Rocket Belts!

If you've ever seen Sean Connery fly around in Thunderball, you know what this is. A doggone Rocket Belt. Developed by Bell Labs in the early 60's, it was abandoned for military use because it doesn't fly too long.

And it can be yours for just $250,000. If I were a rich weirdo living in Orange County, just waiting for the San Andreas fault to drop me into the ocean, I'd totally buy one.

Check it out: the Rocket Belts of Tecnologia Aerospacial Mexicana

Really cool use for a Doodle Pro!

This one is for the older kids, and the ones with a DIY streak in them at that... Here's a nifty how-to on making a "plot bot" with some "spare" parts: AVR-baseed analog plotbot with an E-Paper display.

Not for the faint of heart! You'll also need an antique plot recorder, which I haven't seen in ages.

The blue jet

IMG_2079
Originally uploaded by toyblogging.

OK, upon further review the Shake'n'go planes aren't so bad. It took a little training for the kids, and maybe the launchers go get used to us, but they work really well now.

The trick: gently load the plane until it clicks ONCE. Teach the kids this, and it'll start up the noises. Tilt down and up (the nose), or up and down, and it'll start pulling back.

The blue one and green one get good air, but the blue seems to get better distance-- sometimes! Very cool.

These are some expensive toys!

Would you pay nearly $50,000 for a remote-controlled robot? You might if you're the target demographic for Hammacher Schlemmer. I remember getting this catalog as a kid (ok, my parents got it, but never ordered anything) and drooling over the geegaws. H-S does put some big-ticket items in the catalog as a sort of "wow" factor, but $49,000+ for a working "Robby the Robot?" Wow.

CNN Money has a very cool slideshow with some other high-end "toys," although a couple aren't really for kids, and the first 2 are play houses... That Pirate Scallywag play house is SO cool though! Instead of buying one, I think I'll build one instead.

[via Blogging Baby]