Steampunk Kaleidoscopes

I was tidying up the photo albums on the PC yesterday, and realised just how long it's been since I made a steampunk kaleidoscope. These were some of the first things I made with a steampunk influence when I discovered that I was in fact a steampunk.

I was already making kaleidoscopes in stained glass so it was an obvious progression, I try to make them with a Victorian scientific look. I suppose I should make more if I can find the time.

Here's a few examples.

Mal's Gun Steampunk

Having made a couple of replicas of Malcolm Reynolds gun from Firefox recently I thought I'd make another one, only this time with a steampunk feel to it. So I used the basic shape of the Firefly pistol but added two small gas cylinders on each side complete with pipework. As much as I love the octagonal barrel of Mal's gun it's quite time consuming to make and I wanted this one to have a different look so I used 15mm plastic tube with a copper plumbing fitting on the end of the barrel. I also used a plumbers brass nut for the joint between the barrel and the gun body.

The gun was constructed from MDF as usual with hardwood grips. It was finished with acrylic paints all hand painted. I'm very pleased with it

Steampunk Cyberman Helmet

I occasionally up cycle toy Dr Who Cyberman helmets, this is one I finished yesterday. After rubbing the whole thing down with fine grade steel wool and removing some of the inner workings so that they wouldn't get spray painted, I added rivets and nuts.
Next it was sprayed with acrylic primer which was followed by a coat of acrylic matt black paint. The spray painting was finished with a coat of metallic copper paint. Then it was finished by hand by brush painting verdigris on selected areas.

Tarantula Moult for Steampunk

One of my neighbours called round today to get some advice about something they're making, they also bought me a moult from their tarantula, which if you don't know is the skin which has been shed by a tarantula as it grows, like crabs and other creatures do. she gave it to me because she knows the sort of things I make and thought I might be able to make use of it. I'm sure I will.

Steampunk Leather Belt Sam Browne

Having recently decided that I needed a more "steampunk" outfit rather than my usual Victorian clothes and goggles I started putting something together using whatever I had to hand plus a leather jacket I bought on Ebay. I actually Googled "battered leather jacket" surprisingly there were many for sale including some very expensive ones. Needless to say mine was from the lowest end of the price range. I also used the new leather flying helmet my children got for me as part of a recent birthday present. It was a very nice surprise, they knew what I had in mind. They're very thoughtful like that.

This it so far.

I used a wide leather belt I already had but the problem was that the jacket only had two belt loops and my plan to attach various items to the belt (bottles, lamps, pouches etc) meant that when I unfastened the belt everything fell to the sides. While searching Ebay for leather straps to make something myself I came across ex military Sam Browne belts. So I bought one.

We'll have to see how it works out.

Steampunk Revolver Western Cosplay

Just finished this latest steampunk revolver. As much as I like ray guns and ornate fantasy weapons I like a good revolver. Maybe it's my age, when I grew up a lot of the TV shows were westerns. Whatever the reason I like to use them now and again. I like this one because of the length, around 15 inches. It's an upcycled toy made from plastic so it's very lightweight which is helpful if you want to be carrying it around all day.
It's a simple makeover, some small pieces of scroll work added and a couple of small gas cylinders and bright coloured "pipe work".

Available here

Steampunk Cane Walking Stick with Bronze Femur Handle

I finally managed to get around to making some new canes, an assortment of copper light up canes and this one with a hardwood shaft and a cold cast bronze femur or hip bone handle. I've also made this on in two sections which screw together so the shipping cost to other countries will be lower.

Available from my Etsy shop.

Cold cast bronze femur handle steampunk cane