Gizmodo Australia » dolls

Careful, You’ll Poke An Eye Out With That Thing

Jack Loftus — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:30:00 +0000

How might one repair a cyborg’s eye in the future? Why, with this handy eyeball-removing tool. How does one forget what’s seen in this image? Macallan 12 years, neat, that’s how. [Bloomers and Bows via Boing Boing Gadgets]

Thriller Action Figure Allows Kids to Legally Play with Michael Jackson

Jesus Diaz — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 23:40:00 +0000

Oh, Michael, the world misses you. And as Billie Jean plays for the 152,345,160,433rd f–king time—yes, I’ve counted them all—what other better way to remember you than to play with this morphing Thriller action figure.

This licensed Michael Jackson Thriller 1/6th scale doll has over 32 points of articulation, and stands at 11.8 inches. It also comes with two interchangeable heads, two sets of costumes (shiny red and zombie red), 2 sets of white socks with black shoes, and five sets—five!—of hands.

That sound you heard, dear readers, was Brian Lam getting wet. [Hot Toys via Toyology]

Pole Dancer Doll Doesn’t Really Set The Perfect Role Model

Jesus Diaz — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 05:20:00 +0000

It rotates. It has blinking lights. It has a disco ball. It has a pole. And it’s probably one of the wrongest toys you can give to any girl. Enjoy…the Pole Dancer doll. [Thanks David]

Creepy: iRobot’s “My Real Baby”

Danny Allen — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 22:40:00 +0000

Meet the offspring of iRobot, and Transformers creator Hasbro. No, really.

Back in 2000, the two companies teamed up on a project to create a baby doll that had emotionally expressive animatronic facial expressions. One look at this pic could explain why the project was later discontinued. [Ingenious' Flickr via Robot Stock News]

The Evolution Of The Mobile Phone In Matryoshka Doll Form

Sean Fallon — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:20:00 +0000

Cellphones have certainly changed a lot in the last 20 years. Once giant unwieldy beasts, they have evolved into sleek, portable devices with dozens of features. This Russian Matryoshka doll cleverly illustrates that with the traditional doll-within-a-doll design.

Okay, so it’s not exactly to scale. But anyone old enough to remember those monsters from the 80’s and early 90’s knows that it’s not a completely ridiculous exaggeration. Unfortunately, the doll is only a concept from designer Kyle Bean. [Kyle Bean via PopSci via Gadget Review]

Ethernet Cable Action Figures

Sean Fallon — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 19:45:00 +0000

Who needs Gi-Joe when you can build your own badass action figures with some Cat5 cable? Seriously, this is brilliant. I think it is worthy of an art exhibit.

Think about it—a whole platoon of these characters arranged in some giant battle scene diorama. It would speak of the role of technology in warfare and how the modern worker lacks focus. You know, how a sys admin can find the time to build these figures when he should be working. [fresh99 via OhGizmo via Boing Boing Gadgets]

More Manly Star Trek Action Figures Still Have No Penises

Jesus Diaz — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 23:20:00 +0000

Yesterday we told you about the Barbie Lieutenant Yummy Pants and her effeminate Captain and Science Officer. Here are the more manly versions, complete with a reproduction of the Enterprise’s bridge to scale:

These Playmates Toys’ action figures and sets will arrive on April 19, and will come on different sizes:3¾-inch for $US7, 6-inch ranging from $US9 to $US10, and 12-inch for $US30. Note: None of these toys are anatomically correct. [USA Today]

Scientists Grow Doll Out of Living Cells, Complex Organisms Next

Elaine Chow — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 06:30:00 +0000

Researchers at the University of Tokyo created a 5mm tall doll composed of living cells, in an experiment to create 3D living biological structures. It’s cute and kinda gross at the same time.

The experiment is supposed to help improve techniques to create bodily organs and tissues with complex cellular structures, which would be useful for regenerative medicine and drug development.

Scientists created the little gingerbread-looking man by cultivating 100,000 0.1mm balls of collagen, each coated with dozens of skin cells and dropping them inside a doll-shaped mold for a day. The doll managed to survive in a culture solution for more than one day.

Shoji Takeuchi, a professor at the University of Tokyo’s Institute of Industrial Science, said he’ll be trying to combine multiple types of cells next to create a complex system that could function as a living organism. Translated: “First we’re growing dolls. Next we’re going to grow PEOPLE.” Just kidding. I think. [Pink Tentacle]

Star Trek Barbie Dolls Still Have No Nipples

Jesus Diaz — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 12:04:00 +0000

Yes, beautiful people, Star Trek Barbie dolls. “Captain Kirk” (who could have never survived that jump, but whatever), Spock, and Lieutenant Yummy Hot Pants. I mean, Uhura. New faces, same irresistible naffness.

Believe it or not, this is not the first time Mattel has released Star Trek Barbie dolls. In 1996 they released Ken and Barbie dressed up in Federation gear to celebrate the TV show’s 30th anniversary. Expect them in April.

In the meantime, get the only doll that counts: El Señor Presidente! [Entertainment Wise]

Automated Carillon Is Powered By Mac, Scary Tambourine Doll and Christmas Cheer

Jack Loftus — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 17:00:00 +0000

This bell rig, called a carillon by we cultured folk, is a late post-Christmas creation that puts and nice bookend to the holiday. Just ignore the crazy, twitching tambourine-playing doll.

The rig was created and programmed by Sarah Angliss. It plays many tunes, but in this video we are hearing a rendition of Troika, from Prokofiev’s Lieutenant Kije (duh).

Sarah’s provided some technical details:

The bells are being played by wooden balls, spring-mounted on servo-controlled beaters, running off a LynxMotion SSC-32 board, receiving serial signals from a Max/MSP patch (which is interpreting a midi file). These bells have been recycled from Swinging London, my 2006 installation for the Overture Weekend at the South Bank, London. Here they’ve been mounted on a stainless steel shop fitting, reclaimed from the back yard of Moore’s of Dunstable.

And all that is powered by a Mac laptop (MacBook? Pro? She doesn’t say). [YouTube — Thanks, Sarah!]