MEKA Leads the Way
Mike “retroresource” Carambat is a mechanical cosplayer that should be a candidate for 2017’s Dad of the Year award. This past week, he received a lot of attention for building a drivable replica of a MEKA, the mech suit that Overwatch’s D.Va pilots. Several cosplayers have gone the extra mile to build a mech to compliment their D.Va cosplay, but this is the first I’ve seen that can actually move on its own.
Carambat said the whole project cost him just under $1000 and took approximately 6 months to build. It’s mostly “made out of wood, pink insulation foam, and spray foam with a vinyl spackle coating.” For now, the mech features arms that move with the yokes, lights and sound effects for the guns that are activated when the triggers are pulled, smoke and flashing lights for the thrusters, exterior spot lighting, interior disco cab lights, a 120watt sound system, and “walking” legs when the mech is in motion. His YouTube channel has a bunch of videos that showcase all of the mech’s functions as the project came together.
Carambat’s daughter is currently using the mech suit to cosplay as the Overwatch hero at Mechacon, but she’ll also be traveling with her dad to Dragoncon in September if you want to catch a real-life glance of the mech in motion. Carambat stopped adding onto the mech for Mechacon, but he plans on adding more to the build before Dragoncon.
Charging Home
Damon McMillan’s SeaCharger, the solar-powered autonomous sea vessel, is currently in New Zealand. This past week, McMillan opened a crowdfunding campaign to help raise the $2000 necessary to get the SeaCharger shipped back home. Patrons will receive a custom T-shirt for donating $20 or more.
If you’ve been following the SeaCharger story as closely as I have, and want to take part in the final step of the vessel’s journey, this seems to be the perfect way to do it. McMillan is still $1000 short, but there are still nine days left to donate, so let’s get that money in and bring the SeaCharger home!
The Early Bird Gets the Worm
Want to go to World Maker Faire New York? Good! We want you there. Early Bird tickets are still on sale, but they won’t be for much longer. This is the last week that they will be sold, as the Early Bird tickets will no longer be available after 11:59 EST on Monday, July 31. That’s tomorrow, so if you want to go to MFNY on a discount, don’t delay and buy today!
Getting Crafty
It’s absolutely incredible what you can accomplish with just a little creative maker talent and an overwhelming amount of confidence. Zac Alsop recently put his genius to the test, and forged believable badges to sneak backstage at the McGregor vs Mayweather press conference in London. He captured his entire badge making process and the adventure getting backstage on video. It’s pretty fantastic.
For those of you wondering, yes this is the same Zac Alsop who made an Olympic athlete cosplay, snuck onto an Olympic Champion parade, convinced everyone he was a gold medalist, and got invited to an Olympic Champion afterparty.
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