Steampunk R&D: Page 4

I guess it's steampunk film night, because there's another film out there in the works, though this one is trying to raise money via Kickstarter. The promotional animation that they have up on their kickstarter page is pretty awesome, and from what the director had to say, it sounds like it would be a really cool film.

We could use some more cool steampunk films, and this one looks like it has pretty high production values for an independent thing. So far as I'm concerned we can use more steampunk horror, too. I love that stuff.

This claw glove by Curiomira, called "Von Richt's Mechanical Glove" is really, really impressive. In addition to the amazing craftsmanship, it also has cool moving parts that make it look mesmerizing in action.

Not two random broke girls, but the television show "Two Broke Girls". I think this show is hilarious, and I think Steampunk getting "dissed" by the show is sort of like a song getting parodied by Weird Al: it's a rite of passage for anyone who's famous.

According to this article on Kotaku, H.G. Wells invented modern tabletop wargames. War games had been going on for a long time, but Wells was the first person to make them accessible for a casual, non-military audience with his game Little Wars.

Swing music was later than the Victorian era, but electro-swing music can call that retrofuturistic era to mind. I recently saw this review of an electro-swing album, "Electro Swing For the Masses" by Good Co~, who features one of the musicians from the well-known Steampunk band Abney Park.

Steampunk is a tremendously interesting phenomenon because of its reliance on science fiction, and fiction in general. Steampunk can arguably be broken down into two categories: the fiction, and the aesthetic. Sometimes these categories cross over, but they're often more distinct than most people suspect; that said, the aesthetic is firmly based in works of fiction.

Organic Armor is a company run by Paul Hersey which makes... organic armor. Their Facebook page is a really awesome place to get some steampunk inspiration. Check out some of their work:

Steampunk Boba Fett, aka John Strangeway, has become a fixture in the steampunk world. A quick Google search will turn up tons of images of him.

I get into conversations about this all the time at conventions when I give panels on Steampunk, so I thought it was time I made this argument in a place where people can read my carefully laid-out thoughts rather than having to listen to me hem and haw and say things like "well..."

The Recycleart Facebook group frequently posts awesome pictures of steampunk-friendly sculptures. Not all of them look steampunk, but enough do that it's worth checking out.

I came across this great article that features forgotten fashion trends from the past.

Steampunk scientists, there's a new spectrometer for your workshop, and it's called the iPhotometer 5.

This Steampunk portal gun (from the game Portal) was recently featured on Kotaku, and is really, really beautiful. It's rare that you see such refined woodworking in steampunk props.

This bicycle was found through website CustomMade, which is sort of like an Etsy for people who will custom make things to your specifications rather than selling things they've already made.

I know, "Steamdown" conjures images of a hoedown, but "Steampunk prop breakdown" is a bit of a mouthful, I thought.

While I am a writer with a degree in Creative Writing, I haven't published any Steampunk fiction. However, as a panelist and track director, I've been on panels with many well-known Steampunk writers and have gleaned insight from the things they've said. I've compiled some of those things into this post, which will hopefully be helpful to all of the writers out there!

Etsy seller Ivan Owen is offering for sale some giant mechanical hands that are fully functional, and can be used as it if were your own.

President Andrew Jackson was a pretty rough guy. He routinely fought in duels, and even used to beat people with a stick. That's not very funny.

Penny Dreadful Productions has made a series of short web videos to highlight their costume-making abilities, all of which take place in a world of their own creation, called "Remnant". These videos are amazing, with extremely high production values and great costuming. They're worth a look for anyone who likes steampunk.

Who doesn't love a good alliteration? These postcards were painted in Paris between 1899 and 1910 and were supposed to imagine what Paris would be like in the year 2000. I think they were all right on the money, don't you?

Anthrax (the band, not the disease) remains one of my favorite bands, so I was really happy to see that Dan Spitz, the former guitarist of Anthrax, is now a master watchmaker, supposedly one of the best in the world. After all, there aren't too many things more steampunk than watchmaking, especially when he even makes some of his own parts.

A man named Tom Hardwidge has taken it upon himself to create an army of steampunk insects from a bunch of different found materials, including bullets and pocket watches. He's made a ton of them—and they're really awesome.

You may or may not have heard of alt-rock band Panic! at the Disco, but a year and a half ago they released a single called "The Ballad of Mona Lisa", which had an accompanying music video that was Steampunk-themed. In fact, here's the video:

Last year, Instructables user Horatius.Steam created Dr. Brain, a small computer connected to a model brain that can tell stories and have Skype conversations. But one thing it couldn't do was print, so to solve that problem, he came up with this awesome Steampunk "Ticker Machine".

Every year in Ontario they have a festival to showcase and appreciative steam-based vehicles, called Steam-Era. Not a very original name but at least it's descriptive.

Say whatever you want, but Steampunk is primarily a maker culture. Consider that Steampunk has existed since the 1960s and yet more or less languished in obscurity until approximately 2005, which is when it made the leap to costuming. That costuming was what provided the leap to the tangible, despite the fact that Steampunk art had also existed for years.

You know that steampunk is mainstream when they even talk about it in comic strips. At least they got the punk in steampunk right.

I came across this article on Cracked, and everything used to look so much better than it does now. They used to know how to make people look good no matter what they were doing.

I just saw that the Rocketeer is being rebooted. It's visually one of my favorite movies and it really doesn't need to be rebooted. It's a great steampunk movie, but still not as good as the comics.

I'm here entirely by accident, but it looks kinda cool.

Before I really get into this article, it's important to note that you do not need a Steampunk persona (or "steamsona") in order to be a Steampunk, or wear Steampunk clothes. Some people like to pretend to be a different person when dressed up in Steampunk clothing, but that is entirely optional, and only to be done if it appeals to you. That said, even if you aren't actually acting as your character, it may still be helpful to have one in mind when putting together an outfit. Personally, I've...

Steampunks don't always walk around wearing their full Steampunk finery, so how can you tell whether someone is a Steampunk or not? Here's a tongue-in-cheek (and yet 100% true!) guide to help you determine whether someone you know is a Steampunk.

Im looking to start with Steampunk, I've done some very small projects and I couldn't think of something realistic for me, so I wondered what were all of your first real projects? Any suggestions on something simple I could make? Thanks

If you're like me, you've already spent a ton of money on your costumes, your badge, and your hotel room, and now you're looking for ways to cut costs. There are all kinds of ways to save money at DragonCon, but many of them involve violating the rules in some way, such as not buying a badge, sleeping on the floor in a hallway somewhere, etc.

Salutations, Steampunks! Welcome to the newest Steampunk community on the web, Steampunk Research & Development, or Steampunk R&D for short. This online assemblage is based specifically around Steampunk how-to projects, and we're quite possibly the first Steampunk community to do so.

If you're a steampunk enthusiast looking to give your bathroom an extra kick, this just might be the project for you. This stylish and functional "vintage" toothbrush timer knows when you've grabbed your toothbrush, and will visually count down two minutes before alerting you when you've brushed long enough.

Do you listen to a lot of music on your smartphone or MP3 player? Ever wished the built-in speaker was louder? You're in luck, because this simple amplifier can increase your volume by 14 decibels and make your device look totally steampunk while you're at it.

I love music. And Art. So when this hit the web, you bet it was inspiring.

What is your current project? What is exciting, inspiring, motivating you?