Love Potion #66 Necklace (Photo credit: candeegurl.etsy.com)

As a typical British gentleman, I don’t have a romantic bone in my body, so this is an interesting poll to see what a steampunk thinks will woo the love of his life.

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Blackmore video game looks impressive

Before an argument starts over why the Americans and Japanese are making a video game set in Britain, look at the picture above. If Blackmore looks like this all the way through, then it’s going to be impressive.
The Kickstarter project has until Wednesday March 12th to reach it’s target goal of $200,000. Bids start at $1 and for that you’ll get your name in the in-game newspaper. There’s various options to pledge and each offers the previous plus something extra with the top pledge of $10,000 including an invite to the launch party along with all the other goodies.

“You play as Emma Blackmore, a brave young heroine who, along with the help of her steampunk gadget-laden robot sidekick, Descartes, must track down a serial killer that’s terrorizing the people of East London. Her normal life is shattered one day and she finds herself embroiled in a dark and twisted mystery that exposes the dark side of the city and the dark side of humanity”

The art is decidedly Japanese in it’s stylings of characters with elements of Britishness to set the scene.

Story
Blackmore is a steampunk-themed adventure game set in an alternate universe of Victorian era London in 1888.

Imagine an alternative London in the Victorian Era – a world where European and Asian fashion and aesthetics collide, a world where advances in automation, electronics and chemistry have ushered in a wondrous new world filled with robotic servants, steam-driven transportation and ornately gilded steampunk gadgetry. But as wondrous as it may appear, all that gleaming steel and burnished brass hides an underbelly tainted by rust and tarnished with grime.  It’s a world where homeless children beg for food, their hands yellowed and stained from toiling in the match factory, a world where families sleep crowded together in rat-infested rooms, a world choking to death on its own gluttonous greed.

Blackmore is set in an alternate Victorian London

You can read all about the game including some videos and also what you get for your donation, should you decide to. Click the link here to go to the Kickstarter page: Blackmore Kickstarter plea

Velveteen Emporium fashion shot by Matt Austin

Good day, dear reader. Here is a selection of news items that have landed in my intray over the previous days. They include a fashion company in Exeter that has launched a steampunk range with an impressive fashion shoot, more steampunk plays and a couple of video games.

The Capitol City Opera Company are to open the season with a steampunk themed Sweeney Todd performance, according to broadwayworld.com

The Exeter Express & Echo have written an article and posted several beautiful fashion shots of the steampunk range at Velveteen Emporium.

39 Days to Mars is a steampunk puzzle game from a Kickstarter project whereby you keep inept Victorian characters alive in space by solving puzzles.

The previously mentioned SteamWorld Dig is coming to PS4 and Vita in March 2014 according to gameplanet.com.au

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Sarah Hunter (Lady Clankington) announces her schedule in the best way she knows how

Lady Clankington, the Penthouse favourite and steampunk has announced her 2014 schedule with a post on Steampunk Revolution Facebook page. The image complete with a topless image of Lady C – model Sarah Hunter – caused quite a stir as she forgot to edit out her nipples.

She has now re-uploaded a safer image complete with Photoshop pasties. The good news is that she will be coming to good old Blighty for the Whitby Goth Weekend later in the year. I’m trying to secure an interview with her while she’s over here.

Here’s a link to the original image for the more nefarious gentlemen and ladies out there: Sarah Hunter event schedule

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Company Spotlight

Copyright Kato at Steampunk Couture

Steampunk Couture is one of a number of businesses owned by Kato – a Welsh girl now living in the Portland, Oregon in the USA . In 2005, Kato set up Steampunk Couture in Wales but by 2007 she had moved to America. Steampunk Couture has the honour of being the first steampunk clothing company in the known World.

The clothing designs capture the essence of steampunk and thanks to Kato’s heritage and current location mix, the designs have both a British and American feel to them. The clothes are all hand crafted and focus on “Neo-Victorian, Sci-Fi and Shabby Chic fashion”.

Copyright Kato at Steampunk Couture

Kato’s styling is a wonderful mish mash of accessories and garments that don’t match. She works alone on her designs and brings out a new range every season. You’d think that designing and making designer clothing would keep her busy enough, but she also has a flourishing modelling career thanks to her impossible good looks. The advantage being that she doesn’t have to look further than a nearby mirror for a model. If that wasn’t enough, she’s also the owner of Steamgirl – a subscription based photographic gallery of steampunk erotica.

On Steamgirl, members get to view Kato and her many equally flawless friends in varying states of undress. There’s new content added every week and members also get admittance to a bonus website.

You can buy prints of Kato and friends from Steamgirl for the more risqué images or on This Is Kato for her regular modelling shots. She has covered various themes using a steampunk aesthetic but also has borrowed from popular culture, such as Babydoll from Sucker Punch. Prints are $19 for a signed 8×10 or $39 for a signed 20×30 inch image.

Kato spends a lot of her time flitting from the USA to the UK and is open to modelling assignments but is no longer working on a TFP/TFCD (Time For Prints/Time For CD) basis.

Copyright Kato at Steampunk Couture

You can take a look at her new collections on steampunkcouture.com by following this link: Steampunk Couture

Her modelling gallery can be found on thisiskato.com: Kato modelling images

For her erotic work, you can see samples on Steamgirl.com. The full galleries are available once a membership has been subscribed to: Kato on Steamgirl

Copyright Kato at Steampunk Couture

Copyright Kato at Steampunk Couture

Copyright Kato at Steampunk Couture

Copyright Kato at Steampunk Couture

Copyright Kato at Steampunk Couture

Copyright Kato at Steampunk Couture

Copyright Kato at Steampunk Couture

Copyright Kato at Steampunk Couture

Copyright Kato at Steampunk Couture

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Portal contest winner announced

Printing website WeLoveFine recently held a competition. The theme was PORTAL, based on the computer game and over 250 people submitted art work. There were some stunning entries with most depicting the protagonist of the Portal game; Chell and her Portal Gun.

The winner was well known steampunk artist Brian Kesinger and his image titled “The Cake is a Fabrication“. Californian based Brian is the author and illustrator of “Walking Your Octopus: A Guide to the Domesticated Cephalopod,” which depicts Victoria and Otto in various daily scenes. It was published in 2013.

Winning image by Brian Kesinger (right)

The competition was judged entirely by people visiting the site and submitting their favourite image. Brian had the highest amount of votes, which shows what a following he has, the quality of his work and how more popular steampunk is becoming.

The winning print has earned Kesinger a trip to Pax East 2014, a Portal 2 Gun replica signed by Valve, Aperture Black Lab Mug, Portal 2 – Steel Series QCK  mouse pad, and a Valve Exclusive Turret Statue.

The four runners up each got $400 in cash, a Portal 2 Gun Custom Kit or Valve Exclusive Turret and an Aperture Black Lab Mug.

All winning images, excluding the Hot Topic Exclusive Pick, are available as T-Shirts for $25 or as fine art prints for $25-40 on the WeLoveFine website here:  WeLoveFine shop

Designed by Gokusonwing

I’ve always been more enthralled with the silent death weapons and always opt for them over noisy weaponry favoured by American steampunks. That’s not to say that guns don’t have a certain allure to them.

In fact I’m currently in ownership of two replica duelling pistols and a short Blunderbuss. But my fondness lies with knives (I own several), swords (one), medieval axes (one). If I look at projectile weapons, it’s generally bows (one) and crossbows (one).

I’m starting to look like a weapon fanatic now, but I don’t think I have that much and they’re mostly for display purposes. I intend to steampunk the crossbow as the arm is starting to break and can’t ever be fired again as it is.

Researching this article was quite splendid. The knives are made from a range of materials and not all look Victorian in their design, but have that steampunk element to them. There’s a samurai sword/rifle hybrid and a mulitple use knife with a ridiculous amount of utensils on it including – unless my eyes deceive me – a small pistol.

As usual I was also presented with the type of abominations creations that would have Sir Reginal Pikedevant Esq wincing in pain.

There are some stunning steampunk knives out there. Some are hand made including the one used as the banner image for this article. Others are made by knife manufacturers, but all are impressive and gorgeous to look at. I’ve given credit where I could find it. If you’re the owner of the photograph or product and require creditation giving, I will be more than pleased to do so.

If you have a creation that you’d like me to take a look at and add to the Best Examples section, please feel free to email me through the usual channels.

Feel free to leave your general musings on the creations in this article.

photo copyright Cory Martin

Designed by Van Barnett

Designed by Andre Andersson

The War Toad by Geoff from TuffKnives

Designed by TamonteN

Unknown designer

Unknown designer

Designed by Van Barnett

Unknown designer

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English: Steampunk enthusiast, Diana Vick portraying Lady Della, an explorer. Photographer – R. “Martin” Armstrong. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’m interested in what type of steampunk you prefer to dress as or see when out. I know all the costumes are fantastic, but you must all have a favourite that you like to see when you go to events.

So cast your vote on your favourite steampunk look. Which is the best?

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Cutlery for Operation Steelpunk

I may as well admit it that I’m hopeless at making things. I’m not a steampunk inventor by all accounts. I am creative, though and when I discovered that Daniel, an old school friend of mine, makes things out of metal in his spare time, I asked him to make me some goggles that would reflect my Sheffield heritage.

I collected up a selection of cutlery from a local antiques shop which all had the Made in Sheffield legend on them and asked him to make a pair of goggles using the cutlery. My idea was simple, but there was a few definite pointers that I wanted.

• The name Sheffield needed to be outwards whenever the cutlery was forged into a ring.
• I wanted two forks as hooks for the strap which have the prongs bent round to attach them (my previous attempts at this had resulted in a split thumb nail as the prong snapped).
• They need to be shiny
• It needs to be obvious they’re made of cutlery

And so I sent him to work. He’s going to document the whole process, so I’ll update regularly with pictures.

This now leads me to our latest poll, which I will post after this. I want to know what I should make the strap from. Please go to the Poll and cast your vote as it means a lot to me.

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If you read my newest post about my new steampunk goggles here: Operation Steelpunk!

I asked what would be best to use as strapping. I have three ideas and I’m opening it up to you, dear reader. If you have any alternative ideas, I would love to hear them in the comments section below.

Sheffield steel Steampunk goggles 6

I was recently sent these images of my goggles in their pre-welded state. I think you’ll agree that they look simply gorgeous as they are!The lenses are camera filters. Just the cheap UV versions that you can now get second-hand from camera shops that have a second-hand section or car boot sales. The reason I chose filters was because of the welding. I decided that the extreme temperatures may melt traditional plastic welding lenses whereas the camera filters have a metal ring around the circumference which should offer enough protection.

The fork has a small bend in the prong which is to attach the two goggles together in the middle. Something I nearly forgot!

Sheffield steel Steampunk goggles 7

Sheffield steel Steampunk goggles 5

Sheffield steel Steampunk goggles 4

Sheffield steel Steampunk goggles 3

Sheffield steel Steampunk goggles 2

Sheffield steel Steampunk goggles 1

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Steampunk side-car

I first saw this side-car on Facebook from a post by the facially elusive Captain Constance Bashford. It’s designed by Italian 3D artist Marco Furlanetto. His website is currently undergoing maintenance but I managed to harvest a few photographs from AutoEvolution and the article they covered on his work.

steampunk side-car right view

The motorbike is a low rider with a stunning female masthead and single spoke front wheel. The real genius lies in the side car, which is a high rising backed leather chair with brass trim. It sits INSIDE the side-car wheel! It’s this kind of invention and innovation that makes steampunk what it is. Taking what you have and making it much better while still retaining an air of the Victorian age.

Steampunk side-car left view

It makes those ones from Men In Black III pale into insignificance.

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Bluetooth Steampunk amplifier

Good day steampunks, today I bring you news of a modern sounding music device with a steampunk look to it. Confuses those nowpunks, I can tell you. There’s also news of  a steampunk shooting game, a beardy event for all you gentlemen (and some ladies) sporting splendid facial hair.

Nintendolife.com have reported on a new shooting game called Steel Empire. It has a distinctive steampunk flavour and will be available for 3DS in Japan later this month.

TheGadgeteer have reported on an amplifier that has been given a steampunk make-over. It incorporates that archaic wireless bus system Bluetooth to transmit a signal from your compatible portable device to the Bluetooth Sound Enhancing Amplifier.

PennLive have reported on a steampunk themed production of Hansel & Gretel which is due to start March 6th. It can’t be any worse than the film.

Finally, March 1st saw Gear, Beards and Beers take place in Jackson, Michigan. It was a collaboration of steampunks to bring them together in harmony. Lovely. Would you like to attend next year? Well there’s only 362 sleeps to wait.

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Steampunks in Salford, 1pm today.

Don’t forget, Ladies and Gentlemen, a number of steampunks will be meeting at Salford Museum today at around 1pm for a browse around the Museum and Art Gallery. If you have a new costume to display, why not tootle along to have a photograph taken in it on Lark Hill Place, the replica Victorian street.

It looks to be great fun and I’m going to be there too, so make sure you say hello.

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Front cover of Steampunk Style

Steampunk Style: Introduction
If you’re like me and haven’t got a clue where to start when it comes to building new, exciting instruments and contraptions, you’re more than likely going to be interested in having a nose through a book such as Steampunk Style. It’s a glossy, soft-back illustrated reference book aimed at guiding you through the construction of simple steampunk watches to full body armour. Steampunk Style is priced at £16.95.

Steampunk Style: Features
The Victorian age was one of elegance and refinement; of etiquette and charm, but it was also an age of innovation, industry and creativity. Arguably, one of the reasons why steampunk is so popular is because of the endless scope of what you can do within the genre. There are simply no boundaries and no black and white. You can do whatever you want. Another wonderful point about the Victorian age is that it affected different parts of the world in different ways. For the British, it was top hats, bustles and canes while in the developing sprawl of America it was guns, cowboy hats and boots. But what about other parts of the World? How has steampunk forged their creativity?

Part of Mac Nakuta’s private collection. A phone case built from a 1950′s Twin Lens reflex camera and case

Steampunk Style is a versatile book. It covers Japanese steampunk inventors and is a showcase of their talents. Leafing through the glossy pages, it’s apparent that they certainly do have talent. The creativity pours out of the pages and my mind immediately started whirring with the possibilities.

Split into two distinctive sections, the first half of the book is a display of the best contraptions that Oriental steampunk has to offer. It covers all sorts of inventions from steam powered animals to delightful watches and clothing. The items are designed and built by multiple inventors and they each have a section in the second half of the book which goes on to explain how to make some of them. There are some astounding features, such as the full body armour that is made from Polythene sheets but makes the wearer look like a Japanese fighting robot maid. Yes, it has an apron and is supposed to be used by a house maid.

Would your maid wear this robotic armour?

There are works from 17 different inventors such as Toshiyuki Kimura, Akihito and Mac nakata. Not all are featured in the “How-to” section at the back, but that’s ok, because there’s a works index at the back of the book that gives full contact details of any artist that has contributed to the book.

Plenty of pages instruct on how to make items

Steampunk Style: Conclusion
The quality of Steampunk Style is high. The photographs are to an exceptional standard and there’s just enough writing to keep you entertained. If you’re a complete newcomer to steampunk and want to learn more about it, or if you’re established but have friends that want to learn about it, there’s a chronology of steampunk at the rear. There are a few spelling errors and grammatical issues with the book, but it’s written by Japanese researchers, so not only do I have to give them a degree of leeway, I also have to tip my hat in respect of the amount of knowledge that has gone into the articles at the back then successfully translated into English.

Many areas are covered including fashion

For the price, I think the book is a great investment for aspiring steampunk makers that, like me, can’t quite figure out the intricacies of how to make certain things. The book will even teach you how to make leaf apertures for your goggles. Some of the items that need building are very small and will require practice, skill and patience. The inventors in the book start with base materials and that’s what they teach you in the book.

If you get this book, expect to have to spend more money of other items, such as source materials, a small Dremel and associated accessories because once you’ve seen the possibilities this book can produce, you’ll not be able to stop inventing.

Steampunk Style: Ratings

Features 5

Build quality 5

Value for money 5

Overall 5

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Steel goggles dynamic view

A few weeks ago, I asked a friend of mine, who is more than capable in the art of metal fabrication and welding, to make me a pair of steampunk goggles made out of knives and forks to reflect the city in which I was born and raised. I’ve been posting updates showing the progress of the project and I was sent a number of updated pictures today.

Steel goggles top view

The goggles are starting to take shape now. One problem discovered was that not all the cutlery is stainless steel. I’m not overly concerned with that – from a heritage point of view – because they’re still made in Sheffield and that’s the main focus of the project. However, because of them not being made of steel, but in fact Silver plated Nickel, those pieces of cutlery can’t be welded.

These have to be bolted and I’ve ordered some copper nuts and bolts to do that. The forks down the side also pose a question. Do I use them as grips down the side of the hat they’ll be sitting on and not have a strap, or do I proceed with cutting and making a leather strap. After all, Leather received the most amount of votes in the Poll asking what material it should be made from.

Steel goggles rear view

Steel goggles side view

Steel goggles distant view

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Steampunk Style writing competition

Would you like to win a copy of Steampunk Style that I recently reviewed? It received an Editor’s Choice award because of the quality of the book, beautiful photography and “How to” projects for you to try to build your own steampunk accessories.

It’s obvious that steampunks like to work for their prizes, so Steampunk Journal and Titan Publications have forged an alliance to bring you an extremely splendid competition.

All you have to do is write a short story in a steampunk theme and you could bag yourself a copy of Steampunk Style by Titan publications. The best stories will also be posted on the Titan website.

The story can be anything within a steampunk world such as an adventure on an Airship, narrating a tea duelling contest or an intrepid protagonist exploring a previously undiscovered country.

There are two categories to choose from:

• Over 18
• Under 18

The story needs to be no more than 2,000 words and needs to be emailed to me at the email address below by the deadline of 31st June 2014.

Contrary to the steampunk ethos of no rules, we’ve had to include a few for the purposes of this competition.

1. Stories must be no longer than 2,000 words
2. Stories must be devised and written within the competition time-frame. No pre-written stories, please
3. Stories must be original work for this competition
4. Please state the age category you’re submitting your story to, in the email. If the story doesn’t have the category mentioned or your age isn’t clearly displayed, it won’t be submitted
5. Please include your name, address, phone number and email address, steampunk group if you’re a member (it’s not a requirement) as well as your age in the email with your story. Personal details except name, age, city and steampunk group will not be publicly broadcast on any website and are used solely for logistic reasons.
6. Feel free to include a photograph of yourself to put with the story
7. We will welcome any artwork associated with the story, though this will not be taken into consideration during judging
8. By submitting your story, you give Steampunk Journal and Titan Publications permission to use your story on associated websites to promote the competition and in any marketing
9. The story remains the property of the author
10. Under 18′s must have parent’s permission to include a photograph for public posting
11. The competition is open to anyone; steampunk and non-steampunk alike
12. Any stories received after the deadline of 11:59.59 on 31/06/2014 GMT will not be considered in the competition

Email your story to steampunkjournal@yahoo.com by 31/06/2014.

Please feel free to get in touch with me via this email address or in the comments box if you have any further enquiries.

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Brass Brunel! The Bristol Steampunk Convention!

Brass Brunel! Bristol Steampunk Festival

Brass Brunel
Friday, June 20, 2014 at 6:00 PM – Sunday, June 22, 2014 at 5:00 PM (GMT)
Bristol, United Kingdom

Event Details
Brass Brunel: The Bristol Steampunk Convention
Three days of performers, workshops, markets and all things steampunk!

Friday Evening:

Cabaret of Shadows – Steamgoth Performance from the Victorian Underbelly.

Featuring:

• Gladstone
• Cauda Pavonis
• Birthrite

Saturday Daytime:

• The Marvellous Market -  feast your eyes and purses on Neo-Victorian Knick-Knacks
• Steampunk University presents workshops to build the brain

Saturday Evening:

Music Hall Mayhem – Relive the fantastic world of fin de siecle theatre.

Featuring:

• The Cogkneys!
• Miss Von Trapp
• Corvus Marconi, Mentalist
• Sir Sydeian Strong, Victorian Strongman

Sunday Daytime:

Your last chance to shop and learn at the university and market.

Full Friday Night Line Up

Friday night at brass Brunel presents…

Cabaret of Shadows – Steamgoth Performance from the Victorian Underbelly

Starting at eight O’clock we will be probing the darkest recesses of your mind with Mr. McCall’s rather splendid quiz! A fabulous prize awaits the team who shows truly Brunelesque intellect.

Between 21:30 and 23:00 we will see a remarkable nights entertainment Comprising:

Birthrite first blast you with steamgoth rock as Erazamus Voss and crew lead you down the rabbit hole

Cauda Pavonis then take to the stage to haunt you with dark, twisted melodies and soaring vocals

Finally as the moon rises Gladstone take the stage to lead us into the depths of the dark cabaret

For you hardcore party animals there will then be music and dancing to end the evening

At 00:30, rule Britannia et finis.

Full Saturday Night Line Up

Saturday night at brass Brunel presents…

Music Hall Mayhem!

Starting at eight O’clock we will be searching for the brightest cog in the clockwork with steampunks have talent! Have a talent or skill you’d like to show off? Then show us, the winner will receive a fabulous prize!

At 21:00 we have the wonderful Ridade providing us with an explosion of maleficent mime.

At 21:30 Sir Sydeian Strong will take to the stage to show the traditional Victorian entertainment of the circus strongman, watch as he makes metal miraculously maleable in his magnificent mitts!

At 22:00, Miss Von Trapp will provide us with her murderously quirky dark cello cabaret, if you’ve not seen her before you are in for a real treat, she is marvellous!

At 22:30 we descend in the darkest recesses of the human mind. Be prepared to gasp and scream as Dr. Corvus Marconi bends your mind and bends you to his will. As you witness superb Victorian mentalism.

Finally at 23:00 get ready to dance the night away and sing along to everyones favourite capering cockneys choiristers, the Cogkneys!

For you hardcore party animals there will then be music and dancing to end the evening.

At 00:30, rule Britannia et finis.

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Steelpunk goggles front

The goggle building has been going well. Hopefully you’ve been following Operation Steelpunk! and you’ve enjoyed watching them take their form.

Steelpunk goggles nearly complete

I decided that I wanted the forks curved around to use them as hooks for the strap because I didn’t think they’d get enough tension otherwise. However, after I gave instructions to Dan, I began to think more about them looking like glasses and wanted them more to look like that.

Then just as I was about to get in touch to say to leave them in their proper shape, disaster struck!

Steelpunk goggles broken prongs

I got a message from Dan saying that as he’d tried to curve the prongs of the fork, a prong off each one had snapped off. The forks were rendered useless.

We discussed our options and the possible variables of each outcome. Dan decided he was going to try and fix the situation by cutting down the rest of the prongs to match. I gave the go ahead as long as it didn’t look like we were desperately trying to sort out a mess. In the meantime, I said I’d get down to the local antiques shop and find some more. A day later, he agreed with me to look for more forks. It seems that the adjustments weren’t looking right.

The new forks that I found in Sheffield Antiques Centre

I managed to find three forks that are identical to the originals and they have some lovely sculpting on the shaft as well as squared off prongs which is a little unusual in itself.

A bridge has been connected to each goggle in the centre using a piece of cutlery which has the Sheffield stamp on it, so now, the plan is to get the new forks attached and adjust the tension of them to grip to the hat without the need for a strap.

Steelpunk goggles back

Steelpunk goggles top

Steelpunk goggle isometric side

Steelpunk goggles left side

Steelpunk goggles right side

Steelpunk goggles almost done

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• Operation Steelpunk! Part two
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Operation Steelpunk! isometric left

Hello chaps,

I’ve been sent a couple of photographs of the goggles nearing completion. After the broken fork prong disaster, I managed to get some replacement forks for the arms. I’ve been asked if I like the wood on them and I’m not sure. What do you think?

Operation Steelpunk! Side view

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