Over at the Thingaverse, the free 3D model download community centered around the Makerbot, strange things are afoot. Or a leg, with a whistle sticking out of it on top of a gun. 

It seems a mash-up fad has broken out, with people taking 2 or more models and literally mashing them together, to strange and glorious effect. 

I'm so in love with this fad it makes me squeel. It's a hyper-specialized community, highly nerdy in all respects, playing and having silly fun with what is in all rights one of the most novel  and high-tech forms of makery (that's a word. I made it up, just now, for this fad). I imagine kids being able to do this simply, mashing up robot-bridge-firetruck-spaceship toys and printing them out. It's so sci-fi it just hurts.

Read more about it on the MakerBot Blog.

Image right: Dalek-whistle-canopener by Rplumley

One of the reasons I love Noisebridge is that peeps are always bringing in the New And Shiny for us to play with. This week, it was Sai Emrys, who got a sample of EL Fabric. We spent a couple hours checking it out, trying to find that perfect project for it. I'd be interested in our brilliant readers suggestions of how to use it best.

I'm thinking bikini.

Beautiful single-nixie clock made by Flickr user Blue_Metal. I really love the elegant way the circuitry is laid out.

(via Hackaday)

I've been sitting on this one for awhile and I can't tell you how excited I am to tell you about it. Quite possibly the coolest way to way to make weird noises, Marv is a MIDI Actuated Robotic Vibraphone created by Tim O'Keefe, Michael McIntyre, and Brock Roland at the SFSU School of Engineering.

Marv is made up by several large banks of solenoids- both for striking and dampening the keys. Marv is an extremelly well documented robot- the site has extensive technical details as well as tons of photos, links, diagrams, and videos.

I chose the above video- the night of Marv's "birth" (first succesful run) because I love, and can sympathise, with the feeling of the late night in the lab, windows dark, everyone else gone home, anxious and terrified to see if with a single press of a button, your creation will come alive.
 

Bruce writes:

Hi Jake,

Attached are a couple current images of my 20 sector Wimshurst machine based on your construction article, with changes made as needed to suit locally available materials and to resolve some issues that showed up after the initial construction. 

Click through to the full set of pictures, this is a very elegant machine and some of Bruce's innovations make it superior to my own!

You may recall Patrick Johnson's marvelous short film Granite Copper Motor from earlier this year. Recently Patrick spent some time with my friends David, Dennis, and Brady, while they designed and constructed a steam boiler dubbed 'Ignatius the Firepig.'  I do so love Patrick's calm and peaceful treatment which is the antithesis of todays frenetic, falsely dramatic, cable television style.

Enjoy!

Modern Alchemy from Patrick Johnson on Vimeo.

A short documentary featuring artists David Dowling, Dennis Svoronos and Brady Scott as they design and construct their steam boiler, Ignatius.

Directed by:
Patrick Johnson - www.journeymanstudios.com

Featuring:
David Dowling 
Dennis Svoronos
Brady Scott

Music by:
John Murphree - www.johnmurphree.com

Camera by:
Patrick Johnson
Ben Hartman - www.who-is-sure.com

Last May's MakerFaire in San Mateo was the highlight of 2008 for me! I had just about the best time of my life!  Now Maker Faire is coming to the U.K.!

Ian writes:

MakerFaire is coming to the UK as part of the Newcastle Science Festival on 14th/15th March 2009 in Times Square outside the Centre for Life and various other nearby spaces, so we’re looking for Makers to take part.

Lucky lucky Meredith Scheff is at Maker Faire Austin right now and she's twittering everything she sees! You can follow her here or add satiredun on Twitter.

Continuing the tale of my long and busy weekend . . .

So a crew from PBS's new show Make:TV spent the weekend with me in the shop filming me at work.  I re-created a couple of projects and made a coach lamp for the car, start to finish.  That turned out to be really hard as I was creating from scrap brass and found objects a whole new piece that needed to be completed while the crew was still there.

When Make:TV was blocking out the schedule for their visit to Boston they asked me if there were more 'steampunk' people in the area doing big projects.  I pointed them in the direction of M@ (Matt) and Holly and HUMANWINE.

. . .

My buddy Paul Cesewski (and former shop-mate/shipyardian) built this rail-car that tickles all my maker-buttons: made from recycled parts, can go fast, utilizes an obscure form of locomotion, has a good possibility of injury,  and serves no readily logical purpose other than to have a friken' great time.

This video is of him and cohorts riding said mobile on probably the funnest bit of abandoned railway around: the tracks look reminiscent of  'scary' rides designed to look dangerous, decrepit, and flimsy. But, you know, real. I especially love the part where the tracks are a good 3 feet off the ground. Unsupported.