The latest DIY ideas, techniques and tools for bikes, rockets, R/C vehicles, toys and other diversions.
In the early aughts, I ran a popular and well-regarded tabletop wargame modeling and converting site called 40K Konversions. It was dedicated to all forms of modeling related to the Warhammer 40,000 universe. I went through my articles from the site and have put together some of the best tips and tricks that I published.
Microsoft Research is up to their usual cleverness: HoloDesk is a novel interactive system combining an optical see through display and Kinect camera to create the illusion that users are directly interacting with 3D graphics. A virtual image of a 3D scene is rendered through a half silvered mirror and spatially aligned with the real-world […]
Users of the Scratch visual programming language can now add an Android handset to their arsenal of plug and play tools. Using the Scratch Sensor app on your handset will get you access to the accelerometer and compass data over the Scratch networking protocol, turning the device into a readily available data acquisition module.
Julian Khor, a Senior Lead Designer at Ubisoft Singapore, has a series of inspiring videos (99 in all) on sculpting superheroes, action figures, and modeling the human form in general (virtual 3D modeling tuts, too). The above video is part one of a 35-part series on sculpting a Hulk-y “action figure.”
According to Instructables user nsnip, they’re made from Baltic birch! To make this board, he cut the rounded ends off stacks of sticks with a table saw, laminated them stick-by-stick in five layers with alternating grain directions, and glued the whole thing together in an improvised vacuum press made from a clothes storage bag. Impressive, meticulous craftsmanship.
For Beijing Design Week 2011, Canadian artist Nicholas Hanna created this tricycle, equipped with a computer-controlled water graffiti unit on the back (apparently writing poetry and messages on roadways with water is popular in China).
Scott Lowther’s models aren’t (generally) painted, because Scott Lowther’s models aren’t (generally) for display—they’re for casting molds to make kit-parts from. If you’ve ever been curious about this process, Scott’s site has a great selection of finished, in-process, and still-to-come master models he’s working—on contract or on “spec”—to turn into kits.
