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Taito's Egret II Mini is an arcade replica with a rotating screen
Taito is releasing a mini replica of its Egret II sit down arcade cabinet from the '90s.
Sidewalk Labs' controversial data collection project is now a company
Replica, a controversial data-gathering initiative for city planners, has now become an official company. Alphabet's city-building incubator Sidewalk Labs confirmed today that the program has closed Series A funding and is now hiring for new roles in its Kansas City and San Francisco offices. For urban planners, Replica will be able to offer them valuable data like the number of people on a local street and what mode of transportation they're using. The project gleams these insights from mobile location data, which has raised numerous privacy concerns from critics.
$3,950 will get you a life-size BB-8 that doesn't move
If you've been wanting a life-sized replica of Star Wars' BB-8, Sideshow Collectibles will soon have you covered. The company just announced its BB-8 Life-Size Figure, a 37-inch tall replica of the adorable droid that appeared in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It's designed to look as similar to the film's version as possible, complete with a paint job that makes it appear as weathered and worn as the one from the big screen.
Hasbro got 5,000 pre-orders to build a massive replica of Jabba's barge
The huge Jabba the Hutt barge replica Hasbro showed off at Toy Fair this year will soon become a real item making its way to backers' homes. That's because the toymaker's first HasLab project, a program that takes a leaf out of Indiegogo's and Kickstarter's books, is a raging success. It has raised over $2.7 million in funds from over 5,500 backers (as of this writing), eclipsing its original 5,000-pre-order goal. And it has the potential to make more: The campaign still welcomes Star Wars fans willing to shell out $500 for a four-foot-long Khetanna with impressively detailed decks until April 3rd.
Finally, an official Bluetooth 'Star Trek' communicator
Star Trek fans have settled for toy prop replicas, DIY projects and the occasional off-brand (but functional) Starfleet comm-badge--but the age of compromise is almost over. In January of 2016, you'll finally be able to buy an official, screen-accurate, Bluetooth-enabled Star Trek Original Series Communicator.
Halo Plasma Rifle replicas enter Earth's atmosphere in Q3 2015
The replica masters over at TriForce have a new weapon up their sleeve in the epic battle to win your wallet. The company has gone and crafted a replica of the Plasma Rifle from Microsoft's Halo series, and is taking pre-orders on both "Brute red" and standard purple/blue variants. The cost: $600 total with a $150 deposit for the standard version, or $650 total with a $162.50 deposit for the red version. Both are full-size replicas, meaning these puppies are 24.5 inches long, 14 inches tall, and either 15 or 20 pounds (the website lists both weights, so this part isn't particularly clear). The rifles, which are limited to 500 copies for the standard edition and 150 copies for the Brute red edition, will begin shipping in fall of 2015. [Image: TriFroce/Microsoft]
Bust a move with ThinkGeek's Mega Man Buster Gun replica
Hey kids! Are you bored with your regular arms? Tired of swinging around those useless tubes of meat? Introducing the Mega Man Buster Gun from ThinkGeek! Featuring authentic sounds and a light-up side display to make you feel like you're really Mega Man! Embarrass your loved ones! Save the day from eight questionably-themed Robot Masters!* Everyone's talking about it! "I was a skeptic, but the Mega Man Buster Gun replica really works!** I can't believe it!"*** Available this December for one low, low payment of $79.99. Don't delay, bookmark the store page now!**** * Robot Masters are not real. Do not use Mega Man Buster Gun to fight anyone. Always aim away from face. ** Mega Man Buster Gun does not actually fire bullets of concentrated energy. *** They can totally believe it. **** This post is written as an infomercial for entertainment purposes only, and should not be viewed as an advertisement or paid editorial. ThinkGeek is not affiliated with Joystiq. Joystiq retains the right to make jokes that can sometimes be hit-and-miss. [Image: ThinkGeek]
Check out the front, side, pilot of Threezero's Atlas Titan
Remember that $320 Titanfall Atlas Titan figure that toymaker Threezero was teasing? You can get a multi-angle view of it in the below gallery, along with its prototype pilot. The photos were snapped at the Thailand Toy Expo, presumably after the Atlas crashed through the ceiling. [Image: Threezero]
Pokemon's Honedge brought to life
The folks behind the Man at Arms video series and makers of replica weaponry from games and films are at it again, this time with a Pokemon look-alike. The latest Man at Arms video shows the creation of the Pokemon Honedge, a new creature introduced in Pokemon X and Y that resembles a sword with a blue cloth attached to its hilt. While the Man at Arms crew chopped together a fine approximation of the creature (complete with a rather sharp blade, as seen in the ending demonstration), they did leave out Honedge's ornate sheath. Not that we'll be the ones telling them about the minor detail. They make swords, after all, so we'd hate to critique them. Led by master swordsmith Tony Swatton, Man at Arms' past work includes the energy sword from the Halo series, the God of War series' Blade of Chaos as well as swords from Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag. [Image: Man at Arms]
Naughty Dog replica craftsman crowdfunds support in fight against stage two pancreatic cancer
David Vigil is a leathersmith and owner of That Vigilante, where he sells replicas of gear seen in Naughty Dog games. Nathan Drake's belt buckle, holster and wristband from the Uncharted series are all available, as is Joel's backpack from The Last of Us. Vigil is also asking for the community's financial help on GoFundMe as he battles stage two pancreatic cancer. The fundraising campaign's deadline is November 18, with a goal of $47,000. At the time of writing, the amount raised is just shy of $9,500. This is the second time Vigil has faced cancer, and the second time he has turned to crowdfunding for help. Last year, he raised $26,464 on Indiegogo. Vigil is offering up his work as reward incentives as well; for $500, backers will receive one of every product available on That Vigilante. Should funding fail to reach the full $47,000 goal, Vigil will still get to keep whatever funds have been raised.
Seven months and 1,400 photos later, Halo's Needler becomes real
The unmistakable Needler weapon from the Halo series has been made real, thanks to Harrison Krix of Volpin Props. Krix constructed the above replica out of various plastics, resin, wood, glue, electric wiring, LED lights and good old-fashioned moxie. The project took seven months, and if you've got that kind of dedication, the project page on the Volpin Props website breaks it down into 13 segments. Krix has worked on many game-related projects over the years, including Aperture Science portal gun replicas, Mass Effect weapon and armor replicas and even a custom "Dovahfett" helmet, but this was a project that had been brewing for some time. "The Halo Needler has been on my personal list of stuff I really want to make since I first played Halo: Combat Evolved back in college," Krix wrote on his site. Regarding their new weaponsmith, the Covenant had this to say: "Wort wort wort!"
BioShock Infinite Devil's Kiss vigor replica out in limited first run
For Irrational Games and the company store's new limited-run vigor replicas, the devil is in the details. Five hundred, numbered "First Edition" units of the replica bottles are now available for sale, with each 9" tall bottle priced at a steamy $350. In-game replica aficionados can nab one of fifty limited bottles signed by Irrational Games' Creative Director, Ken Levine, for the red-hot price of $600. For an unknown amount in medical bills, your local hospital will treat any burns sustained while attempting to recreate your favorite moments with BioShock Infinite's fire-based ability. [Ed. Note: Don't light anything on fire, you weirdo.]
Man at Arms builds 80-pound replica of Final Fantasy VII's Buster Sword
Blacksmith and propmaster Tony Swatton documents the creation of a replica Final Fantasy VII Buster Sword in the latest episode of the Man at Arms web series. Cloud Strife himself would be proud of the results. This isn't some cardboard-and-foil job that you'd see at an anime convention; the finished product weighs around 80 pounds, and Swatton burned up three portable drills during its assembly. Swatton proves the sword's impracticality by "wrecking" his back and arm while attempting to wield it, but stick around until the end to see the blade taste the flesh of unsuspecting soda bottles and fresh produce. Swatton previously produced replicas of Minecraft's diamond sword and the Kingdom Hearts keyblade, among other bladed bits of nerdery.
Costco UK selling full-size F1 simulator for just £90,000
Costco UK is selling an FMCG International F1 racing simulator for £89,999.89 (including delivery and installation!), or $138,338.83, which is still significantly cheaper than owning an actual Formula 1 car. We also assume it's probably a tiny bit safer and easier to maintain, but that's just a hunch. The body is available in "your own choice of colour" and is made out of various combinations of composite materials, alloys and carbon fiber, with real wheels, tyres, chromed-out exhaust tips and everything. There's no engine or transmission, obviously, but it does come with one of those totally awesome detachable steering wheels. The gaming portion of the rig is powered by an Intel Core i7, an SSD of unknown capacity, 16 gigs of RAM and a non-specified graphics card outputting to three 23-inch adjustable TFT monitors. Meanwhile, sweet jams are pumped through a 5.1 audio system into both the car's body and your body, since the subwoofer is located directly behind the driver's seat.
Limited edition Mass Effect 3 Paladin pistol replica available for pre-order
BioWare has just revealed this snazzy real-life replica version of Mass Effect 3's M-77 Paladin pistol, available for pre-order today. The weapon weighs 7 pounds, is hand-finished and hand-painted, and is one of a set of only 200 made by collectible firm Triforce. Buying one for yourself will run you a total of $400: You'll need to put down $200 now to reserve your own fake space gun, and then another $200 when it's ready to go, which is expected to be later this year. That's not cheap, but then again nobody said fighting off the Reaper Invasion would be.
Audi goes arty, crafts A4 replica slot cars for 'quattro experience' installation (video)
Audi and art? Those two worlds aren't ones we'd necessarily lump together. But the luxury car-maker's done just that, collaborating with Slot Mods USA to create the "quattro experience," an installation replete with remote controllable A4 replicas and a custom track. Let's be clear, though, this is no mere hobbyist recreation. As the accompanying mini-documentary shows, the team behind this project not only put great care into constructing the 20ft x 7ft custom track with the right bends, it also faithfully crafted the slot cars so as to mimic the Audi quattro's all wheel drive mechanic. So, how'd they do that? Through a combo of 3D printing, a four-wheel drive chassis and, most importantly, a calculated arrangement of traction magnets, the crew was able to get the cars up and running, and even outfitted with in-dash cams. And, in an appropriate modernist twist, there's an app for all of that -- a custom one designed by Audi that runs on the iPad and lets "drivers" steer via a POV feed and onscreen controls. Unfortunately, the whole shebang's only on display in Toronto for the time being. So, unless you're planning a trip to the Great White North anytime soon, the mini-doc after the break's about as close as you're going to get to the real thing.
ThinkGeek offers $500 HAL 9000 replica, makes you answer to 'Dave'
It was a little over a year ago that ThinkGeek gave folks a chance to add a bit of 2001 to their home with the IRIS 9000 iPhone dock, but it's really gone the extra mile this year. The retailer has today announced its new HAL 9000 Life-Size Replica, a $500 device that's said to be built using the original 1967 blueprints and image files. What's more, while it isn't exactly "fully functional," it is able to respond to voice commands and most IR remotes with a variety of suitably unsettling phrases (yes, including a rendition of "Daisy Bell"). The downside is that it will set you back considerably more than the $60 of its smaller counterpart -- ThinkGeek is asking a full $500 for this conversation starter, each of which is "hand-assembled to make sure they are perfect." Would-be purchasers can get a taste of what's in store in the video after the break.
Replica Portal gun signed by Valve and auctioned on Ebay for charity
The only thing better than donating to a worthy charity is donating to a worthy charity and getting a full-size replica Portal gun signed by the entire Valve team out of it. Warm fuzzies and a new toy.Valve signed a replica Portal gun for the Games Art and Music charity event in Florida, and now that the show is over, GAAM is auctioning it off on Ebay, with all of the funds benefiting Child's Play Charity. It's like helping two charities in one go.The Ebay auction started off strong, but because of some technical issues, it was reset and now needs to make up some ground to reach its previous peak. The auction ends tomorrow, December 28, at 10:37 a.m. PST. If you have a pure heart and an empty space on your mantel, this bidding war might be for you.
Myst linking book replica goes on sale with full PC inside, won't quite take us to other worlds (video)
Most of us who remember Myst are content to relive the halcyon days of click-and-watch puzzle games by loading up the iPhone port. Mike Ando is slightly more... dedicated. He just spent the past six years building a replica of the Cyan game's signature, Age-traveling link books that includes a full Windows XP PC with a 1.6GHz Atom, a 2-hour battery, a 5-inch touchscreen and every playable game from the Myst series stored on a CF card. And while we've seen books hiding devices before, Ando's attention to detail might just raise the eyebrows of hardcore custom PC and gaming fans alike: he went so far as to gut and emboss a 135-year-old copy of Harper's New Monthly Magazine to match Cyan's reference tome as closely as possible. It's tempting for anyone who cut their teeth on CD-based gameplay through Myst, but perfect devotion to one of the better-known fictional worlds will cost an accordingly steep $15,625. We wouldn't have minded seeing some real intra-world travel for the cash outlay.
This Reaper replica statue comes with multiplayer bonuses
Dark Horse Comics recently unveiled a 18.5" tall replica of the Reaper Sovereign from the Mass Effect series. The replica is estimated to ship in June 2013 for $350, and can be pre-ordered with a hefty $100 deposit on the BioWare store.The Reaper statue is in limited production, with fewer than 1,000 being made. It also comes with a code for as-yet-unannounced multiplayer bonuses for the Xbox 360 and PC versions of Mass Effect 3.
