think it’s perfect timing, with a lot of people getting excited about the HBO series. Here’s a sneak peek.

This is King Robert, way back when he was young and fit. We aren’t going to see him in the same light in the HBO series.

Maester Luwin, who is one of the cornerstones of Winterfell. Martin gives this design a thumbs up and tells us to take a close look at the maester’s chain that he is wearing: “Purists should take special note of the maester’s chain about Luwin’s neck. Tom’s is the most accurate visualization of the chain-of-many-metals I have seen to date. This is how I have always pictured these chains, and how I described them in my books. (though I should mention that Pycelle’s chain is much grander, larger, and more ostentatious, him being the GRAND Maester and all).”

Benjen Stark, the First Ranger of the Night’s Watch and younger brother of Lord Eddard Stark. He is one of the lesser known characters in the series, but his role is significant nonetheless.

Here’s a closer look at the details.

This is Lady Lysa Arryn , the younger sister of Lady Catelyn Stark. She isn’t one of my favorite characters, but the figure is worth including in this post, I think.

Bronn is the sellsword that hooks up with Tyrion Lannister’s band. I think it’s pretty much how I envisioned this cocky mercenary.

Obviously, the figures are not completed yet, but if these images are anything to go by, they should be as awesome as the older figures I wrote about last year: Song of Ice and Fire Miniatures by Dark Sword.

Pennsylvania resident Jerry Greene really likes toy trains.

So much so that the retired record producer spent 50 years amassing what’s believed to be the world’s largest collection of toy trains, train stations, and related models. He attended thousands of toy fairs and shows to build this antiques-filled collection piece-by-piece. Kept secret until recently, Greene has placed the entire lot up for sale through famous auction house Sotheby’s, but he’s not selling it piecemeal, and he’s not auctioning it to the highest bidder. Greene will only sell it as a complete collection in a private sale.

Sotheby’s has 20% of the “Jerni Collection,” as they’ve dubbed it, on display at their headquarters in New York through the end of February. And get this: the exhibit takes up an entire floor of the building. The collection is comprised of classic toys from between 1850 to 1940, some of which are very rare and all of which are in excellent condition, and tops 35,000 total pieces. Sotheby’s says the toys come from every major European and American manufacturer that operated during the “Golden Age” of toy manufacturing, including toy makers like Märklin, Bing, Ernst Plank Carette, and Rock & Graner.

While Sotheby’s is staying mum on the collection’s asking price, they estimated it to be worth more than $50 million. Greene’s given no reason for why he’s decided to sell it. Maybe he’s broke from buying so many toys.

Activision is betting big this coming Christmas on a new convergence video game-slash-toy set called Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure, which brings the popular purple dragon Spyro into a whole new realm. The $70 title comes with a full video game, a “Portal of Power” device, and 30 collectible toy figurines that can interface directly with the game.

The key to the experience is the toys, which are more than just standard action figures. The toys have memory chips inside that allow them to interact with the game on multiple gaming platforms, including handheld devices and major consoles, and even the Internet, remembering achievements and your game history wherever they go. Activision has dubbed the Skylanders toys, which are being manufactured by Activision’s wholly-owned toy company Toys for Bob, “Inter-action figures.”

But lest you think it’s all about the toys, the game itself is getting plenty of high level attention as well. Screenwriters Alek Sokolow & Joel Cohen, who worked on the first Toy Story movie, wrote the game’s story, and prolific film score writer Hans Zimmer (The Dark Knight, Inception) provides the music.

The key to the experience is the personalities and powers of the toy characters, each of which is unique and brings different experiences to the game. The game offers drop-in/drop-out capabilities via the toy characters, of which you can use as many as you like in a single game. Kids can play in co-op with friends, or against their friends in PvP mode.

Specific platforms haven’t been announced yet, but with this much money and marketing muscle being pumped into what’s clearly being positioned as the start of a franchise, I have to assume that Activision is planning a full blitz, with versions of the software available for every conceivable device. Toys R Us is even partnering with Activision to market the game. The game will also get a huge push at the annual International Toy Fair, which is set for February 13-16 in New York.

Activision offloaded a slew of screenshots and images of the toys, which you can check out below. Also, the video above gives you an idea of how the game and toys work. The game’s website is at skylandersgame.com.

Who doesn’t remember the Etch a Sketch?  What a wonderful toy from my youth and no doubt the youth of many others.

First introduced at the apex of the post-World War 2 Baby Boom, the Etch a Sketch is one of, if not the, best known toys of that era and of all-time for that matter.

In 2003, the Toy Industry Association, yes there is such an Association, honored the Etch a Sketch with a place in its “Century of Toys List,” as one of the 100 most memorable and creative toys of the 20th century.

One lover of the Etch a Sketch has taken the toy and his computer, combining the two into one amazing creation: a computer controlled by an Etch a Sketch.

According to the creator,

“I was inspired the other day when I meandered round the internet and I saw a lot of Computer controlled etch a sketches, but not a single etch a sketch controller computer. So I put aside my other projects for a night or two and set about actually making one of these things. I’m quite pleased with the results, but you can take it for a test drive yourself, when NortHACKton go to the UK Maker Faire next month.”

So how does the Etch a Sketch modification control the computer?  Simple, a MDF frame was placed over the creator’s LCD monitor, two water bottle caps were added as the knobs of the Etch a Sketch as controllers, with the roller ball from a USB mouse added to aid in controlling the computer.

Is the modification something you’d like for your own computer?  Watch the device in action below and let us know what you think.

(source / NortHACKton)

Twitter isn’t for everyone.  Many pose questions to me daily about the service’s value and even after explaining why I spend the majority of my time on Twitter as opposed to Facebook, they still refuse to at least try Twitter.  

For those on Twitter the product pictured above may be for you.  It’s not for me, explained later.  For those not on Twitter, and who question why one should use it, the product pictured above will steer them further from the site than they already are.

What is the cute little blue and white bear connected to an iPhone and what does it do? It’s a Charatter bear, an item that reads one’s Twitter stream in quite possibly the most annoying voice one could ever imagine.

WiZ, a Japanese toy manufacturer, has unleashed the cute and freakishly sounding little item to the masses for a mere $28 USD.

Depending on how many users one follows, I follow 532 individuals, the Charatter bear will read each and every incoming Tweet to you.  By my count, I’m no math major mind you, that equates to hearing the nightmare-causing voice of the Charatter bear once every 8-12 seconds for as long as you have the little guy up and running.

Lest you think I’m being overly dramatic concerning the bear’s annoying nature, take a look at the video below and then let me know if you find it as frightening as I do, or if you’d purchase a Charatter bear for yourself or another.

There’s this book titled Badass LEGO Guns: Guns 5 Working with LEGO Components! which you can buy from Amazon for only 17.95 euro. Written by Hüdepohl Martin, the book gives you detailed instructions on how to build your own guns using LEGO Technic parts. And, if you think that the guns will only be useful for the display shelves, think again! These guns are fully functional, except that they use LEGO bricks as bullets. Trust me, these are arguably better than the NERF guns I wrote about the other day.

Choose from the following weapons:

1. THRILLER – a crossbow pistol
2. PARA BELLA – this one shoots rubber bands (Oh, fun!)
3. THE WARBEAST – a fully-automatic submachine gun
4. LILIPUTTER – a semi-automatic pistol
5. MINI-THRILLER – a crossbow pistol that folds

Now don’t tell me that doesn’t get you excited? If you need more convincing, this video of the guns in action will no doubt get your blood pumping. Put on your nicest ear phones, please.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

First shown off at CES a few weeks ago, the Hot Wheels Video Racer is every little boy’s dream come true. Who hasn’t played with toy cars and dreamed of taking video of it in-motion, from the perspective of the driver?

The Video Racer has its own little camera inside, pointing straight forward where the car’s grill usually is. Press record, and the Racer will record up to 12 minutes of video. Flip the Racer over, and you’ll find a mini LCD screen on the car’s undercarriage. You can play back your clips instantly on the Racer’s screen, or download your video to your PC or Mac to save them. No idea what the resolution is, but I wouldn’t expect high-def. It can record up to 60 frames per second, though, which isn’t bad.

Mattel is even shipping the Video Racer with its own editor software, which is built with “click-and-drag” simplicity for kids, so they can edit clips, and add sound and effects. (The Racer itself is just a camera — it doesn’t record audio.) An extra accessory will let you clip your Racer to another device like a skateboard or a helmet.

The Hot Wheels Video Racer will go on sale this Fall, in a variety of car models, for a MSRP of $59.99. Watch it in action: