Nadya Vessey's prosthetic tail is mostly constructed from wetsuit fabric and plastic molds, and covered in a digitally printed sock.
(Credit: stuff.co.nz)Good: double amputee gets prosthetic legs so she can walk. Better: double amputee gets realistic-looking mermaid tail so she can swim. Awesome: it's developed and built by Weta, the special-effects company that did work for the "Lord of the Rings" movies, as well as "King Kong" and "The Chronicles of Narnia" series.
Nadya Vessey's legs were amputated below the knee when she was a child due to illness. At one point, reports Stuff, a child asked her what happened to her legs and she told him she was a mermaid. The idea stuck with her, so she wrote to Weta Workshop in Wellington, New Zealand, two years ago asking for a mermaid tail. To her surprise, they said they'd do it.
Now she has a fully functional mermaid tail with an attached suit, making her look practically just like a real mermaid (if, you know, mermaids were real).
She can swim well and says the prosthesis feels quite comfortable. We're not sure if anything like this could go into mass production for amputees, but we wouldn't be surprised if 10 years from now there are mermaids swimming about in your local pool.
(Credit:
Bungie.net / WETA)
Rarely has a piece of cinematic automotive ingenuity inspired so much awe in me since I saw the Batmobile in the first Batman film. Not to take anything away from the arguably more powerful successor in Batman Begins, but this real-life version of the "Warthog" vehicle from the Halo videogame series looks like it would be a bit more fun to drive, and perhaps a little easier to parallel park.
Made by the team at WETA Workshop, the same folks who just happened to do most of the effects work on the Lord of the Rings series, this real life Warthog is fully drivable. As you can see from the one picture that's been made available, it's pretty realistic inside and out, right down to the green hubcaps and turret that's been strapped to the back. My only question is what kind of stereo they've got in this thing.
[via Bungie.net blog]
This would have scared the crap out of me as a kid.
(Credit: Things From Another World)No evil villain would be complete without their own a badass raygun, right? Or in this case, a Goliathon 83 Infinity Beam Projector. No, it doesn't actually do anything. Yes, it costs $621. But the looks you would get bringing one of these to an NRA rally... priceless.
The Goliathon is produced by Weta Workshop designer Greg Broadmore (prop designer for LOTR and Hellboy) and looks like an amazingly crafted artifact caught between the universes of Barbarella and Brazil. It comes with its own velvet-lined case (which it will probably spend a lot of time in, seeing as the gun weighs more than 7 pounds). If the Goliathon isn't quite to your liking, you can also take a look at the Manmelter 3600ZX Sub-Atomic Disintegrator Pistol or the FMOM Industries Wave Disrupter Gun--all three are each limited to a run of 500.
For those who just like to look (or may want to try and craft your own) there's also this great gallery of handmade prop rayguns created by Clayton Bailey from retro scrap parts.
- prev
- 1
- next
