Taking shape 12 Oct Now, over the top of the armature that you’ve already seen, I begin to add paper twisted into rolls in order to flesh out the neck of the giraffe. By doing this, I’m imitating the musculature of the giraffe’s neck. The twists are first reinforced by wrapping with masking taped, then… Continue reading Taking shape
Category: Dr. Steampunk Airships
From scrap to steampunk sunglasses
From scrap to steampunk sunglasses 14 Sep Even though my mainline is steampunk zeppelin airships, one of my latest projects has been to fashion a pair of steampunk sunglasses. Now I know that goggles are a steampunk icon, but I’m a bit of a sunglasses collector, having accumulated about 125 pair over the years. I… Continue reading From scrap to steampunk sunglasses
Turret installation
Turret installation 23 Jul Installing the observation turrets into the sides of the Diabolus first requires cutting a hole in the mâché. Due to the curving shape of the airship’s sides, the hole could not be just a simple circle, but rather a complicated ellipse. I had to hold the turret alongside the airship and… Continue reading Turret installation
Turret interior
Turret interior 19 Jul Last post, I showed you how I made the observation turret on the airship Diabolus. Now I’ll show you the interior. I wanted to give the turret enough interior detail that if someone looked inside, there would be something that made sense, not just darkness or the side of the airship… Continue reading Turret interior
Turret construction
Turret construction 09 Jul Today, I’m going to show you how I put together the observation turrets that are on the sides of the Diabolus. Believe it or not, I used repurposed pieces for these as well Really, you say? I don’t believe it! Well, it’s true…read on to see more! I started with… Continue reading Turret construction
Continuing the Diabolus
Continuing the Diabolus 04 Jul Today I’m back to showing the progress of the Diabolus. You’ve all seen the finished product, as I displayed it at the World Steam Expo back at the end of May. I want to finish the progression so you see how it was constructed. I left off at showing you… Continue reading Continuing the Diabolus
WORLD STEAM EXPO 2011
Finally, the large airship that I have been posting the construction progress of, made its debut at the Expo to the delight of all that saw it enter the front doors and be majestically carried through the hotel as if flying in the aether. Many photos were taken (post them on FB and tag me… Continue reading WORLD STEAM EXPO 2011
Giraffe Safari Sculpture
Giraffe Safari Mount Sculpture 15 Jun Giraffe Safari Sculpture Papier and cloth mache over wooden armature, painted in acrylic with faux fur accents and curled paper eyelashes. Approximately 72″ long and 54″ tall from bottom of box to top of giraffe. Securely mounts to wall using bolted hooks, but is also easily removed for relocation.
Fin supports
Fin supports 17 May Now as I continue work on this papier mache airship, I need to add spacers for the back of the fins to attach them to the propeller hub and join them behind the propeller. Because of the multiple angles, I need to cut pieces and glue them to match the contours… Continue reading Fin supports
Safari base
Safari base 21 Mar My thoughts on how to mount the giraffe stemmed from the original idea of it looking like a safari trophy mount. I was going to cut a flat board or piece of nice plywood, then sand it and finish it to look like the taxidermy mounts we’re all so used to… Continue reading Safari base