Category Archives: Robots
Pacific Rim Blu-Ray Case
Pacific Rim is my most anticipated movie of the year. It will hit theaters in July, with the Blu-Ray release sometime in October or November. That said it’s not too early to offer up what I would like to see for a Blu-Ray case: a design based on the giant transport crawler seen in the trailer.
My intent with this design is not to offer a case-and-action-figure combo. It is create a standalone Blu-Ray case that doubles as a stand for a Pacific Rim NECA figure, which would be sold separately. The Gipsy Danger robot you see above is an approximation of NECA’s 7″ figure that is currently available. Not only do you get a cheaper Blu-Ray case, you’d get to adorn it with your giant robot of choice.
The platform has a tray which slides out like a drawer. The tray rests on some wheels which allows it to glide smoothly when opening and closing. All the tank treads are molded plastic, and would have small wheels embedded within; though I’d only like the treads under the tray to have wheels, making this case stationary.
If additional discs (or booklets) are needed this design can be altered to include additional trays, or the existing tray could have a folding flap on top that can hold a few additional discs.
This is the smallest case design I have posted yet. It is rough 5″ x 5″ x 1.5″. That’s roughly four CD cases stacked together.
My favorite thing about this design: the case is really just a display stand, so even after packaged media goes extinct, it would still be useful.
It would be great if NECA and Warner Brothers could enlist some synergy to release something like this (or perhaps a full-fledged case-and-figure combo even). You seldom see that kind collaboration for Blu-Ray releases, in fact I can only think of McFarlane Toys releasing Walking Dead Blu-Ray sets.
Be sure to check out my Gipsy Danger hockey jersey design on my other site.
Geeky Flash Drives Part 3: Superman Fortress Crystal
The crystals in the Superman films had several functions: home construction, beacon, glow stick, ability to restore superpowers, and last but not least: data storage. Two of these things — data storage and the glow functionality — could easily translate to a USB flash drive. The end result is something that looks and behaves (to an extent) just like one of Superman’s crystals.
For this design a vanilla cap would cover the USB plug. Like the previous Ghostbusters design, there would be some LED lights built-in to indicate the device is in use. But one thing I’d like to see is an on-demand light, triggered by a button, allowing you to replicate the ‘glow stick’ feature of the crystal. The drive would need an on-board battery, preferably something that can be recharged (via USB, of course). There are so many keychain light and USB drive combos, so I feel this is an attainable design.
And as a lark it should come preloaded with a few documents about trees.
Alternatives To Zombie DLC For Shooter Games
pewpewpew! pewpewpew!
I love Zombies as much as the next geek, but it seems just about every major video game is offering a Zombie mode or Zombie DLC. There are other alternatives to Zombies that shooter games can employ to shake things up.
Hands-down my dream DLC would be a recreation of the firefight from the opening scene of T2: Judgment Day. Not only would you have a faction of gun-toting robots, but also giant mech vehicles and laser rifles; all in a post-apocalyptic setting. That’s the kind of DLC that would drive game sales, instead of the other way around!
You don’t even need the Terminator license to make this a reality. Just create a faction of evil robots that players can use for their match games. Team Fortress 2 did something like this recently, for their Mann Vs. Machine mode (though the machines are non-playable). The Battlestar Galactica license would also be ideal in the form of a Cylons vs. Colonial Marines match.
Besides robots you can also enlist aliens to guest-star for DLC. I’m talking about the kind of humans vs. aliens warfare you’d see in District 9 or Battle Los Angeles. Having humanoid aliens that are in scale with humans make them ideal for gameplay balancing, and they are also easier to implement into games as well. If you’d like to take it a step further and use larger aliens (say, the Arachnids from Starship Troopers), that is also d0-able, as long as the odds are even for all players in the game.
Robots and Aliens are the more obvious replacements for Zombies. G.I. Joe Vs. Cobra is something that might do-able for Call of Duty as Activision and Hasbro are in cahoots these days. How about a Planet of the Apes deathmatch featuring simians vs. humans? Maybe an army of time-traveling steampunk warriors? Or those leather-wearing armored-vehicle-driving crazies from the Mad Max films? Maybe a bunch of tattooed/pierced cannibals like those from Doomsday?
Something other than Zombies now and then. Please?
Terminator USB Flash Drive
This USB Flash Drive design is based on the T-800′s chip processor, seen primarily in Terminator 2 Judgement Day. I opted for the intact version of the chip, which can be seen in the special edition version of the film (the scene where Sarah and John remove it from the T-800 to repair him).
This would’ve been more ideal as a memory card for a video game console, but those are going extinct now. So I opted for a basic USB flash drive.
I just noticed I made a mistake with this design: the cover should fold back even more, allowing for the USB plug to have complete clearance for plugging-in — my bad! I was also tempted to add a Cyberdine Systems or Skynet logo, but the chip in the film didn’t have any markings so I kept it authentic, making it look almost like a life-size replica prop.
Voltron 8-Bit T-Shirt Now Available
This 8-bit T-Shirt I designed for the folks at WEP a few months back is now available at 80′s Tees. Go here or click the image to head to the listing.
The art was altered from the original design to keep the color count down, but it does look pretty good all the same! Makes me with there was such thing as an 8-bit Voltron game.
Geeky TVs Part 3: Star Wars
In my first Geeky TV post I more or less stated all TVs look the same. Well that’s not necessarily true – I am partial to those with an outer glass frame. And that unique design element is something I incorporated into this Star Wars themed TV.
The internal LED glass frame (similar to this) is skewered to look like a projection from the ever-popular R2D2. The LCD frame is given a light blue color to help blend in. The stand is black to make it look the “projection” is floating in space (very effective in a dark room).
A power indicator light would also be on R2. A few sounds for power up and off would be neat as well – much like the recent Star Wars Xbox 360 console. I would be sure to include an option that turned off the LED lighting to save power and to be less distracting if need be.
Two knocks would be the wider stand and heavier weight due to the glass. Also this would be a premium-priced TV due to the license and inclusion of a small R2D2 figure. Still, this has a shut up and take my money vibe, in this blogger’s humble opinion.
