In 2008, the Chicago-based Slay-A-Thon, an annual charity event organized by Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel fans, raffled off a particularly cool prize: a playset of the iconic Magic Box, made by fanvidder (and modeler) HammerPixVideo.

Take a break from your Starcraft 2 slaughter to check out some of these awesome fan-made tributes to the prolific Zerg. Some of these are so cute that you might actually feel bad the next time you send your Firebats out to do their duty.

One of the coolest things I saw at Star Wars Celebration V was the 501st Legion’s “TK Project,” a charity auction allowing fans to bid on one-of-a-kind stormtrooper helmets designed by artists, actors, directors, and more. Here’s a sampling of some of the 50 or so helmets on display at the con!

Ever get lonely playing Portal? Wish you had your own Weighted Companion Cube to snuggle? Sara Chicazul made her own, and she recorded the whole process in a fashion so detailed it’s almost scientific (GLaDOS would be proud). If you’re crafty, you can follow her photo-rich tutorial and make your own.

We’re in the midst of summer, and while geeks typically are an indoor breed, we too occasionally flock to the beaches. While there, some of us even leave crop circle-like monuments to our visit, as evidenced by these five awesomely geeky sand sculptures.

For 20 years, the Monkey Island series has garnered a cult following, and that means lots of awesome fan crafts and tributes. So grab your sword, your map, and your rubber chicken with the pulley in the middle, and let’s go treasure-hunting for some fan-made tributes to the first two installments of the Monkey Island franchise!

Doctor Who fans have gone Time War Couture! This collection of stylish fan-made dresses inspired by the time-traveling TARDIS and the villainous Daleks is surprisingly diverse, whether decked out with whisks and plungers or sporting an outfit that’s bigger on the inside.

Last week, the much-anticipated Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened at Universal Orlando. And next week, LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 comes to game consoles. All that gaming and park-going is bound to work up some geeky appetites, and here’s just the thing to satisfy them: a collection of awesome Harry Potter-themed bentos!

At this week’s E3, Nintendo announced that 2011 will see a new Zelda game for the Wii, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. So it seemed an appropriate time to highlight some fan-made cross-stitch creations inspired by the franchise’s earlier installments.

This Sunday the paranormal populace of Bon Temps returns for a third season of HBO’s hit vampire series True Blood. Last year I featured some awesome fan made tributes to the series, and now I’m revisiting the show to see what the creative fang fans have been up to more recently.