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Saturday Steampunk

Blogonaut — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 07:35:32 +0000

Intro: Saturday Steampunk is an irregular blog topic that I post on, sometimes it even occurs on a Saturday. You can see other Saturday Steampunk posts here .

Today’s post is a bit of a collection of things I have stumbled upon over the last week.

Steampunk Cupcake holders

First we have Clockwork cupcakes for those of you into exploring the culinary delights with a bit steampunk flare, or indeed if you are hosting a Steampunk party. A hat tip goes to The Steampunk Home for discovering these cute little decorative peices available from Geekinesis’ etsy store.

Dr. Grordbort’s: XENODEFUGIO SUBTILTUS

For those Steampunk aficionados out there with deeper purses than I, you might want to check out Weta’s range of Venutian insectoids.

To the left is the The Xenodefugio, or as it is more commonly known Gumbolt’s Wind Rat a limited edition hand sculpted alien insect mounted behind Perspex. It can be yours for $395 US – slightly more than the cupcakes.

Project Gutenburg:

Well of course I have known about this project for some time, but the advent of e-reader software, particularly kindle for pc, has made the free books here infinitely more accessible.

I have been checking out some old titles like Jules Verne’s A journey to the Centre of the Earth and The Time Machine by HG Wells. Do yourself a favour, get some e-reader software an download some classic now.

Saturday Steampunk – Steampunk Cuttlefish

Blogonaut — Sun, 23 May 2010 05:15:16 +0000

I know it’s been a long time between drinks with my Saturday Steampunk postings. Generally I haven’t been inspired enough to write. The Steampunk twitter stream seems to have devolved into a spam fest where various jewellery makers market their wares, stretching the definition of Steampunk in the process.

It’s not without a sense of irony then that a present Noadi – sculptor and jewellery maker, as this weeks Saturday Steampunk.

Noadi does a whole lot more than steampunk of course but it’s the sculpted beauties to the left that caught my eye.

Steampunk Cuttlefish?

I was immediately struck as to why I hadn’t seen something like this before- obvious shades of 20,000 leagues Under the Sea with the gear encrusted Squid…ehem Cephalopods.

Want to try your hand at sculpting yourself? Noadi has a number of tutorials available from beginner to advanced, if you are artistically inclined.

So check Noadi out, in addition to being a talented artist she’s also a bonafide Atheist and Skeptic.

Saturday Steampunk – The Internet Circa 1900

Blogonaut — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 03:14:54 +0000

A funny and well made little cinematograph, even if you only get half the references

Saturday Steampunk – Sam Van Olffen

Blogonaut — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:17:14 +0000

There is steampunk art and then there is art produced by the likes of Sam Van Olffen. His work is dark, but not without humour – enjoy!

ABBEY ROAD

BABEL CENTRAL STATION

More artwork can be found at his blog

Saturday Steampunk – Steampunk in Oxford

Blogonaut — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 08:16:43 +0000

Its almost cool enough for me to begin working on my Steampunk specimen drawers. But not quite.

Thus I have for your viewing pleasure, found a cinematograph for your viewing pleasure. Wherein is described the Steampunk exhibition and Oxford.

Slightly concerned about the examples that the gentleman pictured above uses to explain certain temporal devices.

Saturday Steampunk – Steampunk Cosplay

Blogonaut — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 02:50:40 +0000

One of the things I love about Steampunk (though this probably goes for most sub genres and sub cultures) is the wide variety of creative input . I mean you have people that build working models, people who recycle or up-cycle, you have companies like WETA Workshop making life size replicas, you have miniature sculptors and painters, costume designers and so on.

I recently joined DevianArt and will be showcasing some of the excellent Steampunk photo’s hosed there. There are some 10,000 photographs labelled as Steampunk, from cosplay/ meetup snapshots to professional photography. But this is of course really just scratching the surface.

One thing I will make note of here though is the abundance (to the point of boredom) of women in tight corsets, looking like harlots from the set of deadwood-don’t get me wrong, nothing against harlots, or a fine gal in a corset but the idea gets very old very quick. That and I expect a bit more imagination. So the photo’s presented here I hope display a little bit more imagination within the genre.

Steampunk by BlackRoseImmortalO

Love the idea of the clockwork doll here and the model seems to pull it off quite well. The dedication that goes in to the costuming here is nearing movie costume design level. As I understand it this particular shot is from a convention. Does anyone else think the doll looks like the girl from Mythbusters?

League of S.T.E.A.M. by ~brainwreck

Unfortunately the photo doesn’t seem to do this group justice. League of Steam, however have a website and a series of web movies where you can check them out up close. They are like steampunk ghostbusters. What I particularly like about the photo aside from the composition is that the surroundings seem to fit the genre as well. They are a hoot though, check out ther videos on youtube

Chim Chim Cheree by `ulorinvex

Apparently this lively lass has just finished cleaning her airship. This was one of the few photo’s I found under stempunk that seemed to steer away from the corset wearing theme. That and she doesn’t appear to be waiting for a man to come and rescue her.

Doctor and Lieutenant by *Aliasdotcom

Again another photo where you have decent representation of women in steampunk and what’s steampunk without a British steampunk soldier in Victorian era get up either?

Question

When women have the opportunity to play around in with gender roles in a neo Victorian/steampunk setting why do we get women basically adhering to Victorian era mores? Wouldn’t it be much more interesting to dress up as a gun toting momma from Boneshaker? Or am I missing something?

Steampunk Saturday – Bartitsu and the Violence of Victorian era fighting

Blogonaut — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 03:25:35 +0000

It’s not often that I get to write about two favourite past times of mine and apply a skeptical eye to both. If you are lucky enough to have seen the new Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downey Jnr. then you will have seen the fight seen below.

So what do you think? Was the fight scene believable? Do you think that’s how Holmes, a Victorian gentleman would have fought, or is it hammed up for the camera? Is it a bit too modern for a hero in a neo-victorian/steampunk setting.

Perhaps the video below, titled “How we used to fight” taken from the 1980’s Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, fits more in line with your view of Victorian violence.

There is a misconception, several, perhaps when it comes to the martial arts, the Victorian era and violence. I have observed a general trend within my own martial arts training toward the oriental arts as being somewhat more vicious, effective or powerful. Born no doubt out of the fight films of the 70’s and 80s when Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris were in their prime (it’s interesting to note at this point that Bruce was not a traditionalist) and out of the secrecy employed by many early exporters of the arts to western shores.

The case my dear Watson is not so simple.

You see out of the two movie representations above, I believe the first to be the more accurate, both technically and historically ( at least within the confines of a work of fiction). The character Holmes was a practitioner of Bartitsu, a sythesis of juijitsu, judo, boxing, savate, swiss wrestling and cane fighting. The art(or regimen) is real, developed by Edward Barton-Wright and has, as part of reality based renaissance in Martial Arts been experiencing a resurgence since the turn of this century(ie 2000).

Like Bruce Lee, Barton-Wright innovated(Barton developed mixed martial arts contests a century before the UFC) and used what worked, he didn’t rely on secret knowledge and magical woo to rope in students (which is perhaps why his school floundered). Several students of the style went on to develop close combat courses for the military.

Still not convinced that the Victorian age wasn’t a little namby pamby when it came to fighting? Consider the video here of an Australian instructor of Savate and French street fighting from the same time period.

Fighting, real fighting is and has always been brutal. The backyard bare-knuckle fights of the Victorian age were vicious affairs, which often resulted in gouged eyes and bitten off ears and noses.

So whether you are role playing in a Steampunk setting or writing a Steampunk novel and you feel you could juice it up with some action, don’t feel you have to stray to far from history if you want your character to open a can of whoop-ass.

Steampunk Saturday – BONESHAKER !

Blogonaut — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 11:29:59 +0000

What could be better than Steampunk? Why, Steampunk plus Zombies of course.

And who do we have to thank for this delightful mix of subgenres? The very appropriately named Cherie Priest(hey I think her name is steampunk-ish).

Boneshaker is Cherie’s first novel set in The Clockwork Century world. One thing that impresses me is that Cherrie seems to be very internet savvy. Not only does she maintain a blog, but also a separate website specifically for the world in which her novels and short stories are set.

I sincerely wish more writers would do this – developing extra content the builds on the back story/history of the world they create or alter. One of the great things about reading Tolkien is the immense history that serves as the foundation of his stories. With the internet and the ease of creating websites I would think that there are almost limitless opportunities to enrich the experience of your readers/fans far beyond their reading of the novel. The opportunity to blend world creation/immersion with merchandising and fan created content has me wondering why more writer don’t do this. Check out JC Hutchins as a good example of what I am talking about.

Aside from Boneshaker, Cherie has a number of other written works floating about in the Clockwork Century world, including some with characters from Boneshaker. Those who abhor the idea of book trilogies will be happy to know though, that Cherie’s subsequent works are not part of the same story line.

If you are not convinced by my review (to follow) you can perhaps check out Cherie’s writing for free. She has a short story that you can read here called Tanglefoot set in the Clockwork Century World.

Now those of us not graced with good fortune of having studied American History, which no doubt includes a number of Americans, need not fear missing out on anything pertinent to the story. I don’t think that we miss out on too much if we don’t know who Stonewall Jackson was. Mind you with Wikipedia a click away, perhaps we should tae the time to find out – it can only enrich or understanding and immersion in the story.

Boneshaker is set in Seattle and takes place solely in that city. Cherie gives the reader some broad brushstrokes on the state of America at the time the novel is set but its not necessary to enjoy the telling of the tale:

Stonewall Jackson survived Chancellorsville. England broke the Union’s naval blockade, and formally recognized the Confederate States of America. Atlanta never burned.

It is 1880. The American Civil War has raged for nearly two decades, driving technology in strange and terrible directions. Combat dirigibles skulk across the sky and armoured vehicles crawl along the land. Military scientists twist the laws of man and nature, and barter their souls for weapons powered by light, fire, and steam.

But life struggles forward for soldiers and ordinary citizens. The fractured nation is dotted with stricken towns and epic scenes of devastation—some manmade, and some more mysterious. In the western territories cities are swallowed by gas and walled away to rot while the frontiers are strip-mined for resources. On the borders between North and South, spies scour and scheme, and smugglers build economies more stable than their governments.

This is the Clockwork Century. It is dark here, and different.

[source]

The novel is named after a contraption invented by the protagonists husband – Leviticus Blue. He’s part inventor, part mad scientist from the descriptions given in the novel(he is presumed dead for most of it). The story unfolds that Leviticus invented the Boneshaker( a giant steam powered mining contraption) at the behest of Russian interests wanting mine through the ice in Alaska. On a test run of his machine,, Leviticus tunnels under the city collapsing the banking area and unknowingly releases a gaseous substance that turns people into Rotters(zombies). The affected part of the city is walled up and a once proud city limps by.

Which is where our protagonists Briar Wilkes(formerly Briar Blue) and her son Zeke come in. Briar scratches out a living for herself and Zeke by working at a local processing where the inhabitants purify the city’s water (contaminated by the gaseous blight). She bares the constant brunt of nasty practical jokes as the city’s populace hold her responsible for her husband’s activities. She doesn’t tell Zeke much about his father and this withholding of information is what eventually acts as a catalyst for the story. Zeke wanting to learn more about his father and recover the family’s good, name decides to go under the wall and as all steampunk, gun wielding motherly heroines are want to do, Briar follows him.

What follows is a very cinematic adventure involving the discovery of a functioning underground society within the walls, smugglers airships and a quietly simmering conflict between a mad scientist named Minnericht and the regular denizens of the walled in city.

Oh, and the ever present rotters.

While within the city people are confined to pressure sealed underground passages and rooms or if venturing above they must wear gas masks(whose filters last only a couple of hours) and protective clothing, sticking to the rooftops as the Rotters roam the streets and will swarm if enough noise is made.

This setting struck me as an ideal setting for a tabletop miniatures or a console game(ala Bioshock – see, merchandising).

As with Leviathan the cover of Boneshaker ensnared me with its sepia toned woman in goggles. The interior of the book is interesting as well, brown ink on cream paper.

I like the isolated, industrial, apocalyptic feel of the novel. There is some sense of the larger outside world, but it’s beyond the reach of the main characters. I also like the fact that the protagonists are not your usual fare – a teenage boy and his mother. Briar is believable as the gun toting daughter of Sherriff and Zeke is a convincing teenager(convinced of his own indestructibility). The twist at the end was a surprise and one that I felt I should have seen coming but didn’t.

If I have any criticisms of the book it’s that I wanted more( I am not averse to trilogies). I felt that there were more adventures to be had by Zeke if not Briar. There was also a moment in the book where Zeke and Briar seemed to be just missing each other by hours – this bordered on frustrating as opposed to suspenseful for me.

The airships didn’t feature as prominently as I hoped but I hear that one of Cherie’s following novels aims to rectify that situation.

All in all I think the book is excellent movie material- if we can get zombie pirates in Pirates in the Caribbean surely we can get steampunk zombies, no?

Upcoming novels set in the same alternate world:

Due out this year is the novel Clementine, which you can read about here and Dreadnought later in the year – a synopsis is here.

Steampunk Saturday – Steampunk in Miniature

Blogonaut — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:29:03 +0000

I have been a fan of miniatures (toy soldiers) for as long as I can remember. Indeed I still have some thousand odd unpainted miniatures from various games as Mordheim, Warhammer, Warhammer 40K, Stargrunt, Fullthrust, Warmachine. So today I thought I would showcase some of the Steampunk miniatures available.

Now the definition of Steampunk can get a little fuzzy around the edges going from almost straight Victorian era with a hint of crazy invention to sky ships and zombies. So there is a rather broad range below.

Warmachine

Okay well, this game is fantasy steampunk, a mix of magic and steam. When reading Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan I would probably have envisaged the warjacks used in this game, if not for the wonderful illustrations in the book.

Freebooter Miniatures

Again more fantasy steampunk, with such figures like the clockwork fairy below.

Cool Mini or Not

Possibly the largest community of painted miniatures in the world. The selections below are from the Steampunk section and are a small selection of those miniatures with a grading of 9+ out of 10. Some of the miniatures are commercially produced others are scratch built/ sculpted.

Click on the image and it should take you to the Cool Mini or Not webpage for that entry where you can read comments.

Shadowforge Miniatures – Wild West

An Australian company that has only female figures, usually thin waisted and large busted. Their wild west range would fit into a Weird Science/ western genre.

Saturday Steampunk – Budget Steampunk hack “Travelling specimen drawers”

Blogonaut — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 03:37:36 +0000

Part of the allure of Steampunk, for me and others I suppose is the hacks, the functional artworks that people create – that mix of recycling/upcycling, the chance to play the part of mad scientist/inventor. Now at one end it can get really serious, for example Jake Vonn Slatt’s work with the LCD monitor featured here or if you are willing to go the whole hog and renovate your house, you can do this.

Now for myself, well apart from having recently bought a late Victorian era farmhouse(built in the 1880’s) my first hack is going to be low budget and will be made from new or recycled modern materials. I did ask if I could mount some pressure gauges to the antique Victorian writing desk – my wife politely declined to acquiesce to my request.

In this project if have been inspired by some of the 3D functional art created by Diarment on Deviantart, especially their Steampunk writing journals. Seriously people, even if you are not a fan of Steampunk you should check them out

So my project is relatively simple. I plan to use the mdf drawers pictured left, some card, (recycled all bran boxes) craft glue and paint to create a hermitically(no not really) sealed, travelling specimen draw. So to begin I have the drawers purchased at $6 from spotlight.

I intend to use a card and a hole punch to created raised “reinforced brass” corners. The hole punch will punch out little round cut-outs that are the perfect size for rivets.

The drawer knobs to my mind look a little cumbersome to be Victorian era so I have toyed with the idea of removing them and gluing them to the bottom of the drawer set as legs, painting them a brass colour and finding some more delicate looking handles.

The “wood” areas of the drawer set I intend to paint a mahogany colour using a mixture of black and red paints and the stippling technique(similar in colour to the background of the Saturday Steampunk logo above.

From there on I hope to add, through layering up card, a painted 3d looking pressure gauge and a vent. I might have to use some fine rigid gauze for the vent. So the ideas are still fermenting at the moment, but I think I have enough to start. I was thinking I might download and printout some Victorian prints and line the bottom of the drawers as an added detail. I have also collected my first specimen – a shingleback lizard skull.

For any Steampunk artists( or anyone really) out there I welcome suggestions.