The Righteous Bison Indivisible Particle Smasher Review by HAC

At least they acknowledge that a retro-Victorian style  is curently becoming very popular. (and huzzah! for that)

This Just in From the 1890s

“Drawing the line between polish and pretension is trickier, especially when last year’s costume can be this year’s classic, and next year’s yawn. Just consider the steady infiltration of 19th-century haberdashery into the 21st-century wardrobe. Garment after garment has arrived on the scene that one might think more Gilbert and Sullivan than Bergdorf and Goodman, only to be taken up by the young beards. Not long ago, big brass-buttoned military coats looked a bit extreme. So did high-button, high-lapel vests and slim tweed trousers. And so did guys who tucked said trousers into high, old-fashioned hunting boots. Now these clothes (along with those ever-present beards and mustaches) look like downtown defaults compared with fall runway looks like cardinal-red tailcoats at Ralph Lauren, capes and bowlers at Alexander McQueen and knee breeches at Robert Geller. As with home design, where curio cases, taxidermy and other stylish clutter of the Victorian era have been taken up by young hipsters, many of today’s popular men’s styles have their roots in the late 19th century. There are the three-piece suits once favored by mustachioed Gilded Age bankers; the military greatcoats and boots of Union officers; and the henley undershirts, suspenders, plaid flannel shirts and stout drill trousers worn by plain, honest farmers. “

What more can I say ? Stay Tuned! Much, much more to come.

While this is not 100% Steampunk in style,this is still quite a nice bit of re-purposing of old bits and gubbins.

 For the handle of the gun, the creator used an old super-8 movie camera into the handle for the raygun. The flash mount is an 8mm projector lens which forms the barrel. Vacuum tubes from a vintage radio go into the other parts of the gun. This raygun certainly captures that a nice vintage look to show off and this gun does provide one heck of a visual blast.

More photos of the construction process maye be found here:

Fancy a steam powered auto to go with your goggles and duster?  Well, look no further. Steam Traction World offers the LykaMobile,  a ready to asssemble full size  kit , delivered in a series of ready to paint and assemble kits over 18 months or as a complete set of kits from stock, complete with full assembly instructions and drawings.

When F.E. Stanley exhibited a small steam car at a horseless carriage show in 1898 the public response was so fantastic that he decided to start production commercially. However, before production began, Stanley sold the production rights. One of the purchasers, Mr. Amzi Barber set up the Locomobile Company. The first model was called Style 1 but this was quickly superseded by Style 2 which became the Standard Locomobile. By June 1901 it was claimed over 3000 had been sold. Many have been preserved and they remain immensely popular

The Lykamobile is a  full size steam vehicle similar to a Locomobile Style 2, but fitted with a modern boiler and different style of burner for safety reasons. The tyres are modern and treaded. Disc brakes are also fitted. The design reflects the Locomobile as far as is practical whilst maintaining a straightforward and cost effective design, utilising available materials and components.  The engine has  Modified Hackworth valve gear and is capable of 30mph with forward and reverse.

A Lykamobile recently did the 1000 mile John O’ Groats to Lands End run to raise funds for Hearing Dogs for the Deaf.

Its a quiet fall Sunday, so here are a few bits of msicellany submitted by our readers.

(From Patron Vectras via PM)

“I just found  The Art of Manliness  again and immediately went to search BG for any mention of it.  Using this website and the respective book (which I now remember stopping into a bookstore distinctly because I saw it in the window) it is quite possible for even the most contemporary fool to regain the manliness of yore.”     – Good article on the art of shaving with a straight razor (which I still do, having been taught how by my granfather some 45 years ago..)

(From Kriz, via email)

 Steampunk with a Japanese twist – Steampanku  “What if we set the industrial revolution as originating in Japan, or more logically, reaching and taking off in Japan long before the Black Ships?  Realistically, this is a plausible train of thought, considering that the Japanese were not isolated in the most literal sense of the word.  Rangaku, or literally Western Learning, had its roots in Dejima, the sole foreign outpost in Japan during the isolated years of the Edo Period.”

(From Hazel Fisher, via email)

The fictional town of  Hexley ”Steampunk helped to inspire my illustrations on a fictional town called Hexley.  I thought that you might be interested to see some of my work. The town of Hexley and its surrounding area is a centre for learning and discovery, full of strange inventions.  My illustrations of Hexley are set in the late Victorian era and include clockwork birds, steam powered transporation and submarines“

From our readers, a selection of Steampunk Music compilations for your perusal.

(From salubr1, via the BG forum):

” The Deadly Nightshade Botanical Society.  The guitar player is the former guitar player of Abney Park.  Dieselpunk interviewed them as an ‘Icon of Steampunk’ and they are about to release their second CD. This CD has changed my perspective a little bit.  There’s a lot of honesty in this work and a lot of soul.  The people who wrote this are genuine and they care about music.  They have crafted a CD that I think most bands would be EXTREMELY proud to call their second work and here they are, their first full length product. Now, this isn’t entirely fair of course.  Robert Hazelton worked with Abney Park for the better part of a decade and a half.  You can hear the mutual interest (well, up to the newest Abney Park, they could’ve still been collaborating!).  These aren’t neophyte musicians plugging along on the hopes and dreams of accidental writing.  These people are professional and know how to wring a feeling out of a song. Clockwork Dream opens the CD with the steampunk anthem style chorus and music.  It’s melancholy, thoughtful and passionate.  Dizzy’s vocals are new and come off as full of excitement.  The bass work drives along wonderfully and the guitar is simply magical.  If you are a musician, you’ll have to approve of the tones and sounds and if you’re not, you’ll simply love the song because that’s what you must do: love the clockwork dream!”

(From Steam Rabbit via the BG Forum)

“Steam Powered Giraffe has released their first CD. Our goal is to use pieces of all types of music spanning 113 years. From Vaudeville to Rock and Roll to Rap. People have thrown names like The Beatles and Tim Burton our way. But I think like the act just has to be seen to understand, our sound just has to be heard. The best way to hear our sound is to visit our Myspace Page, as we routinely put up and take out a collection of songs from our album.  “

We all love Lego, everyone does (except for when you step on a piece in bare feet, in the middle of the night!). Heck, my kids had buckets of Lego!  It must follow then, that if Lego is A Good Thing, then Steampunk Lego is a Better thing.  Having said that, have a look at some marvelous Steampunk lego Creations.

Weburbanist has a good article on Steampunk and Lego, and how the two seem to be a natural fit. As well V&A Steamworks has a nice selection of their Lego creations on Flickr.

Good day, visitor! We have an update again for you today on what has been going on in the darker, dirtier corner of our ‘punk genres.

The website Dieselpunks has an interview with Ghostfire, a band “Unmistakably British and unmistakably steampunk,” according to SteamPunk Magazine. “We live in dark, oppressive times and what we do is reflective of these times,” they say. “We’re fighters and we shall succeed. We believe in what we do; we adore the style and content of all that is Ghostfire and, of course, steampunk.”

The November issue of the online magazine the Gatehouse Gazette has been released, devoted to “Beautiful Industry”. The Traveler’s Steampunk Blog writes: “Despite all the ills industrialisation caused and causes (workers’ exploitation, pollution, rampant urbanization, industrialised warfare) it also created the infrastucture, productivity and basis for advances in science and technology which today provide the highest standart of living the world has ever seen.” And that is exactly what the latest edition of the magazine celebrates.

Also available for reading is the third issue of Steampunk tales with ten original short stories for just $1.99. And a third ezine, called The Condordium is currently in the making. Keep your eyes out for more there!

The Edwardian Promenade is normally not the darkest place of weblogs, but for Halloween, they delivered a nifty post about Hallowe’en In the Gilded Age: a brief history of a holiday that should certainly be steampunk’ed more, we say!

Lastly, for a fine collection of recent dieselpunk fashion styles, stop by at Gearing Up, regularly updated with glamorous photos from both the Golden Era and now.

Artwork by David Holland.