Here you'll find pics of my various mechanical creations, along with links to the various posts I published during their development. I'll be updating this page regularly, as new VSF (Victorian Science-Fiction) machines trundle forth from my factories...
The British Hydrothermicopters started life as pull-string toy helicopters, bought in the local crap-shop. With some fairly intensive conversion work, they became really rather nice, if I say so myself...
I've always loved great big beasts of way with castles and stuff... So I decided to build one. And given that Peter Jackson did such a great job of Tolkein's Oliphaunts, I thought I ought to endeavour to make my elephant-conversion a bit different...
So I cut his head off and glued it back on upside down.
Tex Winspan was a bit of fun while I was working on a much larger project, and only took about three hours from start to finish.
Based on a Texas Ranger miniature from Copplestone Castings, I changed the model's pose and gun and built a clanky, much-rivetted flight pack from plastic rod and brass foil. I'd like to do more of these guys...
PROFESSOR SHANDY TANGLEFOOT'S OVER-COMPENSATORY DEATH-RAY OF DOOM
The Death Ray of Doom took shape very quickly, over three days of feverish inspiration! I wanted a piece of machinery that could serve as a plot-device or objective in VSF games and I've always liked the idea of forces struggling to gain posession of a gigantic gun...
This is a true scratch-built model, being constructed from all sorts of junk: The main column is from an electric drill, while the reflector is from a broken floodlight. Crystals from a chandelier were used to create the focussing array.
The creation of Professor Shandy Tanglefoot's Over-Compensatory Death-Ray of Doom occupied only one post:
BRITISH HYDROTHERMICOPTERS
The British Hydrothermicopters started life as pull-string toy helicopters, bought in the local crap-shop. With some fairly intensive conversion work, they became really rather nice, if I say so myself...
At this time, the second Hydrothermicopter remains to be finished.
Posts on the Hydrothermicopters are:
BAZALGETTE LIGHT ARMOURED PERAMBULATORY CONTRIVANCE
In
1856, Sir Joseph Bazalgette (1819-1891) was commissioned to redesign
the London sewers - no mean task - and although he rose ably to the
challenge, there were certain elements of the job he found rather
distasteful.
Thus
it was that in early 1857, he unveiled the Joseph Bazalgette Steam
Driven Wading Suit - a small, one-man vessel capable of carrying him in
comfort and with clean, dry shoes throughout the vast network of
stinky tunnels that had become his Big Job.
It
was while clanking his way through the foetid labyrinth of Putney
that he encountered the now infamous Putney Sewer Trolls. Armed with
only a scented handkerchief and an iron 250 horsepower right foot, he
sent the blighters packing all the way to Mayfair, where their howls
and moans attracted the local constabulory.
Needless
to say, the Daily Telegraph's report of this heroic feat drew the
attention of the War Office and Bazalgette was afforded a brief respite
from his backed-up work load to design a similar vessel for use by the
military. This took a while, with many adjustments and perfections to
be made - and much rising stink from the abandoned and unfinished
sewers - until in late 1862, William Cubitt, Lord Mayor of London,
protested to the Palace that enough was enough and Sir Joe really ought
to get back into his element. Resigned to his responsibilities,
Bazalgette handed over the new machine to The Right Honourable Sir
George Cornwall Lewis, Her Majesty's Secretary of State, and clanked
off back into the poo.
The Bazalgette Light
Armoured Perambulatory Contrivance began its life as a cheap toy, which I
had every intention of modifying quickly and simply.
Three months and 505 rivets later, I was done...
The development of the Bazalgette Light Armoured Perambulatory Contrivance can be viewed in the following posts:
WAR FLUNK OF THE WUTHA-F'KAHWI
I've always loved great big beasts of way with castles and stuff... So I decided to build one. And given that Peter Jackson did such a great job of Tolkein's Oliphaunts, I thought I ought to endeavour to make my elephant-conversion a bit different...
So I cut his head off and glued it back on upside down.
More flunks remain to be finished at this time. I also need a crew for this beastie!
Posts including the War Flunk can be viewed at:
TEX WINGSPAN - THE FLOWN RANGER
Based on a Texas Ranger miniature from Copplestone Castings, I changed the model's pose and gun and built a clanky, much-rivetted flight pack from plastic rod and brass foil. I'd like to do more of these guys...
Tex Wingspan can be viewed at the following post:
THOMSON TANK-ENGINES
The Thomson Tank-Engines, the 'Lord Thomson' and the 'Sir Percival', are two steam-powered tanks I designed with a bit of silliness in mind.
They have magnetised 'faces' which can be changed between comic and armoured, depending on my mood.
They each have 485 rivets (when wearing their armoured fronts).
The Thomson Tank-Engines appear in the following posts:
PANTAGRUEL
Pantagruel is a walker I built several years ago, just for a bit of fun. She took about a week of obsessive working to complete and I learned a lot in the process.
Pantagruel had no name until recently, when my good friend Roly (aka Arteis - see his blog here) suggested it. Pantagruel was a giant in 16th Century French literature, and is the son of Gargantua.
Pantagruel has no weapons at this stage and I am debating whether to arm her or not.
There are no blog entries for this one - sorry! She was built long before I even knew what a blog was!
HMSW GARGANTUA
HMSW Gargantua (Her Majesty's Steam Walker) is my most ambitious single piece to date, and even made the local press recently.
She is 35cm long, 29cm high, and has 3,630 rivets - all individually glued on.
Made mostly from styrene modelling plastic, she took several months to complete. You can view the process through the following posts:
Huge Walker - Construction Begins
Free Wheelin'
Full Steam Ahead
A Rivetting Experience
HMSW Gargantua - Progress So Far
Rivets and Bolts Can Drive You Nuts
Roll Out The Big Guns
An Hour Or Two Fiddlin' With Me Dangly Bits
The Belly of The Beast
A Bit More Leg Work
Some Fancy Footwork
She Got Leeegs
Lots O' Little Bits
Two Feet Deeper In
Behold My Rear Entrance
The Beginning of The End
Accessorise, Accessorise, Accessorise
I Name This Walker... Gargantua!
HMSW Gargantua was inspired by the River Don Engine at Kelham Island Industrial Museum in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, where I grew up. This is believed to be the world's largest operational steam engine, and it's very impressive indeed. I incorporated the River Don Engine's flywheel and colour scheme into Gargantua.
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| River Don Engine, Kelham Island, Sheffield |
THE FARADAY GALVANIC FIELD GUN (and BIG MIKE)
The Faraday Galvanic Field Gun started life as a blown halogen light bulb, a sewing machine foot, a plastic dinosaur and a pencil sharpener old-west wagon.
During itsdevelopment, a colleague on Lead Adventure Forum, going by the name of Argsilverson, observed that the gun should have a generator - a challenge I decided to take up.
I really love the way the dichroic reflector in the lamp contrasts with the painted colours. I'm planning on designing similar machines in the future...
The development of the Faraday Galvanic Field Gun can be followed in the following posts:
A Bit of Silliness
Continuing The Silliness
The Evolution of Big Mike
The Generation Game
How To Train Your Dinosaur
Continuing the dinosaur-theme...
WUTHA-F'KAHWI CHIEFTAIN AND DINOSAUR CAVALRY
The warriors of the Wutha-F'Kahwi tribe needed some cavalry capable of facing down the technological forces of Her Majesty, so I decided to give them dinosaurs.
While the chieftain is mountedon a baby T-Rex from Jurassic Park II, the rest of his fearless riders are on really cheap and nasty toys. The challenge was to make them look good...
The development of all these dinosaur riders can be seen in the following posts:
