Lady Clankington and Her Infernal Devices

     For those who have not met this leather-and-brass-clad femme fatale, this is Lady Clankington, as she has become known in Steampunk circles, adventuress and purveyor of carnal curiosities. The above image is actually one that has been submitted to various places, and it has at the very least started conversations about whether the garb in the photo is "actually steampunk or not."  I believe it certainly is, but to each their own opinions. (Others object to the word "suddenly" in reference to the popularity of steampunk.)
     The other effect it had was to introduce many to (and sell all of) her Infernal Devices, as she and others have called them, created for those who really, really enjoy their steampunk. This collection of hypoallergenic, customized gadgets such as the Little Death Ray would be best perused by mature audiences, and not while at most places of employ (read: probably NSFW, depending on where you work!). If you want something for the steampunk aficionado who has everything... and each one is numbered for collector value.  There have been 100 of each series so far. 
    It seems that all of the ray guns are sold out at this time*, but the shop page promises that more will reach the market soon. In the meantime, you can see that in 2010 at San Diego ComiCon, Lady Clankington gave an interview revealing why she has embraced the role of icon of steampunk-inspired gadgets.

*NOTE:  At Anachrocon, I spoke with Lord Featherstone, the gentleman from Brute Force Studios who makes the "guns", says that the Mark III Little Death Ray infernal devices are NOW for sale.  

(At the Brute Force booth at Anachrocon 2012, I took the below photo of the device engraved as #001.  Lord Featherstone was very proud of the craftsmanship he had invested in the example he had with him.   He also confided in me that both items #069 and #007 usually result in a bidding war, so buy early and bid very early if you want those serial numbers on your Little Death Ray.)

New Take on the Old Block -- Steampunk Lego Inventions

While having lunch and using the greatest curiosity finder ever, StumbleUpon, I came upon some inventive creations made from Legos: a robot that solves Rubik's Cubes, a dog that fetches a ball (a Lego ball?), and many more.

When I shared this discovery with a friend of mine, he mentioned that Steampunk Legos would be pretty cool, too.
I knew it had been done, but I had to look up some of my favorite steampunk Lego sites again, just because of the sheer creativity people put into their pieces.
To my surprise, I had not shared these wonders with my readers here, which I knew I must remedy at once!

Many of these images hail from an article about steampunk Legos on WebUrbanist. The vehicle in the first photo was created by V&A Steamworks, the company whose special effects made the movies "Independence Day" and "Underworld" so spectacularly seamy.  Here is a link to V&A's public Flickr photo site.

  HMAS Lord Vladek - more photos on Flickr

For anyone interested in creating their own Lego/Bionicle masterpieces, check out the 700-member Steampunk Lego group on Flickr; they have discussions on building, where to find parts, and also run contests to choose the best of the best.  Or you might simply view Flickr's steampunk Lego collection for inspiration and enjoyment.

A dedicated Lego site which has a steampunk section is "The Brothers Brick."  It seems to have a good amount of posting activity into the year 2010. There, you can even find a Lego glossary!

Jamie Spencer's Dardenbahst

I believe these works of art deserve a place in the annals of steampunk despite the mismatch between the Lego world of plastic and the Steampunk world of brass and steam, or perhaps because of it.   Enjoy!

~ DS

Ideas, Part 2 ... Toys!

I am in a mood to search for steampunk toys!  I have found a couple of sets that were for sale, previously in this blog, such as the Mechtorians and  CrabFu , but I have found some that are absolutely amazing!

More sculpture than toy, the works of Stephane Halleaux have blown the world away.

The aesthetic has been described as "Tim Burton-esque," "retro-futuristic," and "steampunk meets Edward Scissorhands."

Sadly, the cry of "WHERE can I BUY these?!!!!" posted by so many commenters on so many sites has gone unanswered.  I would imagine that these are absolutely not for sale, but if you want to give the artist an offer for one on Facebook, you can give it a shot!

At the very least, some of you creative types might be able to take inspiration from these, and create your own toys.  You can do it!  Just do it quickly; Christmas is coming!

Presenting ... Mechtorians!

Want to give that special someone a delightful and fun collectible steampunk gift this holiday?

Look no further, for we have found ... Mechtorians!

These little toys are the ultimate combination of cuteness and technical whimsy.  Created by DoktorA, also known as Andrew Mitchell, They stand from 3.5 to 4" tall, are handpainted, and can be had for under $15 at TenaciousToys and also on eBay.  The members of the first series have names: Stephan LePodd, D.J. Gramo, Mr. Head, Scuttler The Butler, Sentry Wheel & Sir Shilling. 

I would love to have a couple of these, just for fun, but they seem to go up in value as collectibles as well.

 

The custom-made Mechtorians are especially cool.  Here is one that I especially like, with his collection hose:

You can see more custom Mechtorians here.  There is also a custom Mechtorians show, Doktor A's "The Barnabus and Wrench Traveling Robotic Freak Circus" show opening November 14th, 2009, in Detroit.  Here is a link to many photos of the show. Freak Circus

Of course, I have no affiliation with the artist or marketers, but just had to share these little guys! I would love to hear if any of my readers own one or more of these, or end up purchasing one (or more!), and what you thought of them "in person".  They look soooo cute!

Enjoy!

~ DS

SteamWorks Steam Powered Toys!

I totally thought I had posted this a while back!
This is a site dedicated to the works of a very creative and mechanically adept person who converts and creates machines that run on steam.

Here is a link:    CrabFu SteamWorks


The centipede is my favorite. here is a link to the video of it in motion.
Steam Centipede Train

Enjoy!