Has anyone 'steampunked' any kits?

[Daryl J.]

Having just been introduced to the word 'steampunk' by, of all people, a Catholic priest who is a patient of mine, I was wondering if anyone has integrated any of that genre's design into a kit.     

I just ordered the Glencoe USCG double ender and a Lindberg P-6E with that thought in mind.    Granted, heavy metal and steam won't do for an aircraft; however the heavy raised rivets Lindberg tooled seemed to fit well with the theory.   Perhaps a glass cockpit, a metal center section of the upper wing riding on shortened struts, and a wooden rear fuselage would fit.    The boat gets a steam engine, auxiliary sails, satellite navigation, and some filigree worthy of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.    Someday a SPAD XIII or Ryan PT-20 could join.

The Maquette R-100 is already underway as a scale-o-rama  1/48 Almost Lighter Than Air ship......think R-100 meets Hayao Miyazaki's "Castle in the Sky" dirigible.

But then again, I could have just gone off the deep end. 


Daryl J., always a fan of Jules Verne and machines of the sky

[B777LR]

Flying steam machines? Brrriiillliiaaannnt!

[Weaver]

Daryl  - go look on www.darkroastedblend.com

It isn't a steampunk site, but it has links to articles about all sorts of cool stuff and one of the things they keep an eye on is steampunk. Good "portal" for getting into it......

And don't write off steam tech for aircraft: Junkers did a lot of serious research into coal-dust fired steam turbines for aircraft during WWII. If it'd work for aircraft, it'd certainly work for airships, which are more the thing in steampunk.

[Jschmus]

There's also some nifty stuff, idea-wise, here:

http://coilhouse.net/category/steampunk/

[dy031101]

One of these days I'd buy a Warhammer 40K Chimera and Warhammer Steam Tank parts to build a steam-powered Chimera (main armament would be either autocannon or heavy bolters)......

Well the rule book did say that Chimera can be adopted to run on burning woods...... 

[tanktastic43]

Try Google for 'Victorian science fiction' and enjoy. 

[puddingwrestler]

Here's my steampunked tank
There are a few entries in Starship Modeler's Post Apocalyptic Road Rally Suddent Death Challenge which qualify as well.

[BlackOps]

Daryl, I think it would be a great genre to work with, tons of potential.
I think WWI stuff would be the easiest starting point but if you think about it you could do almost anything

[Daryl J.]

Fokker D.VII--- on floats, a ram air intake for each of the six cylinders, wooden wings, requisite Victorian filigree 'Lozenge', Biker iron crosses for the cleats on the floats, and for the really flaky: GPS and an iPod hookup. 

Albatros D.V---outer layer of ply on the back half of the fuselage engraved heavily, natural finishes throughout.  All rear flying surfaces 'alumanized'.   NMF is matte, the woodwork high gloss.  Cockpit has a Victorian era looking compass and flat panel IP.   And, of course, the main gear is spatted!!!!   


SPAD XVIII---streamlined to the max.   3 blade metal prop, metalized wings with dinosaur-like control surfaces, bubble top(?) a la Strega ( the Reno Unlimited Mustang),  distinctive lines of grille behind prop carried out elsewhere on airframe....inner third of lower wings perhaps.   Metal struts, open curved spoke wheels.  Metal rear fuselage perforated with thousands of rather small lightening holes, either that or wicker weave.  Wouldn't this one be a *pain* to model!??   

Fine Molds 1/48 Curtiss R3C-0 is stylistically well on the way already, yes?

A Gotha and Curtiss H-16 should fit in somewhere.

The refueling bowsers could be steam powered trucks with various Oil Pull-like wheels and/or half tracks.


Daryl J., glad for the WW-I suggestion.

[Edit]  note the styling of the aircraft is a restyling within the genre rather than a re-engining to steam.  But, it would seem reasonable that both Johnny Walker and Jack Daniels had steam powered stills running support for these guys.   

[BlackOps]

Dangit Daryl! I have enough "in progress" builds to keep me busy for quite a while without you feeding me inspiration for new projects 

I happen to have a 21st Century Toys 1/32 scale Stuka that would be cool as a steam powerd stuka! I could see it done up in copper or bronze tones with a boiler and pipes running all over it! Hmmmm Steampunk Stuka has a nice ring to it....Dang you Daryl!

[Daryl J.]

Happily danged!   


Daryl J.

[jcf]

The Bristol Pullman airliner and the smaller Tramp and Tramp flying boat were designed with the potential of having a centralized steam turbine powerplant as a propulsion option. Cost and technology problems prevented realization of this 1919 - 1921 steam scheme.

Steam turbine propulsion for aircraft was also considered by others and experimental steam powered tanks were constructed.
http://www.landships.freeservers.com/steam_wheel_tank_timrigsby.htm

Free H.G. Well's Land Ironclad paper model:
http://www.currell.net/models/ironclad.htm
I've built this one before, unfortunately it was crushed and I need to build it again.


The sci-fi novel Fitzpatrick's War is a future-history where everything is steam powered, including heavier-than-air craft, and airships rule the skies. Overall an OK read.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitzpatrick's_War

Jon

[Weaver]

Novel inspiration: Michael Moorcock's Oswald Bastable trilogy: The Warload of the Air, The Land Leviathan and The Steel Tsar.

Steampunk from before the term was invented............

[Geoff]

IIRC "Space 1889" RPG from the 80's had steam powered landships, their wargame had converted Airfix JS-III's with boilers on the rear decking.

[retro_seventies]

Steampunk flying boat....

Couple of paddlewheels, one on each side...couple of smokestacks at a rakish angle, REAL portholes instead of blister windows...maybe even a figurehead?  RIGHT.  I know what i'll be doodling this afternoon....