Star Wars LEGO Contest Picks Up Steam

Star Wars steampunk aficionados, crack out those old LEGO sets with helicopter propellers, domed canopies, harpoons, gears and other Victorian accoutrements – the From Bricks to Bothans Forums has announced a “Steam-Wars Contest” and is giving away some great LEGO Star Wars sets for prizes.

To get an idea of what Star Wars steampunk might look like, check out some of the photos posted at the WIRED Blog Network.

Better hurry – contest ends January 31st!

Thanks to theforce.net for the heads up!

Jedi Jardin and Steambots

BoingBoing TV vlogger/journalist Xeni Jardin continues her lightsaber training while visiting LA Jedi Bootcamp, and droid maker I-Wei shows off his latest steampunk robots!

VIDEO: BBtv: Jedi Xeni/Steam-Powered Robots

And don’t miss our exclusive interview with I-Wei about his steam-powered R2-D2 here:
Creating R2-S2 (Steampunk R2-D2)

Make Your Own Mouse Droid

Robot master and Weekend Projects vlogger Bre Pettis shows us how to make a mouse droid using spare parts. Okay, actually it’s called Mousey the Junkbot, but close enough.

Check out the video here.

R2-D2 Kidnapped!

A Swiss newpaper is reporting that “unidentified thieves have stolen a replica of the Star Wars robot R2-D2 from a film prop museum in Frauenfeld, canton Thurgau.”

The thieves broke into a basement storage room, making off with an exact copy of the famed robot character as well as other items. The 1.2-metre-high robot is worth thousands of Swiss francs according to its owner, Roman Güttinger.

Güttinger’s hoard of props from horror, adventure and science fiction films is considered the biggest private collection in Europe. He has gathered around 2,500 items, including rarities such as the monster from the Alien films and the Batmobile from Batman.

While no one as of yet has been apprehended, we suspect Jawas.

———–
SOURCE: Swissinfo.ch

R2-D2 Translator

Finally, now we can all understand what the heck R2-D2 is beeping about! Find out how everyone’s favorite astromech droid says useful words like “pizza” and “latte.” You can modify your text or download the translation to your mobile phone!

Check it out here:
R2-D2 Translator

C-3PO Could Have Been a Contender

Sure protocol droids can communicate, but it would have been awesome if they could box as well. According to BoingBoing.net, “1934 was the year that robotic boxing machines were so imminent that Jack Dempsey was moved to declare that he could whip any mechanical robot” — (reported in the April, 1934 issue of Modern Mechanix).

Find out more about the possibilities of robot boxing here:
Jack Dempsey declares war on robotic boxing machines

Diamond Droid?

(photo courtesy Wartski, London)

When hordes of collectors invaded the International Fine Art and Antique Dealers Show in New York City last week in search of rare and exotic goodies — who knew that our own Goldenrod would be in the mix?

From New York Times:

Nosing about this warren of booths reveals other interesting odds and ends, from a Renaissance bingo set to Roman celestial and terrestrial globes. But ultimately the show is a random compendium of rich people’s toys. Perhaps this is best symbolized by the diamond-encrusted gold brooch modeled after the android C-3PO of the Star Wars movies, at Wartski. Price tag: $30,000.

Read the full article here:
Gifts Fit to Set Before Royalty

—–

SOURCES: ClubJade.net, Nytimes.com

Lucas Talks Imagination

Filmmaker George Lucas visits the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago and answers a few questions from the Chicago Tribune about the Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination exhibit.

“Star Wars was designed to stimulate the imagination of young kids. It was to get kids to think and use their imagination and go home and draw pictures and make their own stories,” said Lucas, who was in town to promote the 10,000-square-foot exhibit.

“There is a lot of imaginative science in Star Wars,” Lucas said. “It shows you that by imagining things, you can imagine things that will eventually come through.”

Watch the video interview here, along with the article:
Exhibit from a galaxy far, far away

Where Science Meets Imagination in Chicago

Explore the space fantasy technologies depicted in the Star Wars films, the real science behind them, and the current research that may someday lead to remarkable real-life versions of these technologies at the Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination exhibit, now at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry from Oct. 5, 2007 – January 6, 2008!

Some of the cool things you can do at the exhibit include:

• Jump to lightspeed and tour the galaxy in a full-size replica of the Millennium Falcon cockpit.
• Experience the feeling of riding in a personal hovercraft, while learning about what transit of the future might be like.
• Help build a spaceport and discover how to create a successful collaborative environment.
• Experiment with magnetic levitation and robotics.
• Test your own speeder and droid.

See more than 80 props, models and costumes from the Star Wars movies and extensive video interviews with filmmakers, scientists and engineers.

Get more information about the exhibit here.

Send R2-D2 to the Moon?

According to a recent post on Wired News:

Google will award $20 million to the first private team to put a robot on the moon, the company and the X Prize Foundation announced at Wired NextFest in Los Angeles Thursday. Members of the public will also get the chance to send digital mementos to the moon. In this advance from the October issue of Wired magazine, contributing editor Spencer Reiss explains what’s behind the Google Lunar X Prize, and what it will take to win it.

Read all about it here:
Google Sponsors Lunar X PRIZE to Create a Space Race for a New Generation

I’m looking at you R2 Builders! HINT HINT

——————-
SOURCES:
Wired News, CNN.com, BoingBoing.net