Wings of Steam

Ever since steampunk costuming began, steampunks have had a fascination with Nerf guns. For one thing, the shape of the Nerf gun’s molded plastic already has a somewhat steampunk appearance to it. Couple this with the fact that Nerf guns are cheap and easily modifiable, and it’s no small wonder every steampunk and his dog seems to own a Nerf Maverick. A quick Google search will bring up hundreds of examples.

Of course, an essential aspect of steampunking your Nerf gun is covering up the god-awful yellow, blue, and orange plastics with layers upon layers of brass paint. After all, you can’t have a steampunk weapon that isn’t some dull and metallic color, can you? Well, it seems another stereotype of steampunk has been broken. Allow me to introduce Nerfpunk!

Pictured, from left to right (top row): Austin Sirkin, Megan Maude, Sheyne Fleischer, Glenn Freund, Sean Hagler, James McHugh. (Bottom row): Innah O’Malley and Amanda Aug. Photo courtesy of Austin Sirkin.

A group of intrepid souls decided to turn the table on steampunking Nerf guns. Rather than coloring their weapons brass, they colored their clothing Nerf colors. The idea was conceived by Austin Sirkin and his wife, Megan Maude. Austin writes,

She and I were talking one day about how Nerf had essentially become the unofficial sponsor of the Steampunk movement, and, purely joking, I suggested that we should clearly match our outfits to the guns, rather than the other way around. Megan’s eyes got really wide, and she said, “YES!” At that moment, Nerfpunk was born. The idea was infectious, and quite a lot of our friends got really excited about doing it with us.

One of the challenges involved with Nerfpunk was in how to dress steampunk without using traditional “steampunk colors.” After a bit of study, Austin and Megan, who run the panel “The Victorian Aesthetic in Visual Media” at conventions around the country, determined suitable traits which would allow them to pull off a steampunk look without the need of brasses or browns.

I was afraid that people wouldn’t know we were Steampunks ourselves, and would think that we were mocking Steampunk in general, but that wasn’t an issue even once. I think that the most positive response came from people who were, themselves, Steampunks, as they totally embraced the outfits.

The group was seen at Dragon*Con 2010, and will be making a reappearance at Dragon*Con 2011. More Nerfpunk images can be seen here.

We at Wings of Steam would humbly like to apologize for the cruelty of yesterday’s prank. Steampunk is not dead. In fact, it is doing better than ever. While we understand that pretending to become a Hipster blog may be inexcusable to many, we hope that our old readers will forgive us. We were only trying to be ironic. As a peace offering, we will soon begin offering new steampunk content on a regular basis. Stay tuned…

It has come to our attention here at Wings of Steam that Steampunk is no longer “cool.” In order to retain readers, we have been forced to move on to the next big trend. Therefore, as of today, Wings of Steam is now a hipster blog.

We feel this transition will come natural, as hipster and steampunk both share many indie elements. While we cannot make the claim of being a hipster blog “before Hipster was cool,” our current readers will have the advantage of being able to say, “I read Wings of Steam before it was Hipster,” which will be sure to impress their buddies.

Stay tuned:

• Later this week we will feature a tutorial on how to strip down your goggles and re-mold them into thick rimmed glasses.
• Next week we will have a tutorial on how to motorize your penny farthing.

 

Hipster links and resources:
Hipster @ Hot Topic
The Hipster Handbook
Hipster | Cracked.com
Look at This Fucking Hipster
Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization

I will have time for a full con report and pictures and video later, but for now I want to review one of the highlights of the con, for me at least.

We caught the tail end of their show Friday night in Mr. Bodewell’s Cabaret, and Captain Julian dubbed The Gypsy Nomads “the best steampunk band I’ve never heard of before now” and I cannot fault him that description.

I purchased the two CDs they had available at the convention, and have listened to little else in the weeks since the con. There are a few samples of their songs on their CD Page, and a few live songs posted to YouTube, though they are of typical amateur-recorded live-show camera-phone sort of quality. I dare you to listen to Make Out or Caravan and not sing along or at least stomp your feet.

Their songs range from melodic drum instrumentals like “Ghost Drum” through the slight political satire in “Yes! I’m French” with detours through gypsy inspired old-west romps in “Sombrero Cabaret.”

From talking a little bit with Samantha and Scott after their show on Saturday, and around their table on Sunday, and watching them on stage, it seemed fairly clear to me they’re having a blast playing their music. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

This weekend, November 19th, 20th and 21st, is the second SteamCon. I will be there reporting on the happenings from now until the end of the con on Sunday. To receive my live reports, follow our  Twitter account: @Wings_of_Steam. We hope to include pictures from the con, and possibly even a brief interview or two.

I seem to recall recent talk from steampunks who wanted to create their own steampunk town. One place has actually taken the idea to heart. Oamaru, New Zealand, a town which annually celebrates their Victorian heritage, has recently seen the local interest in steampunk skyrocket.

Through the effort of the League of Victorian Imagineers, the people of Oamaru have been transforming their town, holding a series of steampunk events throughout the year which culminated in this year’s Steampunk Exhibition at a local art gallery. Many of the local townspeople have embraced steampunk, attending the many events organized by the group.

Besides the Exhibition, happenings thus far have included a New Year’s Eve battle “reenactment” in which the army saved the town from alien invaders, a steampunk fashion show in June, and the opening of a cycleway in May which was attended by the Prime Minister of New Zealand himself. With so many great events, and such strong interest from the residents of this Victorian town, it seems we may have to keep watching as Oamaru develops more fully into the vision of a steampunk town that many of us have dreamed about.

To view current and past events in steampunk Oamaru, visit the website of the League of Victorian Imagineers:

http://steampunknz.co.nz/

I first ran across the always weird Veronique Chevalier at last year’s SteamCon, where I was fortunate enough to catch her rather rousing and brilliantly bizarre rendition of “People are Strange”. Now Mademoiselle Veronique is back, this time with an animated music video dedicated to the pursuit of romance within the realm of the aethernet — internet dating.

I have observed a curious phenomena in the years I’ve been donning my steampunk accouterments especially regarding the reactions of “normal” people on the street; there is a critical mass of costume participation that needs to be reached before the public at large will comment on the costumes.

I have found the minimum number of costumed participants to be three.

I put on my vest and bowler to see 9 in the theater and was largely ignored by passers by, excepting the gentleman who asked if I could direct him to the nearest “pocket teller.”

For my birthday last year, in lieu of my customary road trip, my friend on the left of the photo above organized a trip to Georgetown, Colorado to ride the train.

We were stopped no less than four times in an hour and asked if we were part of a show, or a theatre group.

We were stopped again outside of this brew pub in Idaho Springs after a fifth member joined us, and again asked if we were part of a theatre troupe and where tickets to our show might be purchased.

We smiled politely and laughed softly and we explained no, we are not performers, and yes, we do this for fun sometimes.

This rule is, of course, rendered void at a gathering of nerds, such as sci-fi, comic book, or anime conventions.

There were as many photographers as subjects at the Steampunk photoshoot Saturday morning at Anime Central earlier this month, and I was stopped several times for a photo when walking on my own. An inordinate number of people commented on my beard as well this year. I am on the far left in the group photo above.

To paraphrase the inimitable Arlo Guthrie:
If one person dressed in steampunk gear is walking down the street, they may think he’s crazy. Three steampunks walking down the street and they may think it’s an organization. Can you imagine fifty people a day, dressed in their Victorian finest and adorned with sprockets, cogs, and goggles, walking down the street? Friends, they may think it’s a movement.

-Templeton

New-ish from Airship Entertainment and designed by Cheyenne Wright (colorist for Girl Genius), it’s the ranger badge for the militant scientist in us all: The Tesla Ranger Badge.

Come on, haven’t you always wanted to enforce the laws of Science? (All right, I know, most of you would rather break them, but that’s why we need some trustworthy lawmen ’round these parts.) It even has a space to add your own individual badge number. Mmmm. DIY!

While I cannot attest to the quality of this specific pin, I can assure you that the Airship Entertainment pins, in general, are quality products. I have both a Jägermonster Insignia Pin and a Winged Trilobite Pin and am extraordinarily pleased with them. I wear them proudly on my vest and would recommend the pins to anyone who asked.

-Templeton

The Great Steampunk Debate opened yesterday. Hosted by many of the brightest minds of the steampunk subculture, the website serves as a location to discuss steampunk ideology, ranging from politics to fandom to inspirations to 19th century topics.

As steampunk continues to grow as a subculture, it will clash more and more with various issues relating to politics, ethics and beliefs. Growing from an idea sparked by an event last year, the forum for the Great Debate serves as a location for steampunks to determine just how they feel on a variety of topics.

The debate will continue for two months until the first of July, at which time you can expect to hear many reports  and reactions to the debate summarized by many of the participants.

So if the latest issues of SteamPunk Magazine and the Gatehouse Gazette got you riled up and craving intelligent discourse, come to www.greatsteampunkdebate.com and check out the discussions we have to offer!