Fallout 4 bar top arcade

Fallout 4 bar top arcade

As well as retro gaming, I need a taste of the modern and currently have a mild addiction to Fallout 4 (in which I also usually have an addiction to BuffJet). So when this Fallout 4 bar top arcade machine appeared in my Bethesda feed this morning, I had to share!

Bar tops are a great way to scratch your retro-gaming itch whilst appeasing the household. Small, light and therefore portable, meaning you can keep it hidden away in a cupboard. Covered with some really nice Fallout artwork this baby includes the logo and vault boy. Plus Vault-Tec colour-matching joystick and buttons… though the speakers bother me a little!

I can’t find too much info on this, but it apparently has a Raspberry Pi and XBox 360 inside. Sweet!

Bethesda.net

29th February 2016 Dan , ,
DanFallout 4 bar top arcade
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Chain Chomp Cat Bed

Chain chomp cat bed

It’s not particularly new, but I’m sure not everyone in the niche market of Super Mario and cats has seen this - the chain chomp cat bed!

So these guys make a lot of stuff for his cats (as well as other people’s). But the one thing that caught my eye was this giant Chain Chomp, which you may recognise from Nintendo’s Mario series, first appearing in Super Mario 3.

So this creation started life as a huge polystyrene ball…

Which after plenty of chopping and painting and the addition of a chain…

Now if only I could persuade Crumpet to sleep in one of these, I’d be in the workshop in a flash. Fat chance. She does exactly what she wants.

Take a look at their site. Mike and Megan make a lot of interesting things to climb on for cats. Things I would have loved to climb all over as a kid.

See more over at catastrophicreations.com. Make sure you click on the Community >> Cat Toy Graveyard to see not only more of the Chomp Chain cat bed, but also the Mario Cat Complex, the Wooden Cat Drinking Fountain and the colourful Tetris Cat Stepping Stones!

23rd February 2016 Dan , ,
DanChain Chomp Cat Bed
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Wobble chess board

I’m a regular browser of Reddit and a keen follower of the woodworking subreddit. This means discovering many amazing projects. So the other day I stumbled upon this wobble chess set with its concave squares to neatly house the brass-based pieces.

The pieces and board are made from walnut, maple and brass. You can see with the detail that a lot of time has gone onto this. If you follow the link through you’ll see the ingenious way the concave squares were carved out using a table saw and rotating jig.

Where is the chess set now?

The really cool end to the story is that the guy who made it had it sold for $1,000, until he found out the money was donations to benefit a navy crew on a combat ship. So he just decided to donate it and it can now be found on the USS Millwaukee.

via :: Reddit

18th January 2016 Dan , , No comments
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Meccano home furniture

Finally some build-it-yourself furniture that you can relate to. You legitimately won’t be needing the instructions either - just grab yourself a spanner! From France’s Meccano Home, there’s a range of familiar-looking modular furniture. Sold in kits and ready to assemble, I see no reason why you can’t mix and match to give a whole load more possibilities.

 

Meccano home offers a reduced number of parts for constructing a variety of furniture; chairs, stools, coffee tables, high tables, console tables, TV cabinets storage…

Meccano home is designed and manufactured in France.

 

Meccanohome.com

via :: werd

 

19th February 2015 Surface Tension , No comments
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Revival 2014 run-down

It’s been a week since we got back from Revival and what a great show it was too! Craig, Chris and the Revival team did an amazing job again. Plenty of consoles, computers, arcade cabinets, light gun machines, driving games, pinball machines, traders, talks, costumes, chip-tunes, special guests, competitions…

surface tension was there with our stand again this year in the chill-out zone. With us we had our Dual, Arcane and forthcoming upright, Retrograde. Plenty of couches to crash out on too. We had our Rubik’s Cube seat on one side of the Dual, but also built some quirky seating for the other side. A 555 timer seat modeled on the 8-pin through-hole IC, which got plenty of attention! If you’re interested, you can see how it was made here.

We had a good buzz around the stand all weekend with all ages.

The 555 seat with the Dual arcade table.

Super Hexagon worked a treat on the upright. Though the surface tension team were battling it out between us for the highest score, only to be beaten by a 12 year old (not pictured). Meh.

Our feeble attempts before being out-done 🙁

If you didn’t get hooked on this 20 years ago, what were you hooked on?!

Loads of consoles and home computers to bring back the memories.

Plenty of systems to buy as well as play.

A plethora of pinball machines, but never a spare one!

There weren’t quite as many stand-ups as last year, but more than enough to keep you occupied. Plus with all of the pins, you weren’t left twiddling your thumbs.

John Romero was there for a Q&A session, and to kick your ass at Doom.

Craig’s Revival Survival cabinet made its debut…

…which surface tension feature in as we helped Kickstart the project!

Chip-tunes supplied by SIDMAN.

That’s about it. We look forward to next year but aren’t quite ready to go at it again just yet! It was a long and tiring weekend, plus a busy run up to it.

18th August 2014 Surface Tension , , , , , , No comments
Surface TensionRevival 2014 run-down
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555 timer seat

What made me do this? It’s an idea I had a couple of years ago and had to have a go at it! I had the legs made 18 months ago, so I definitely couldn’t let them go to waste!

We wanted to make some interesting seating for our stand at Revival this year, to go with our Dual arcade table. Which would also have one of our Rubik’s Cubes on the other side.

555 timer storage seat

The arachnid IC was made from 18mm MDF, some timber sections to mount the legs to and the legs themselves being 12mm aluminium. I’ve documented my build below in case anyone else wants to have a go.

The assembly was achieved with a mix of biscuits and the use of the Kreg pocket hole jig.

One part complete after some filling and plenty of sanding. The pocket holes were also filled on the inside.

Timber sections on the inside were fixed again using the pocket hole jig and plenty of glue. These sections were used to mount the legs to on the base.

After fixing the legs, this was the first time I could see if it really worked as a shape. Slots were cut into the base section for the legs to come through.

The notch was added before I could start to finish it. The 555 was first prepared with 2 coats of sanding sealer, then 2 coats of primer. The final paint was then applied. The photo doesn’t really do it justice, but it was a dark metallic grey which gave it that graphite look of an IC.

Some text was then applied: ST UK, NE555N, AU0314 for manufacturer/country, model and date code.

What’s the point of having all that space inside if you can’t use it!

A comparison with the real deal. A through-hole 8-pin DIL NE555.

Here it is in place next to our arcade table at Revival 2014.

The over-sized 555 looked great at Revival this year. It really hit the right age bracket with all of the retro-gaming enthusiasts, many of which asked where they could buy one!

17th August 2014 Surface Tension , , , , No comments
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Mario Aluminium Can Art

When it comes to recycling aluminum cans, most people don’t go beyond hauling them to recycling facilities, however there are a rare few that take old cans and turn them into art. I am the proud owner of a tuk-tuk made from Singha beer cans, but Japanese artist Makaon has produced something even more awesome than my Thai taxi.

I can’t find much information about the artist or how many cans he used to make Super Mario and Luigi but if this is where skill, vision and the results of an unending thirst collide, then it’s a beautiful place that I wish we could all visit.

Makaon’s website, Empty Can Craft, shows just what can be done with a lot of empty cans, some imagination and a lot of patience.

via: Global Geek News

22nd October 2012 Surface Tension , No comments
Surface TensionMario Aluminium Can Art
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The Futur-ama of Operations

I don’t even know how many years it has been since I have played Operation, but I always enjoyed it as a kid. It was always a challenge and it was a good game for seeing who had the steadiest hand. Well, I think this Futurama version with Bender as the patient kicks the butt of the original board game!

Instructables member lcbo1234 is the creator of this awesome Futurama version of the board game Operation with Bender as the patient where you have to remove items from him like a gear, cigar, Fry’s wallet and a beer bottle.

If you are good at making things, you can find the guide to make your own Futurama game of Operation over at Instructables and if you do make one we’d love to see it!

18th June 2012 Surface Tension , , No comments
Surface TensionThe Futur-ama of Operations
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The worlds largest game controller

…and that’s official.

With the launch of the Guinness book of records: Gamer edition, comes a huge feat. A group of students from Delft University Of Technology in The Netherlands have produced the worlds largest game controller. When I was at university, I was too busy playing Mario Kart and Super Bomberman.

The world’s largest videogame controller is 30 times the size of a standard NES joypad, unveilled at London’s Liverpool St station today. I hope they are working on plans to retain their title basing it on the N64 pad.

One of the other records set was a man playing Mario Galaxy 2 in a vertical wind tunnel for 18 minutes. Maybe I can get in there too by playing GTA in a bath of beans…

Guinness world record controller :: Make

25th January 2012 Surface Tension , , No comments
Surface TensionThe worlds largest game controller
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Post-It Pixel Art

We know many of you will be back at work this week after the Christmas break and let’s face it, it sucks!! The office decorations have been taken down, you’re feeling dreary and the office is looking that way too. Well we’ve stumbled across a new craze that will brighten up your office and reduce the boredom of being back at work….Post-It window art

Employees at Ubisoft Montreuil in France started decorating their windows with Post-it pictures but, their neighbours across the street at BNP bank took their Post-it artwork as a bit of a challenge, and started firing back with some window images of their own. Thus, the Great French Post-it War of 2011 was born. Clearly, it spawned an epic rivalry worthy of the likes of Mario and Bowser.

If you decide to create some art of your own we’d love to see what you come up with. For further inspiration check out more pictures at Kuriositas

4th January 2012 Surface Tension , , No comments
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