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Licensed Portal 2 turret replica to arrive later this year, leave ammo at home
If an enthusiast-built Portal 2 turret piques your interest, Gaming Heads' Valve-licensed miniature replica may very well force your wallet open. Modeled using Portal 2's in-game assets and cast in "high quality poly-stone," these mini-turrets aim to intimidate intruders with a motion activated light-up eye. In addition to the stoic and silent basic model, the company's offering an exclusive edition, which plays sounds and voice samples from the game. Only 1,100 of these hand-painted facsimiles will be produced (350 with sound, 750 without), but the company notes that other figures based on the adorable death machines are in the works. Pre-orders have already begun, so collectors will want to act fast -- provided they're ready to pony up $300-325, of course.
China elevates the art of KIRF, copies Austrian village of Hallstatt
We've seen some impressive KIRFs in our day (and some not so impressive ones too), but we've got to hand it to China for ratcheting things up a notch and eyeing prizes a bit loftier than Nokia phones and MacBook Airs. In the southern Chinese province of Guangdong there is now a full size replica of the Austrian village of Hallstatt, a small enclave in the Alps known for its tourism and salt production. The Unesco-recognized World Heritage Site was painstakingly recreated, down to the historic clock tower. All in all, it's a stunning achievement in KIRFdom that perfectly exemplifies why China is kicking our American butts in the quest for global economic domination -- audacity and ambition. For more, check out the BBC report at the source.
The Doomhammer thunders into existence
Say, do you like Doomhammers? Sure, we all do. And now you too can wield the sacred hammer passed down the line of Orgrim Doomhammer until that line ended, the mighty mace Thrall used to mash many men's mandibles to mush. This replica of the DOOMHAMMER (yes, they used all caps there) is, I have to admit, pretty impressive. It is the best replica of an imaginary hammer since my Mjolnir. Made by Epic Weapons (the people who brought you Frostmourne), this is a heavy-duty item. First off, it's huge. Compare it to the Frostmourne replica up there -- that's a big freaking hammer. The detailing is nice as well, complete with the Frostwolf insignia Thrall must have added after he took the giant bladed spike off of the top. I'm not sure why Thrall did that. I guess he felt like it was overkill or something -- and he's right, it is already an impressive hammer without it. Head on over to Epic Weapons to take a look for yourself. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm has destroyed Azeroth as we know it; nothing is the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion, from leveling up a new goblin or worgen to breaking news and strategies on endgame play.
NECA introduces P-body style Portal gun replica
All right, maybe we didn't really notice that the Portal gun used by P-body in Portal 2 co-op looked different. But NECA did, and designed a replica of that attractive, striped gun. The lights for this one, of course, are different from the original (we noticed that much!), glowing in orange and red.NECA plans to make 5,000 of these, "and we'll do our best to make sure it reaches those who were not able to purchase the [previous] replica," the company said. Retailers will be announced next week.
Replica portal gun orders canceled by some retailers [update: still coming, says NECA]
Update: NECA claims that the Portal gun is still being prepared, but fell victim to uncontrolled numbers of pre-orders. After slamming on the brakes with certain retailers, the association aims to deliver the replica between May and June in an "organized and fair manner."Original story: NECA -- National Entertainment Collectibles Association -- was set to create a line of replica portal guns for public purchase in May or June this year, but it has stopped production on the piece, citing "issues" and "no longer planning on making it for the foreseeable future," according to information shared via email by distributor Entertainment Earth. "The item was never produced, and to the best of our knowledge will not be delivered to any retailer at this time."Entertainment Earth has logged a protest with NECA, but for now it seems we'll all be $130 richer and a million-fold more heartbroken.[Thanks, Matthew.]
Replica Portal gun coming from NECA in late spring/early summer
Portal has been around for about five years at this point, and over the years we've suffered countless fits of unreasonable jealousy due to the multitudes of homemade, replica Aperture Science Handheld Portal Devices floating around the Internet. Many a night have been spent fantasizing about somehow owning our own without taking out a second mortgage, and now the dream can finally become a reality.Well, not now now, but in a few months. NECA Toys is developing a line of licensed Valve products that include Team Fortress 2, Half Life and Left 4 Dead 2 action figures, but the crowning jewel of the series is NECA's one-to-one scale ASHPD replica. It lights up and everything. The device should be available somewhere around May or June of this year and retail for $130, according a brief video interview with NECA's Randy Falk at The Verge. We predict a mad rush on Repulsion, Propulsion and Conversion gel and Long Fall socks as soon as these things hit the shelves.%Gallery-148349%
Patch 4.3 PTR: Replica items bring back classic looks
Well, we were teased about it with this year's Darkmoon Faire preview, and now we get a taste of what's to come: replica items. Our friends and cohosts for this year's WoW Insider party at BlizzCon (which you should totally go to) over at Wowhead News have found a heap of these items, for both the original Dungeon Set 1 look and the upgraded Dungeon Set 2. As yet these items seem to be purely cosmetic, offering the look of now-lost sets. There's no sign yet of Tier 3 (original Naxxramas gear) or BC Season 3 Vengeful PVP gear right now, but who knows? This is certainly a step in the right direction for that happening. I'm pretty excited, let me tell you. While my main warrior has the sets he wants, one of my alts would look fantastic in Battlegear of Heroism. Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Review the official patch notes, and then dig into what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!
Pre-order your own Gunstringer Mini Marionette
If there's two things Joystiq is all about, it's antiquated puppet technology and indie-development studios, so naturally The Gunstringer tickled our fancy in an incredibly specific, thoroughly satisfying way. Had we known that Twisted Pixel would soon be releasing its own Gunstringer Mini Marionettes, however, we probably wouldn't have spent all last week building our own out of clothes pins and yarn. The 16-inch Gunstringer Mini Marionette, available to pre-order on Twisted Pixel's site, is a replica of the marionette seen in the western's FMV sequences, will set you back $100 ($110 for an autographed version), and is expected to exit pre-order status before the end of November. Shoot past the break for a full look at the little guy's prototype.
Mass Effect 3 N7 replica gets real world debut for your Spacer pleasure
If you're the type to stock your walls with Lord of the Rings-style elvish daggers (or, you know, build full-scale Portal gun replicas), then you'll love this official Mass Effect 3 mockup commissioned by the folks at Bioware. Arduously crafted by self-proclaimed graphic design dork Harrison Krix, the N7 assault rifle replica made its facsimile debut at this year's San Diego Comic-Con. With only a fortnight to work with, the DIY, prop-making hobbyist took the made-for-cosplay gun from a glued wood, styrene and PVC-detailed master concept to paint weathered, final collector's edition mold. It's an impressive feat you can view in heavily photographed detail at the source, but there's still one thing we're waiting on Krix to bring to life -- that space-skipping SSV Normandy.
Portal turret replica has real laser, insatiable bloodlust
You might not remember Ryan Palser by name, but you'll surely recall the good gent's homemade Fallout 3 plasma rifle. He has since stepped his game up to bigger and badder video game weapon replicas, and has just completed the construction of the first of his forthcoming army of Portal laser turrets. Thankfully, Ryan has been sporting enough to build the older version of these human eviscerators (not the upgraded Portal 2 turrets, phew!), giving us at least a small chance of survival -- provided we have the right gear, of course. See the laser-equipped, GLaDOS-approved, 38-inch tall turret next to its maker after the break, or hit up the source link for some gorgeous photos of its construction.
Blizzard and Epic Weapons' weaponsmithing fan art contest winners announced
Blizzard and Epic Weapons' weaponsmithing fan art contest tasked talented WoW enthusiasts with crafting and building life-size replicas of their favorite World of Warcraft weapons. Categories included Best Dagger, Best Mace, Best Sword, Best Ranged, and Best of the Rest. The entries are phenomenal, but that's a given for how talented the WoW playerbase is.
China's dead affected by iPad 2 shortages of a different sort
In life as in death, it seems, getting your hands on an iPad 2 is no easy feat. Reuters is reporting today that paper replicas of the tablet are selling out in parts of Asia, as revelers prepare to set the things ablaze during China's Qingming festival Tuesday. As is tradition, paper versions of money, clothing, and, yes, consumer electronics are burned as offerings to the dead, and this year Apple's latest slate is apparently all the rage for expired techies -- one shopkeeper in Malaysia said his stock of 300 paper iPad 2s sold out quickly, leaving him unable to meet demand. Sounds strangely familiar, doesn't it?
Apple engineer uses Lego to rebuild ancient Greek mechanism, will surely try to patent it (video)
The Antikythera Mechanism is what you call truly old school technology. Argued to be the world's oldest known computer, this ancient Greek invention was used some time circa 100BC to calculate and "predict celestial events and eclipses with unprecedented accuracy." Skipping past the two millennia in which it lay lost on a sea floor somewhere, the Mechanism has now been recreated by an Apple software engineer by the name of Andrew Carol, who has lovingly pieced 1,500 Lego Technic blocks together, creating 110 gears and four gearboxes in total. Each box is responsible for performing one piece of arithmetic, and when the resulting machine is fed with appropriate calendar data, it spits out a (hopefully accurate) prediction for the next time a solar eclipse should occur. All well and good, but we're really just amazed by the beauty of those gears working. Check them out after the break.
Flash Rods' DeLorean hard drive: $250, 500 jigabytes!
Is a full-size DeLorean (time machine or otherwise) a bit out of your budget? Then you might want to consider Flash Rods' latest 1:18 scale replica, which not only faithfully reproduces the DeLorean Time Machine (complete with Mr. Fusion reactor from Back to the Future II), but actually packs a 500GB Seagate hard drive inside to give you some justification for actually having it on your desk. Of course, it will cost a considerable premium over a regular 500GB hard drive, but we can certainly think of plenty of worse ways to spend $250.
Mass Effect's M8 Avenger rifle brought to exquisitely detailed life
Harrison Krix understands if you don't remember his name. After all, your mind can't be expected to retain information when you've just seen the spectacular Portal gun and Daft Punk helmet the man has already authored. Latest on his hitlist is an homage to the awesomeness that is Mass Effect. Employing mostly leftover bits from previous projects and $28's worth of new materials, Harrison set about the task of recreating Commander Shepard's trusty assault rifle. The source will delight your eyeballs with a litany of pictures and build details, though our major question remains unanswered -- does it use armor-piercing, incendiary, or shredder rounds?
Homemade Fallout 3 plasma rifle makes our post-apocalyptic future seem less bleak
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Homemade_Fallout_3_Plasma_Rifle'; The A3-21 Plasma Rifle is quite the little devastator in Fallout 3 and it doesn't look half bad in the so-called real world either. Lovingly pieced together by one Ryan Palser, this homebrewed replica (the lower of the two in the image above) took five months to complete and involved the enrollment of his wife's painting skills for the weathering job. The final result is enough to convince us that Fallout would be well served by a movie adaptation, if only so we can see more of these retro-futuristic rifles get their shot at corporeality. You can scope out one more image showing off the lights inside the rifle after the break, but only if you promise to hit up Ryan's Flickr account for the full set.
We'd sell our plasma for this Fallout 3 plasma rifle replica
It's been a while since we've seen a really cool Fallout 3 weapon replica, so it's extra-nice that this handmade A3-21 Plama Rifle is so very awesome. It's the work of Ryan Palser, who sent us word of his just-completed project -- a five-month process. Check out a bonus photo after the break!
BioShock 2 props surface ... and you can buy them
You've wanted one ever since seeing it in the very first trailer for BioShock 2. You even have one for your Xbox Avatar. Now you can buy a real, official replica of the cuddly "hand-made" Big Daddy plush doll that's featured in the game. Toymaker NECA has announced that the collectible is now available for $20 from various retailers, along with a highly detailed, 8" replica of an EVE syringe* ($16) that lights up blue when you push in its plunger. We realize these items are but a small consolation for 2K deciding not to release the $15,000 "Über Edition" of the game, but you have to admit they're pretty darn cool. [Via Toy News International] *EVE not included.
XCM Fire takes the "light" out of light gun, still looks sufficiently violent
XCM's Fire gun controller for the PS3 might look like something you use for aiming at precise segments on your screen that happen to contain the heads, torsos or legs of your enemies; you know, like a light gun. Instead the controller is a motion-sensing affair, with dual analog controls along for the ride -- more of an augmentation of traditional console controls than a replacement. We've seen this fail miserably before (see: SIXAXSIS), but we're willing to give XCM the benefit of the doubt. The Fire controller is supposedly "70 percent done," and there are a couple demo videos after the break. We still want a GameGun.
Fan-made Railway Rifle from Fallout 3 hits eBay
YouTube user ProfessorGigaton has a pair of videos showing off his latest diabolical creation: a life-size model of Fallout 3's Railway Rifle. If you're inclined to take on the project yourself, one of the videos features a full tutorial to help you create your very own non-working replica. Lazy, like us? The supposed professor -- we're waiting on his school transcripts -- is also selling the model featured in the videos on eBay. The starting bid is $45, and it's sure to look great with your Fallout 3-inspired cosplay ... and will definitely come in handy in the post-apocalyptic world of 2012. Source -- YouTube Tutorial Source -- eBay Listing
