Build Your Own Wooden Tilt-A-Whirl Moving Music Box

Because who didn’t get into puzzles or model building during the pandemic (I got into miniature ships myself), the $55 ROKR Tilt-A-Whirl is a DIY music box wooden puzzle kit from the company’s Magic Amusement Park series. It’s based on the classic spinning teacups amusement park ride and features the outer decorations of an old traveling circus. It will make the perfect addition to my mantle, provided I can build it right without smashing all the pieces to bits with my Hulk hands.

The 280-piece model measures approximately 7″ x 8″ x 9″, requires about 5.5 hours to construct, and even features working lights around the spinning ride. It plays ‘Wind and Moon’ when turned on, and the cups start spinning. Unfortunately for me, the model is rated 4 out of 4 stars for building difficulty, meaning its successful construction is unlikely in my case. I’m more of a 1-star model builder or, if I’m being completely honest, a buyer of pre-built models. “Best to leave it to the professionals,” my wife will tell me while watching me burn my latest failed build in our fire pit.

This Robotic Spider Lamp Is Ready to Weave Its Web of Light

Presumably inspired by my nightmares, the Mecrob Spider Table Lamp is a metal robot spider that comes in kit form. The spider features an abdomen full of fairy lights and four spotlight-style eye lights for illuminating whatever mad scientist project you’re currently working on.

The spider is powered via USB and features a 4-way dimmable switch, providing just enough light to create the ambiance you’re looking for. I can’t say a creepy robot spider lamp really fits my current interior design scheme, but if I ever turn my basement into an evil robotics lab, I now know where to find the perfect lamp for my desk.

Being a kit, you do have to build the posable spider yourself, which is constructed entirely from relatively common machine parts and requires no special tools. It does require you to be able to follow directions, though, something the IKEA couch I recently assembled reminded me I’m not very good at. Where do all these extra parts even go? And why’s it leaning so far backward?

Pac-Man NBA Team Buildable Model Kits are a Slam Dunk

With the team colors and logos of six different NBA teams, these Pac-Man Entry Grade Model Kits are the perfect addition to any video game and sports fanatic’s collection. The models, being released by Bandai Namco this spring, require no paint or glue and can be assembled straight from the box. That’s a good thing, too because me and modeling glue are a disaster waiting to happen.

These Pac-Man models will be available in Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets, and Milwaukee Bucks varieties. Not a fan of any of those? Cross your fingers and hope they decide to make one for your team. Or desert your team for one on the list. That’s what I would do, but I have no allegiance to anybody or anything.

I love building models; the only problem is they never turn out as good as they look in the picture on the front of the box. Or, in my case, even resembling anything remotely like the picture on the front of the box. And why do I always finish with so many extra parts left over?

[via Bandai Namco on Facebook]

Return of the Jedi See-Through Ships: Clear Wars

The spaceships and starbases in Star Wars are some of the most iconic and recognizable in the history of moviemaking. There are lots of ways that collectors can enjoy these ships at home, from LEGO Imperial Star Destroyers to drones that look like the X-Wing fighters. Now, you can add to that list these see-through models.

This set of four ships comes from Bandai Spirits and includes tiny transparent models of an X-Wing Fighter (1/144 scale), the under-construction Death Star II (1:2700000 scale), a Y-Wing fighter (1/144 scale), and the Millennium Falcon (1/350 scale). Each one is made from PVC and ABS plastic and comes with a desktop display stand with the ship’s name on it.

The set is available for order from Amazon (affiliate link) for about $34, and would make a great gift for any Star Wars fan.

Tesla adds ‘2048’ and Atari’s ‘Super Breakout’ to its dashboards

Tesla is adding more free games to the dashboard display on Model S, Model X and Model 3 cars. Super Breakout and 2048 are joining other Atari classics Missile Command, Asteroids, Lunar Lander and Centipede, which Tesla added in August. To date, hund...

Review: Brick Formation Homeworld Custom LEGO Kits

LEGO enthusiasts who are fans of the Homeworld franchise will be happy to know that there’s now a series of officially-licensed collectible kits inspired by the classic real-time strategy video game series. These are the first ever models to be created by Brick Formation, a new startup focused on making premium, limited-edition models using authentic LEGO components.

The initial series of models were designed by LEGO artist Aaron Fiskum, and inspired by the Hiigaran fleet in Homeworld 2. They include a 500-piece, 12″ long Interceptor, a 705-piece, 15″ long Ion Cannon Frigate, and a 20″ long, 1365-piece Destroyer, each approved by the folks at Gearbox Software. Each spaceship is made to closely resemble the digital models from the video game. Parts come packaged in resealable Ziploc bags, which are not numbered, increasing the challenge of the build.

Given the shear number of parts, I was curious to know how Brick Formation ensures all the right parts are picked and shipped in each kit. It turns out they work with BrickVibe, a US-based BrickLink store to source all of the bricks to match their design specs, then hand-sort and count each and every part, verifying their work through a strict quality control process.

As is often the case with spaceship models, there’s a sea of grey bricks to work with, which also adds to the difficulty level of the kits. There’s just a splash of color here and there, like with the orange parts used to make the turrets on the Hiigaran Destroyer.

The build instructions that Brick Formation includes are easy to understand, and use colorful hot pink highlighting to indicate exactly which parts are being added during the current step. As is often the case with LEGO instruction books, it’s sometimes a little hard to tell the difference between shades of grey, so it’s important to look carefully before picking your bricks at each step. I made a couple of mistakes along the way using dark grey instead of light grey pieces, and had to backtrack to fix my errors.

The exterior of each spaceship is packed with texture, using a variety of smooth-faced LEGO parts attached to longer baseplates. This gives the models a look as if they were built from sections of tile, along with the various bits of mystery tech that dot the outside of every sci-fi vehicle.

As I got further into the build of the big Destroyer model, it became clear that the design was very well thought out, not just for aesthetics, but for structural stability. For example, the numerous short beams you build to hold the two main side panels of the ship together provide excellent support.

Each model includes a sturdy display stand too, along with a display card that lists specifications for the ship on the back of the card. Since they’re being made in very limited quantities, these kits aren’t cheap, with the Hiigaran Interceptor going for $250, the Ion Cannon Frigate selling for $300, and the Hiigaran Destroyer priced at $575. Just 100 of each model is being produced, making them extremely collectible.

The models are definitely not for beginner LEGO builders, with a medium to medium-high level of build complexity. I’d say that’s mostly due to the volume of very small pieces, along with the monochromatic color scheme. But with time and patience, they’re definitely do-able. In the end, it took me about 8 hours to build the 1365-piece Hiigaran Destroyer model from start-to-finish.

All three of the initial Homeworld models are available on the Brick Formation website. They plan on releasing additional models from the Homeworld universe in the near future, including more spaceships, as well as vehicles from Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak. They also hope to launch other licensed kits down the road as well.