Transforming Simpsons Arcade Cabinet

This design is a bit gimmicky and doesn’t really need The Simpsons deco, but I like the idea of a large floor TV that transforms into an arcade cabinet. This way you can play old-school consoles or arcade games in one device. Plus it sorta looks cool in my opinion.

The Simpsons floor TV from their first 20 or so seasons is iconic, and meshes nicely with their highly-regarded arcade game from the early 90’s, so I went with that look. Another way to go is an all-wood finish, as was typical for these old TVs, which doubled as furniture because they were so big.

Had to make the TV wider to incorporate flaps that both conceal the inner workings and serve to prop up the screen and controls for arcade mode. The monitor has struts that would slowly drop it into place when it is upright, the animation here doesn’t fully reflect that.

The VCR/cable box would store the arcade electronics and speakers. The antennae would need to be folded down for the transformation. I believe all of the internal cables would function here in both modes, but external devices (like game consoles) may need to be unplugged to allow for the transformation. A flatscreen with a 4:3 aspect ratio is ideal here, but a 16:9 screen can be enclosed and cropped by the outer frame.

Optimus Prime Container House

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I’m breaking my promise of no more tiny house designs, but this is a container house, which is slightly different. This design is based on a 20-foot container, which is on the smaller side, but you could go life-size with a 40-footer and a real truck if you wanted.

Toy Chest That Transforms Into A Playset

Toy Chest Transforms Into Playset Storage Dollhouse Trunk Chest 2019 dave delisle davesgeekyideas dave's geeky ideas

I attempted this design a year or so ago, but when I finished it the thing looked like a deathtrap so I shelved it, and opted to post this instead. This time I took child safety into consideration (for once) and made a super-simple toy chest that transforms into a playset.

Transformers Portable Record Player

Autobot Blaster portable record player design by Dave Delisle

I mentioned this design in the previous post, but I decided to actually make it a thing. I said Blaster would be better as a portable record player because his tape deck enclosure was mostly covered, save for a small window. Whereas Soundwave’s glass cover was more fitting of a stationary record player.

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Transformers Record Player

Transformers Soundwave Record Vinyl Player design by Dave Delisle davesgeekyideas

Transformers: The Movie Soundtrack was released on Vinyl a few years ago, making it the greatest album to ever be released in this format (sorry The Wall and Rumours, your days are over). It just needs a matching record player for a vastly superior listening experience.

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His arch-nemesis Blaster would make for a good portable record player, because the tape enclosure doesn’t have much glass material.

Transformers Bottle Opener

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Here’s a bottle opener that will light your darkest hour! It features a push-button LED light, so this would make for a handy keychain combo. I could also see geeks wearing this around their neck with a chain just like Galvatron, a tyrant who loves bling.

There are several Transformers-themed bottle openers currently available on the market, so this design could potentially be made in the future. I didn’t think Hasbro would allow their toy brand to be used for a beer-opening product, so color me surprised here.

Bonus: originally I was going to make this a keychain power bank and LED light combo, but a bottle opener seemed more useful to me. I have a few power banks and I never really use them.

Pinball Smartphone Cradle

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Just add a smartphone or Nintendo Switch to this cradle/controller and you can play pinball video games. The bumper buttons and table-like orientation allow players to enjoy pinball just like they were playing on a real machine.

But wait, there’s more! Just slide the marquee and stand the device upright and it is now an arcade cabinet.

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The marquee slides on rails, allowing this to transform between pinball and arcade configurations. The marquee sign is a loose flap that swings down automatically in both modes, thanks to gravity.