2013 Year In Review, Play-Doh Style

Posted on 31/12/2013 by Hazel Chua

Play Doh Year in Review

Looking back on 2013, would you say that it was a good year or a bad year? For most people, I think the good stuff and the bad stuff balance out in the end. If there was more good than bad, then good for you. If there was more bad than good, then here’s to hoping you’ll have better luck in 2014.

Presenting some of the most memorable moments of 2013 is Play Doh with their Year in Review series that you can check out on their social media pages: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. For starters, we all learned what sound the fox makes (no thanks to Ylvis). Hit the break to check out more notable events from 2013 done up in Play-Doh style.

Play Doh Year in Review1

Yeah, cronuts! Play Doh Year in Review2

Twitter’s IPO.

Play Doh Year in Review3

The Royal baby is born.

Play Doh Year in Review4

Jennifer Lawrence gets an Oscar.

Play Doh Year in Review5

N’Sync reunion.

Happy new year, everyone!

VIA [ Laughing Squid ]

Han Solo in Carbonite Drawer Pulls: For When You’re Hunting for Bounty (Paper Towels)

Posted on 29/09/2013 by Paul Strauss

No matter how hard he tries, Han Solo can’t seem to escape being put back into his Carbonite shroud by geeks everywhere. Now, with a little time and patience, you can have Han Solo in Carbonite on all of your kitchen cabinets too.

This fun little project from Our Nerd Home shows you how to create Han Solo in Carbonite drawer pulls using Sculpey clay and one of those silicone Han Solo ice cube trays.

All you need to do is fill the tray with clay, then sculpt some backs to hold onto some nuts, and bake them. A little glue, some Martha Stewart metallic paint, et voilà. Trophies fit for a tiny Hutt.

If you’d like to take a shot at making your own Han Solo Carbonite pulls, head on over to Our Nerd Home for the full directions. I imagine you could easily do the same with Death Stars, Darth Vader or Stormtroopers too.

Hyrel 3D Printer Can Print with Play-Doh

Posted on 09/07/2013 by Paul Strauss

3D printing continues to evolve, with printers improving in precision, speed and cost efficiency. While some high end machines can print in materials ranging from plastic to metal and even ceramic, this is the first time I’ve heard of a 3D printer that can output soft and squishy materials, like clay.

hyrel play doh printer

The Hyrel 3D printer offers the ability to swap out their regular PLA/ABS plastic filament extruder with a special unit which can extrude soft materials. The printer can be loaded with air-dry modeling clay, Play-Doh, Plasticine, Silicone or even Sugru, a durable, self-setting and flexible rubber compound that’s good for fixing and hacking all kinds of stuff. Here’s some footage of the Hyrel outputting Sugru and then some Play-Doh:

I’m not exactly sure why you’d want to sculpt 3D objects in Play-Doh, since it’s not designed to harden, but clay or Sugru could produce some interesting results for sure. And for Play-Doh fans, it sure beats a Fuzzy Pumper Barber Shop.

[Hyrel via ToolGuyd]

Play-Doh 3D Printer: Print Stuff, Don’t Eat It

Posted on 01/04/2013 by Paul Strauss

If you’ve followed Technabob for any period of time, you know that we’re big supporters of the development of 3D printing technology. I truly think that if there’s one tech sub-sector that’s going to blow up in the next decade and revolutionize industry, it’s 3D printing. And while speed and detail are things still left to the more expensive industrial printers out there, there are more and more options for the home 3D printing enthusiast. Now, you can get your kid started early with their very own Play-Doh 3D printer.

play doh 3d printer box

It was only a matter of time before the Fuzzy Pumper Barber Shop got a 21st century makeover, and this new device is definitely a major step forward for kids with maker aspirations.

play doh 3d printer 1

To print on the Play-Doh 3D printer, simply create your designs with the companion iOS app, and send them to the printer wirelessly. Then turn the crank to slowly see your design emerge. In no time at all, you’ll be printing out all sorts of objects. Just don’t try to eat them. Despite all of the advancements in technology, Play-Doh still doesn’t taste very good. I’ve tried.

play doh 3d printer 2

The guys over at ThinkGeek have secured an exclusive for the first batch of Play-Doh 3D printers, so you’d better line up and head over there right away if you and your kids are ready to crank out some delightfully doughy objects of your very own.

UPDATE: Happy April Fool’s Day!

Ceramic Birdhouse Roof Tiles Help You Co-Exist with Your Avian Neighbors

Posted on 09/01/2013 by Hazel Chua

What’s not to love about birds? Many are beautiful to look at and even some of the tiny creatures flit around from flower-to-flower, pollinating the world and making it a prettier, greener place for all us humans to live in.

So why not lend a hand and provide them with some accommodations in exchange for their help in keeping our world a prettier place, as it should be? No worries if you’re not very handy with a hammer and therefore, find yourself unable to build your own birdhouse, because Klaas Kuiken’s ceramic birdhouse roof tiles are here!

Ceramic Birdhouse They’re basically roof tiles with a small birdhouse built into the top of the tile itself. If you have a couple of shingles that are up for repair, then why not be a good neighbor to the birds in your neighborhood and replace them with these tiles instead?

Ceramic Birdhouse1

Klaas first designed these quirky clay birdhouses in 2009, but now they’re finally available for purchase. You can check his site for ordering information, but you’d better hurry, because only 100 birdhouses have been produced so far.

[via Colossal]

Mega Man and the Robot Masters Turned Into Clay Men

Posted on 01/01/2013 by Lambert Varias

Rockman Corner reader Ricardo Becker made miniature figures of Mega Man and the various bosses from the first 10 Mega Man games. I’m sure part of him just wanted to squash and tear some of these bosses apart as payback for all the hard times they gave him.

mega man clay miniature figures by ricardo becker

Ricardo used cold porcelain – which is neither cold nor porcelain – to make the figures. They may not be as pretty, polished or accurate as other fan made work, but Ricardo made up for it with the sheer number of figures he made.

mega man clay miniature figures by ricardo becker 3 175x175

mega man clay miniature figures by ricardo becker 4 175x175

mega man clay miniature figures by ricardo becker 5 175x175

mega man clay miniature figures by ricardo becker 6 175x175

Head to Ricardo’s Flickr page for the rest of the robot masters, and marvel at the franchise’s unbelievably complex naming scheme.

megaman clay

[via Rockman Corner via GoNintendo]

H.R. Giger Mouse: for the Alien Queen’s PC

Posted on 12/11/2012 by Technabob

The artwork by H.R. Giger in the Alien movies and Prometheus is some of the downright creepiest and darkest ever seen on screen. So I’m not so sure how comfortable I’d be with some of it hanging out on my desktop – especially right under the palm of my hand. But that didn’t stop one modder from making a creeptastic mouse, inspired by the twisted world of Mr. Hans Rudolf Giger.

alien mouse

Modder Ramses07 started out with an Cooler Master CM Storm Xornet gaming mouse, and modified the case and covered it with hand-sculpted clay to give it plenty of texture. He then painted it with shades of black and grey to add darkness and depth.

alien mouse 2

After it was all done, he coated it in a layer of glossy varnish which he says gave it “the effect of mucus” – to add to the Alien feeling. Yum. I guess it’s better than acid blood, right? Check out the complete build log here (in Hungarian).

I wonder if Ramses07 has one of these plugged into another one of his USB ports. If not, he should.

[via Modding.ru]

Half-Life 2 Headcrab Necklace Better Not Crawl onto Your Head

Posted on 11/11/2012 by Technabob

For weeks after I played Half-Life 2, I had nightmares about rooms full of headcrabs descending on me, and me trying to fight them off by flinging circular saw blades at them with my gravity gun. So the idea of wearing a necklace with a headcrab on it just give me the creeps. Plus, I’m a dude.

headcrab necklace 1

But that didn’t stop jewelry artist Annika of Paranoia mit Sahne (which translates to “Paranoia with cream”) from making a headcrab-inspired necklace for those of you who find the little guys cute and charming. The necklace was handcrafted from Fimo and Super Sculpey clay by the artist, stiffened with wire, and topped off with acrylic painted details and a heavy-duty glaze coat. And no, none of that killed the headcrab. It’s still alive and well, and ready to climb up that chain and into your hair.

headcrab necklace 2

If you find the idea of a wearable headcrab appealing, you can grab this thing over on Etsy for about $35(USD). Grab it before it grabs you.

Video Game Pasta Bowl: Spaghetti Invaders?

Posted on 04/11/2012 by Technabob

If you know me, you know two of my greatest loves are video games and carbs. Now, I can enjoy these two pleasant pastimes simultaneously, thanks to this video game inspired pasta bowl.

space invaders pasta bowl 1

Clay artist Keith Phillips of Mudstuffing created this wheel-thrown stoneware pasta bowl and embellished it with screenprinted images of Space Invaders and an Atari 2600 joystick. Notice how the largest invader is trapped under a big glass dome? Why wasn’t that a weapon in the original game? It sure seems more humane than blowing them away with a laser cannon.

space invaders pasta bowl 3

So if you like your spaghetti served with a side of Space Invaders, head on over to Etsy now, where you can grab this video game pasta bowl for $42(USD).

Pokémon Generation 1 Clay Figurines: Pennymon

Posted on 17/09/2012 by Lambert Varias

Last month we saw a cross-stitch featuring all 151 of the original Pokémon. Redditor ninjazzy spent over 250 hours making something more tangible: tiny clay figurines of each Generation 1 monster. You can probably fit four of these in one Pokéball.

pokemon clay pennymon