How The New Nerf Gun Was Designed
Solidsmack linked to an interesting video on the design of the new Nerf Blasters.
Toys
Making Sheet Metal Toys
After the “Ghost” post I did a little more research on sheet metal toys for an upcoming post on sheet metal fabrication I’ve been working on for the “Let’s Build” series. I thought that I would share the videos I found. Here’s a video of the entire process.
Tech Stuff 1
This is a sort of search and discover newsletter of my findings of things that may relate to technology in one way or another. It might be the latest gosh wow tech, it might be something as old of humanity. It might relate to science large or small. It might be art for art’s sake. Or somebody just doing something funky. Because I think that technology is just the representation of human creativity and breaking boundaries. So I’m certainly not going to place boundaries here except that it won’t be the same old, same old. So almost no gadgets or yacking about the latest phone or whatever, unless of course it involves taking them apart or destroying them in unusual ways. Or putting them to work in imaginative ways that most people won’t even think of. So buckle up, it’s going to be a fun ride.
Puppies That Are Not Sad Play With The BB8 Toy
Puppies check out the new BB8 toy and find it good.
A Lego Story
Some serious and fun stuff about Lego that showed up.
I think every creative kid had Lego. I certainly did. The Lego I grew up with in the 1960’s and 1970’s didn’t have the sets and instructions that exist now. In a way that was better because I had use imagination to make what I wanted. It also made me think of Lego as a supply rather than a finished model. Soon after I built something in Lego I would tear it down and use it for something else. By the time the kits started I had already pretty much outgrown Lego as a material and the first kits were, to put it bluntly rather crude. But Lego was an important part of me learning to be a maker.
The Story of Lego.
Don’t step on the bricks.
There is a Lego documentary coming.
Lego is the biggest toymaker.
http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-lego-overtakes-mattel-to-lead-the-game-in-toy-sales-2014-9
Some incredible pics here. I think that they are CG, but still great.
A Lego blog.
Lego announces $150 million plan to replace oil plastic.
I think that this will turn out to be futile. Especially for a company that’s concerned with both quality and costs like Lego has to be. Lego has been able to maintain the quality of their bricks for over half a century now and that’s not something that you can throw away lightly. This is a big issue and even a slight change in material could have ramifications both upstream and down.
https://davidhuntpe.wordpress.com/2014/01/23/choosing-plastics-case-study-lego-toy-truck/
Tested brings in Carl Merriam, who is a product designer at Lego for a week of Lego with Friends. Subscribe at Tested for the rest of the week.
http://www.tested.com/art/lego/532637-lego-friends-carl-merriam-part-1/
How A Toy Is Created In Three Minutes.
From “How It’s Made.”
H/T Solidsmack.
We bump into Kuratas, the 120 million-yen robot, at the Tokyo Toy Show
Mechs sell toys. Lots and lots of toys.
We thought robots didn’t die! The demise of the AIBO robot dogs and the fight to keep them alive
The problem of obsolescence would be troubling to an intelligent robot.
Update:
Popular Mechanics post.
I Wish That I had This When I Was Eight
Hacking all the construction sets. Though they need to add erector and build it sets.
http://www.solidsmack.com/design/the-free-universal-construction-kit-is-hack-tastical/
The Arts Mechanical 