Mini LEGO Arcade Machines: Tiny Things Are Awesome

Posted on 29/05/2020 by Paul Strauss

Among my many geeky pursuits, two of my favorites are classic arcade games and LEGO. So when I stumbled onto this collection of custom LEGO arcade machines, I had to bust open the piggy bank (aka my PayPal account) – since that’s where I save my spare change to buy stuff that I don’t NEED but that I really WANT.

These minifig-scale arcade machines come from eBay seller The Brick Show Shop, who has lots of awesome custom LEGO sets in their shop. In order to avoid licensing issues, these machines feature names like “Ms. Dot Man,” “Froggy,” and “Astrobricks,” but they’re still super cool, and make me want to build out a complete arcade filled with mini cabinets. There are standard upright cabinets, as well as unique machines like a DDR-inspired dance game, sit-down racing games, and a ride-on game called “Raptor Rider.”

They’ve also got a skee ball machine, vending machines, and a claw machine in the collection, and I’m sure it’s impossible to to grab any of the studs with the claw in this one too.

Prices for the LEGO arcade machines range from about $7.99 up to $14.99, so you can build out an entire arcade for your minifigs for much less than even a single real arcade machine. You can find them all over on The Brick Show Shop’s eBay store. While you’re roaming the virtual aisles, you can also find a sweet LEGO model of a Nintendo Switch.

LEGO Maximum Security Prison Puts Your Minifigs Behind Bars

Posted on 30/12/2019 by Paul Strauss

LEGO models can represent all kinds of different things, both imaginary and real. But this particular LEGO design takes on one of the more unpleasant sides of the real world – the seamy underbelly of society that is prison life.

Designed by LEGO fan GabKremo, this impressive maximum security prison model uses roughly 3000 bricks placed onto a 32×32 base panel. Outside, it’s got lots of neat details like a prison yard with barbed wire fencing, a prison transport bus, and a guard tower. The orange-jumpsuited minifigs even wear teensy handcuffs.

The interior is just as impressive, featuring cramped jail cells for its minifig inmates, a prison gym, kitchen, cafeteria, infirmary, and even a weapon armory for the guards. Naturally, all of the doors are made out of bars.

The subject matter of this model might not be the most kid-friendly LEGO design ever, but it’s still a really impressive build. If you’d like to see LEGO put this into production, show your support by casting your vote over on LEGO Ideas.

These Food Keycaps Look Good Enough to Eat

Posted on 24/12/2019 by Paul Strauss

Are you the kind of person who eats at their desk and gets food all over their computer keyboard? Well, now you can have food on your keys 100% of the time, and without the pesky Cheetos’ dust and constant need for cleaning.

Created by artisan keycap maker Dwarf Factory, and exclusive to Drop, Foodie Keycaps look just like real food, only miniature, and in the shape of a key. They’ve got tiny versions of cake, cheese, hot dogs, sandwiches, and waffles, each of which looks delicious, and is compatible with standard Cherry MX switches.

They’re handmade from resin, and can be had in either an uncovered version, or one with a smooth cover. I prefer the look of the uncovered ones, but I suppose they might be a little funky feeling beneath your fingertips. On the plus side, their textures might help you with your touch typing.

Unfortunately, the Foodie Keycaps are sold out at the moment, but hopefully they’ll make some more of these delectable looking computer accessories soon.

Tiny Arcade Q*Bert and Pole Position Games Don’t Need Tiny Quarters

Posted on 29/11/2019 by Paul Strauss

I love classic arcade games from the 1980s. Not only did they define my youth, there’s just something special about how much enjoyment you were able to eke out of games with such simple gameplay mechanics. Toy company Super Impulse has been making teensy versions of 8-bit arcade games for a while now, and now we have two more to add to our collection: Q*Bert and Pole Position.

These miniature replicas measure just 3.75″ tall. They’re fully playable, and feature working game controls and a 1.5″ LCD screen. They play authentic game sounds too, and are small enough to hang from your keychain. Of course, good luck fitting your keys into your pocket now. Q*Bert is still an insanely difficult game, especially after the first level or two, so I can only imagine it being even trickier with that tiny joystick. Steering your Pole Position racer with a pinky-sized steering wheel isn’t much easier.

The entire collection of mini arcade cabinets is available over on Amazon, and with prices starting around $17, they make great stocking stuffers.

These Mini Vending Machines Won’t Eat Your Money

Posted on 25/08/2019 by Paul Strauss

If you’ve ever spent time in Japan, you know there’s a certain love for vending machines in the nation that seems unequalled by any other place. From the moment you touch down at Tokyo Narita airport, there are numerous vending machines by the gates. Most of them dispense innocuous stuff like energy drinks, but there are also machines around Japan that vend everything from pizza to corn on the cob if you know where to look for them.

J Dream’s miniature vending machines are the perfect desktop addition for anyone who enjoys making purchases from these coin-operated machines.

The set includes four tiny machines: a duo of cola dispensers, one that sells coffee cans, and another that vends energy drinks. You’ll also get a box filled with 20 teensy cola cans you can stick into backs of the the machines, and they’ll actually vend them when you push the button. You can check them out in action in the video below:

Ironically, these miniature vending machines were originally sold in Japan out of their famous Gashapon machines, which dispense a random assortment of toys in plastic capsules. The complete set is available from importer Japan Trend Shop for $33, or from Amazon Japan for about $25.

These Miniature Boss Chairs Give Action Figures a Place to Sit

Posted on 16/08/2019 by Paul Strauss

Let’s face it, life as an action figure is hard. You just stand around all day, and occasionally somebody picks you up and bends your stiff joints to their whim. Their muscles have got to ache from all of that. What your action figures need is a place to rest after a long day’s work. These miniature boss chairs should do the trick.

These teensy office chairs from Jiaou Doll look just like the fancy ones in the executive offices at your work. But these ones are 1/6th scale, making them the perfect home for your larger, 12″ tall action figures. Each chair is impressively detailed, and is made from ABS, PVC and a little bit of metal.

All three are available from BigBadToyStore, and sell for $26.99 each. If you don’t think your action figure deserves something quite so nice, you could always get them some cheap folding chairs instead.

World’s Smallest Stuff Collection: For Tiny People with Tiny Hands

Posted on 02/08/2019 by Paul Strauss

Are you less than 12 inches tall? Or do you just like tinier than normal stuff? Well good news, everyone! The fine folks at Firebox have got you covered with their selection of teensy-tiny versions of objects.

Among the items are a miniature record player, microscope, vacuum cleaner, Etch-a-Sketch, a zen garden, leaf blower, dumbbells and more. The mini Rubik’s Cube looks more difficult to solve than ever, and even rearranging the stickers on this tiny thing would prove to be a challenge.

My fingers are just way too fat to handle these things, but they still would look good sitting on my desk. They’ve even got a little tiny lucky cat in the event you just need a little bit of good luck.

You can check out the entire “World’s Smallest” collection over at Firebox.

This McDonald’s Is Staffed by Bees

Posted on 29/05/2019 by Conner Flynn

Sweden now has the world’s smallest McDonald’s restaurant. It may be tiny but it is packed with workers called drones, and has room to serve thousands of guests. They don’t make burgers and fries though. They have just one item on the menu: honey. That’s because it is filled with bees.

This fully-functional beehive is designed to look like a McDonald’s. I mean it looks exactly like the fast food restaurant, only in miniature. The McHive has all of the details of the real deal, including the iconic Golden Arches standing on the removable miniature rooftop, glass doors, full pane windows complete with promotional posters, railings, and even a couple of drive-thru windows.

Buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz, I’m lovin’ it.

Of course, now there’s going to be a Burger Queen beehive that opens up across the street and the competition is going to be fierce. I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz about it. Then there will be a Wendy’s, and before you know it Sweden is going to be overrun with fast-food beehives. Then the fattened-up bees and their miniature restaurants will take over the world, with no humans left to eat their honey.

[via Mike Shouts]

Tiny Star Trek TOS Captain’s Chair Replica Is Ready for Command

Posted on 08/02/2019 by Conner Flynn

What do Captain Kirk’s butt and tribbles have in common? No not that. Get your head out of the gutter. The answer is that both have spent time on the starship Enterprise’s Captain’s chair. That chair is an iconic piece of sci-fi and now you can own a scaled-down replica that looks just like the real thing.

QMx’s 1:6 scale replica of Captain Kirk’s favorite chair looks sweet. It not only swivels like the real deal, but it also plays sounds and has light-up controls. This replica is extremely well detailed. It’s perfect for your 1:6 scale action figures. Well, Kirk anyway. You wouldn’t put anyone else on it. Except for Scotty when the Captain’s away on a mission.

This is the best replica of this chair I’ve seen. It has four different light and sound settings including standard bridge operations, ship-wide announcement, viewscreen scanning, and red alert. It stands 8″ tall so it’s great for your office desk, and is powered by either three AA batteries or a mini-USB plug (not included).

Grab one today from ThinkGeek for $99.99. It’s a great tribute to the days when Star Trek was truly an action-packed western set in space. They don’t make them like James T. Kirk anymore. And this is his seat.

1/4-Scale Pac-Man Arcade Machine Needs No Quarters

Posted on 13/12/2018 by Shane McGlaun

The very first arcade game I ever played a sit-down console style Pac-Man game at a Pizza Hut, and it was awesome. I fed more quarters into arcade games than I care to admit. If you want some of that ’80s arcade nostalgia in your home or office, check this out.

Numskull Designs‘ picture perfect 1/4 scale Pac-Man arcade cabinet comes complete with the real colors and art from the original machine. The 16.9″ tall mini machine itself is fully playable, and based off the original arcade ROM with all of the colors, sounds, and play you remember.

The cabinet has a 5-inch full-color TFT screen, and there’s a tiny arcade joystick and buttons on the console. Integrated speakers let you hear the wakka-wakka-wakka, and it runs on a rechargeable battery, so you can take it anywhere. The mini Pac-Man machine is being made in a limited edition of 10,000 pieces, and will set you back $179.99 at ThinkGeek.

Numskull plans on offering up Galaga, Ms. Pac-Man, and Galaxian cabinets in 2019, so you start your collection now with Pac-Man.

GIZMODO.cz

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Tag Archives: miniature

Mini LEGO Arcade Machines: Tiny Things Are Awesome

LEGO Maximum Security Prison Puts Your Minifigs Behind Bars

These Food Keycaps Look Good Enough to Eat

Tiny Arcade Q*Bert and Pole Position Games Don’t Need Tiny Quarters

These Mini Vending Machines Won’t Eat Your Money

These Miniature Boss Chairs Give Action Figures a Place to Sit

World’s Smallest Stuff Collection: For Tiny People with Tiny Hands

This McDonald’s Is Staffed by Bees

Tiny Star Trek TOS Captain’s Chair Replica Is Ready for Command

1/4-Scale Pac-Man Arcade Machine Needs No Quarters

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