It's finally here! We spend a week testing the Magic Leap One augmented reality headset, the long-awaited developer kit utilizing Magic Leap's secretive display technology. Let's dive deep into the hardware, display tech, user experience, and launch applications. Post your questions about the headset in the comments section!
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We're trilled to welcome a new member of the Tested family: 3D modeler and prop maker Darrell Maloney (aka the Broken Nerd)! We're big fans of Darrell's work and YouTube videos, and are starting a new series of collaborations between him and Adam. In this first video, Darrell goes over his process adapting a model made for vfx work to be 3D printable, and the 100+ hours of printing needed to have it come out right!
Adam takes part in one of the team builds for this year's Star Wars-themed Magic Wheelchair project, painting up a scaled R2-D2 dome that'll go on a Jedi starfighter. Follow along as Adam goes through the process of masking and painting this Carbon 3D-printed part, and then heads to Comic-Con for the project reveals!
While in New Zealand, Adam is able to visit the extraordinary exhibition "The Scale of Our War" at the Te Papa museum. Featuring truly larger-than-life sculptures by Weta Workshop, the exhibition tells the story of the Gallipoli campaign in World War I. Join Adam for a tour of the exhibit as we get up close to these remarkable figures.
One of our favorite LEGO builds from this year's Bricks by the Bay convention was this massive dystopian cityscape connected by a working monorail system (with six trains!). The mother and son team of Pamela and Austen show us the details of their build, which is inspired by science fiction films like Blade Runner and Ready Player One.
Adam Savage could not be more excited for this meetup of Totoro cosplayers at this year's Comic-Con! Almost a dozen furry friends got together at the Nerdist House this year to share their stories of how they made their own Totoro costumes. And once all the costumes are on, it's time to dance!
The One Day Builds t-shirt is only available until this Monday! Get yours here at http://www.tested.com/shop. Thanks for your support and we'll have another One Day Build video out soon! And we'd love to know what you'd like to see on the next Tested shirt!
With Star Trek: Discovery, we're seeing a reminaging of the TOS era of Star Trek starships. But many of the ship designs created for the show aren't fully appreciated in the computer-generated shots on screen. We check out some of these ships, like the new bird of prey or vulcan science vessel, at Eaglemoss' Comic-Con booth.
We're always impressed by the new statues and figures Sideshow Collectibles brings to Comic-Con, and this year, they've brought over 250 new products. We take a close look at a few of these as we tour the booth to see some standout examples of quarter-scale, sixth-scale, and even half-scale sculpts.
Inspired by the custom robots he saw at Weta Workshop, Adam's latest build is his own kit-bashed take on a tabletop robot using spare robot parts from the GKR board game! (Reminder that there are only a few days left to get the One Day Builds t-shirt!)
We thought we had seen the ultimate 2001: A Space Odyssey Discovery model with the Moebius kit, but here's an upcoming model kit that takes things up a notch. This is a prototype 1/10th studio scale model of the Discovery from Kaiyodo, with an insane amount of detail that we can't wait to build!
We check in with Steve Neisen of eFX Collectibles to see what's up with his AT-ST studio scale model replica, as well as check out a massive Star Destroyer prototype he's put together as a made-to-order collectible. We learn how the surface details of the Star Destroyer were enhanced by the modelmaker who worked on the original filming miniature!
We meet up with the Wand Company, makers of the upcoming Fallout 76 Pip-Boy 2000 Construction kit to pur our arm in this exquisite prop replica. Wand Company shows us some of the finer details of this kit, as well as their other beautiful collectibles from the Fallout game universe.
In our first look at the new LEGO Voltron set, we chat with one of the set's designers who adapted the winning LEGO Ideas submission to a buildable Voltron model that meets LEGO's rigorous build and play standards. We also take a look at some of the early prototypes for this set that help prove the design was viable. Let's watch Voltron assemble!
Adam goes on his annual incognito walk through San Diego Comic-Con, this time on the 49th anniversary of the Moon landing! His costume this year is a replica of the first high-altitude pressure suit, made in 1935 for famed aviator Wiley Post. While on the floor, Adam takes photos with attendees and even meets a No Face cosplayer!
We visit Weta Workshop's booth at this year's Comic-Con to take a look at some of the specialty film costumes they've worked on recently, including a suits from Pacific Rim: Uprising and Thor: Ragnarok. One costume that absolutely floored us was a full-body robot suit from the upcoming film I Am Mother.
It's happening! After Adam's visit to Weta Workshop and chatting with their collectibles team, Weta is going to start a run of resin model kits for modelmakers to build the Moose mech from Chappie! We inspect the details of this kit pulled from the molds at Comic-Con, which look even more detailed than the painted model. We can't wait to build this back at the shop!
I know that many Tested readers are also fans of Flite Test. This company has set the RC hobby on its ear with highly-polished YouTube videos, online forums, and a catalog of easily-built airplane designs. It is difficult to overstate the renewed excitement that Flite Test has brought to the previously-dwindling beginner and DIY segments of RC. Many Flite Test disciples come from far and wide to attend Flite Fest, the group's biannual get-together. Flite Fest has grown very quickly to become one of the largest RC gatherings in the world. I recently attended my first Flite Fest in Malvern, Ohio (July 12-15) to see why it's such a big deal.
Flite Fest Overview
I've been to tons of RC flying events all over the US. Such gatherings tend to vary in size and theme, but they usually follow a standard format. As I drove onto the grounds at Flite Fest, it was immediately apparent that these folks have their own playbook. One major element is size. A lost traveler arriving at Flite Fest could easily think they had stumbled onto a county fair. Tents of all sizes shared a large field with food vendors, souvenir hawkers, and mobs of people. Perhaps the only thing missing was a petting zoo.
Despite the large crowd of fellow attendees, an army of volunteers quickly got me parked and registered as a participant. In fact, I never waited for anything. Food, porta-potties, flight stations, shade…all was plentiful and well-managed.
RC flying has historically been a male-dominated hobby. Yet, Flite Test vigorously promotes aeromodeling as a family activity. Those efforts were reflected in the demographic at Flite Fest. There were more kids and women than at any other RC event I've been to, by far. They weren't just present. They were participating. Many families set up camp at the field and made a weekend vacation of it.
A huge flightline was located along the edge of a soybean field. It was a nice, unobstructed flying site. A runway made of petromat cloth helped to accommodate models with wheels that were too small for the neighboring grass. There was also a strip of hard, plastic runway that resembled a temporary dance floor. Flyers who utilized this runway had to thread the needle between a covered stage and a wall of banners, but I didn't hear any complaints.