![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Steampunky goodness (and GIP)
Oct. 5th, 2008 09:00 pmAfter this year's Dragon*Con and seeing how much Steampunk has caught on, I've been very tempted to join the fun and put something together for next year. As ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
shanola22, delle, and mir280 do lots of Victorian stuff, I wouldn't be alone which is helpful. Will require help on many things, but I have some ideas and have begun to tinker with gears and other bits with which to make accessories and things. I have lofty ambitions with clockworks but for now will have to remain very much a beginner with no mechanical skills.
Today's Googling resulted in some very nifty Steampunk finds indeed. A blog known as the Honky-Tonk Dragon posted an awesome collection of some of the first motorcycles, mopeds, and scooters - true Steampunk history and wonderful examples of how beautiful this sort of technology can be. I especially like the wooden and brass "Reitwagen", the first cycle propelled by an internal combustion engine.
All of those remind me of the episode of The Adventures of Brisco County Jr that featured "steel horses". Motorcycles and the Old West seem anachronistic but it's nice to know that real motorcycles actually pre-date Brisco by a few years (it was set in the early 1890s, I believe). Very cool.
The second site that made me drool a little bit today is the website of Eric Freitas, a clockmaker who definitely is as much of an artist as he is a machinist and mechanical expert. His clocks are just fascinating.
Steampunk seems to be made up of two sorts of people - costumers and mechanics. Or those who are both. Some of the costumers produce absolutely exquisite authentically Victorian outfits that could pass for the best movie wardrobes. While the mechanics come up with the best gadgets ever, whether they're altered modern items or clockworks made from the ground up. It's the coolest DIY group ever. Here's hoping I get that new job so I can play too.
ETA: Made the icon from a political button offered by DemocraticStuff.com. Seriously, they have a button for everything.
shanola22, delle, and mir280 do lots of Victorian stuff, I wouldn't be alone which is helpful. Will require help on many things, but I have some ideas and have begun to tinker with gears and other bits with which to make accessories and things. I have lofty ambitions with clockworks but for now will have to remain very much a beginner with no mechanical skills.Today's Googling resulted in some very nifty Steampunk finds indeed. A blog known as the Honky-Tonk Dragon posted an awesome collection of some of the first motorcycles, mopeds, and scooters - true Steampunk history and wonderful examples of how beautiful this sort of technology can be. I especially like the wooden and brass "Reitwagen", the first cycle propelled by an internal combustion engine.
All of those remind me of the episode of The Adventures of Brisco County Jr that featured "steel horses". Motorcycles and the Old West seem anachronistic but it's nice to know that real motorcycles actually pre-date Brisco by a few years (it was set in the early 1890s, I believe). Very cool.
The second site that made me drool a little bit today is the website of Eric Freitas, a clockmaker who definitely is as much of an artist as he is a machinist and mechanical expert. His clocks are just fascinating.
Steampunk seems to be made up of two sorts of people - costumers and mechanics. Or those who are both. Some of the costumers produce absolutely exquisite authentically Victorian outfits that could pass for the best movie wardrobes. While the mechanics come up with the best gadgets ever, whether they're altered modern items or clockworks made from the ground up. It's the coolest DIY group ever. Here's hoping I get that new job so I can play too.
ETA: Made the icon from a political button offered by DemocraticStuff.com. Seriously, they have a button for everything.