Tag Archives: building toy

Screw Together Your Own NASA Space Shuttle

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You ever catch yourself staring at the sun and daydreaming about building your own rocket ship? Well, how about this NASA Space Rocket Deluxe Construction Kit? The 134-piece kit includes a bunch of plastic and metal bits that, when assembled correctly, resemble the Space Shuttle atop its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters. To infinity and beyond!

Available from Firebox for $43, the kit comes with a medium difficulty rating, so it isn’t for people who can’t tell the difference between a hex key and their house keys. Everyone else should be fine though.

I just built one, and if there’s any proof NASA should pick me to be the first person to send to Mars, I think this is it. I mean, sure, it’s missing a wing and I have a bunch of other bits and pieces left over, but I also didn’t follow the directions. And I’m exactly what NASA is going to need if we’re going to survive on the red planet: an outside-the-box thinker.

Arckit: LEGO for Architects

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Architectural models are usually made of wood, paper and foam. But the recently launched Arckit makes building scale models a lot easier and cheaper. Arckit consists of 1:48 plastic modular pieces. It’s a lot like LEGO, but instead of studs it uses pegs and small holes.

arckit_modular_building_scale_model_tool_1zoom in

Pieces are sold in sets or as component packs for structures like walls, windows, doors, stairs and roof trusses. Their Arckitexture adhesive sheets let you add textures like wood, brick, tile and stone to models.

According to Dezeen, Arckit was designed by architect Damien Murtaugh out of his frustration with computer generated models. Although in the end Damien chose to make Arckit’s components available as 3D models by way of SketchUp for those who want to work with computers instead of physical models.

Soon after launching Arckit, Damien and his company realized that kids wanted to play with the kit as well, so now the company has expanded to that demographic.

You can order Arckit sets straight from the company’s online shop or from Amazon, starting at $120 for the 220-piece kit.

[via Dezeen]