Homemade Steampunk lamp

Posted in Lamps by Conner Flynn on February 26th, 2009

Homemade Steampunk lampThis Steampunk lamp would be right at home lighting up the desk of a 19th century mad scientist. It’s basic,simple and unlike some Steampunk creations, isn’t overdone and overly thought out. Creator Michael Pusateri made it from an old wooden cigar box, two 60 watt bulbs, a handful of copper wire.

He admits that he got “a little fancy” and painted the ceramic mounts with textured copper paint. And he acknowledges that he could have thrown much more steampunk at the thing, but likes the simplicity. Check out a video below.

Steampunk Frankenstein computer case mod

Posted in Computers by Conner Flynn on February 19th, 2009

Steampunk Frankenstein computer case modThere are case mods, then there are case mods. This 8 foot tall monstrosity looks like it was actually part of Frankenstein’s lab. Looks like the only thing missing is the lightning. It was created by D. Mattocks, who must have shouted “It’s alive” during completion. This thing is just bursting with Steampunk goodness.

It has all kinds of copper piping, vintage gauges and glass indicator lights from an old navy ship. Seriously HG Wells should have been buried in this thing. Everything is backlight with green cold-cathode tubes, which makes it look even more Frankenstein-like. The whole thing probably runs off of an abbey-normal brain.

Steampunk guitar with clockwork gears, a lot of brass

Posted in Musical Instruments by Conner Flynn on January 28th, 2009

Steampunk guitar with clockwork gears, a lot of brassThe Steampunk phenomenon just keeps chugging along. Here’s a little something for you Guitar Hero players who wish they featured a Victorian rocker with period guitar. This is what such a guitar might look like. It was built for the 2008 Jersey City Artists Studio Tour by Mark Dalzell, and it’s called Organum Insolitus.

It features a television with Fresnel lens magnifier, onboard phaser, an amplifier and uses clockwork gears, hand hammered brass, cloth wire and wood. The guitar can be attached to an external amp with a standard ¼-inch cable, so you can really use this.

Steampunk Mouse made with real mouse parts

Posted in Mouse by Conner Flynn on December 9th, 2008

Steampunk Mouse made with real mouse partsDaniel Pon loves Steampunk. So when it came time to make a steampunk mouse to go with his Steampunk keyboard and monitor, he went a little crazy with the design. The end result? Pretty damn cool. And maybe a bit morbid.

The Paradox Mouse is a great steampunk mod with typical brass, bolts, gears, wood, etc. A great neo-Victorian peripheral. But it has a few extra features that Daniel calls “ironic”. These features are a real mouse skull, shoulder blades and spine, all lovingly worked into the project. The skull sits on the front of the mouse, the shoulder blades as miniature cattle catchers, and the spine as the palmrest.

Steampunk sewing machine is functional

Posted in Home by Conner Flynn on December 2nd, 2008

Steampunk sewing machine is functionalLove steampunk, but lack a steampunk sewing machine to go with your Victorian decor? Becky Stern’s Steampunk Sewing Machine actually functions as a sewing machine. The propeller even spins when the drive-wheel moves! As Becky puts it, “I got an old sewing machine at goodwill and steamed it up with brassy bits!”

That about sums it up. With this thing you can authentically sew steampunky stuff. Fans of such contraptions can take a gander at the machine and other steampunk objects at First Studio in downtown Phoenix on December 5, where these will be displayed as part of a steampunk show.

Steampunk Ray/Particle Beam gun

Posted in Weapons by Conner Flynn on November 24th, 2008

Steampunk Ray/Particle Beam gunCheck out this sweet Steampunk ray gun. It sports a pretty nice, not so over-the-top Steampunk look but still manages to have lots of nice detail. The “Power supply” consists of a vacuum tube and “brass bits” installed inside the gun. The smoky look of the vacuum tube makes it look as if it has just been fired.

There’s even detail inside of the barrel. The creator added some clockwork parts inside so that it looks like the delicate clockwork mechanism is focusing the particle beam. Nice! The end result is a nice looking Ray Gun suitable for any Sci-Fi adventure.

I dare say, that’s a jolly good steampunk space helmet

Posted in Sci-Fi by Conner Flynn on November 10th, 2008

steampunk space helmetIf Arthur Conan Doyle, Jules Verne and the like had had the opportunity to explore space, their gear might have looked something like this. Herr Döktor’s Vacuum Survival System, or ‘Space Helmet’ was apparently recently recovered from the archive at “Castle d’Arrogance”. There aren’t a ton of details, but from what I gather, it’s fully functional should you wish to leave Victorian England and explore space.

Some specs include a blown glass pressure bell, cast-iron body with brass and copper fittings, and externally mounted lamp. The chest mounted control box shows the temperature as well as illuminated internal and external pressure gauges. It’s a true work of art so awesome that it will grab you by the handlebar mustache and take you for a ride.

Datamancer’s ergonomic Steampunk keyboard

Posted in Keyboards by Conner Flynn on November 3rd, 2008

Datamancer’s ergonomic Steampunk keyboardDatamancer has done it again and this one looks like it would be pretty comfortable to use. It’s got the usual brass, wood and classic typewriter keys, along with some other really super details. Like some violet LEDs, an acanthus-leaf pattern etched into the brass, and a soft burgundy wrist pad that is removable for cleaning. It began life as a very rare but plain IBM Model M-15 split ergonomic keyboard, but as you can see, it looks much better now.

Steampunk Goggles are a work of genius

Posted in Apparel by Conner Flynn on October 22nd, 2008

Steampunk Goggles are a work of geniusThere are Steampunk googles, and then there are Steampunk goggles that are quality made and look pretty damn spiffy too. The metal components that you see in this pair are solid milled titanium, coated in gold colored titanium nitride. That’s pretty cool by itself, but these goggles also feature irises that can be opened and closed through independent sliders.

If that isn’t enough to get your Steampunk blood boiling with steam power, the photochromatic lenses automatically tint in sunlight. The leather is actually bolted to the eyepieces, using 48 tiny bolts plus another four for the nosepiece. The creator obviously believes in quality.

WETA Steampunk Raygun gives us a nerd-gasm

Posted in Weapons by Conner Flynn on October 8th, 2008

WETA Steampunk Raygun gives us a nerd-gasmYou need only two qualifications to own this nerd-gasmic Raygun. A love of Steampunk and some serious money to burn. The WETA Steampunk Raygun will cost you around $6,000. Dr Grordbort’s Rayguns are a line of 1:1 scale antique styled, limited edition(only 50 units), sci-fi hand weapon props. Above you can see “The Unnatural Selector”.

I’m not one to have weapons on display, but I’d proudly display this geektastic piece of eye-cady. See, this is what WETA is doing when they aren’t making big screen magic in Lord of the Rings. It’s made from metal, glass and rare Venusian Worm Oak. This my friends is some serious Steampunk. No really, this kicks the ass of every other Steampunk thing.

Steampunk phone works with a punch card

Posted in Mobile Phones by Conner Flynn on October 1st, 2008

Steampunk phone works with a punch cardForget about your sleek iPhones and your Samsungs and Nokias. Here’s a phone you can rock like it’s 1899. This steampunk phone is a prototype by Arthur Schmitt, a modern day Londoner, not a Londoner from Victorian times.

It sports a wire cover over the earpiece, period gauges, visible screws, a spinning number-counter and more. Perhaps the coolest detail is that it uses punch cards and binary phone numbers to control the phone’s features and make calls. Now that’s progress that makes phonebooks look like rolodex’s. “Can you hear me through me amazingly thick mustache now?”

Jules Verne called, he wants his watch back

Posted in Watches by Conner Flynn on September 29th, 2008

Jules Verne called, he wants his watch backIf you love Steampunk, then you’ll love Haruo Suekichi’s creations. He’s has lost count on just how many pieces he has created, but an estimate is around 6000-7000. They are made primarily with brass and leather and each is unique. They go well with bowler hats and canes, handlebar mustaches, and frilly shirts. If Haruo Suekichi lived during Jules Verne’s time, he would have made watches for him. Haruo Suekichi has been at it for 13 years and now he’s showing an interest in creating antique fountain pens to go with the rest of your Victorian theme.

Steampunk Bluetooth ear piece

Posted in Bluetooth by Conner Flynn on September 17th, 2008

Steampunk Bluetooth ear pieceWe’ve seen our share of steampunk, but never Bluetooth. Nicrosin’s Victorian-style Bluetooth device should be mass produced and powered solely by winding. He makes his creations from sculpey and watch parts, then lines it with leather for comfort. Though it still looks like it will eat your ear. The prop is fully adjustable and flexible and if you find yourself in a Steampunk alternate reality, you just might be able to use this baby to call your favorite Steampunk droid.

Steampunk watch gobbles up entire wrist

Posted in Watches by Conner Flynn on September 15th, 2008

Steampunk watch gobbles up entire wristThis Steampunk creation is pretty cool. There’s just so much of it that you have no wrist left and it looks like it would give you carpal tunnel syndrome and make one arm look like a weight lifter while the other is thin and geek-like. Sure is a lot of leather work around the metal flip-open watch.

It does have a certain authentic antique look about it. And I can’t tell you what the whole finger strap is about because my translation skills aren’t up to it. My guess is that you wear this while riding your bicycle and when you see a pretty lady, you activate a bell with your finger that dings, letting the Victorian hottie know that you noticed. Then one day they’ll invent the bicycle bell and your wrist can be free.

Casio G-Shock G8100A-5 is slightly steampunk

Posted in Watches by Conner Flynn on August 17th, 2008

Casio G-Shock G8100A-5 is slightly steampunkThe Casio G-Shock G8100A-5 is a watch with typical modern features, while at the same time sporting a vague ‘antique’ design. Obviously Casio doesn’t want to miss out on the steampunk market. It’s got a bronze colored aluminum face and perforated resin band and a price tag of $99.

Even though this watch is only barely steampunk, it has a bunch of features like, auto dual electroluminescent backlights with ‘afterglow’, world time with 29 time zones and automatic daylight savings adjustments, 2 multi-function alarms, snooze alarm, timer that can countdown 1 minute to 24 hours, stopwatch, and it’s shock and water resistant to 200 meters. Not a bad watch if you want to look only slightly steampunk.