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Punks in Space
3 April 2008 10:22 pmI tried to order a holster for my airsoft Colt Peacemaker but, even though the website said they were in stock, they were out and have no expectation of being in stock again. Damn. I've been window shopping for my Steampunk costume but haven't decided to put down any money for that yet.
But at work between calls, I've been sketching out the more elaborate costume: The Steampunk Spacesuit.
My first thought was based on the customized Mark V diving helmets used in Disney's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." But not quite what I was looking for. They looked too much like diving helmets and I wanted something more space suit.
Then, I found some photographs of the 1882 Carmaynolle armored diving suit. That was pretty damn cool. Unfortunately, the entire idea had been used in the "Bioshock" video game. I didn't want to be mistaken for that game character.
So, I spent more time surfing the web, looking at various diving helmets. Most were the common round-top cylinders that everyone knows and those that weren't were, well, pretty crappy. I started to think about how I would build such a thing. The problem would be making it look like one piece from the straight cylinder sides and the rounded top. The Captain Nemo helmet was able to disguise the foundation pretty well but I was still stuck think about materials. Then, I had a flash:
Dodecahedron.
A 12-sided Pythagorean solid. Twelve pentagons. put together in three dimensions. Building a helmet with that as a foundation would save me the trouble of trying to make curves, arcs or semi-spheres. I also realized as I started drawing it, that it looked much like Cavor's spaceship from the movie version of "The First Men in the Moon." (Well, that wasn't a perfect solid, but the impression is there.) This I could build.
I'll have to think more about materials. My first, ideal impression, is that it would be steel plates with brass fittings. Of course, I won't be making it out of steel and brass but I'll need to come up with a way to make it look like steel and brass. If I use a fine grain wood for the flat plates, I can sand it smooth enough to paint it gunmetal. For the pieces holding the faces together, I could use copper strips.
There will be three full size faces with full ports. The two on the top will be protected with wire grills, probably made of wire hangers, on the assumption that these would be the most prone to be bumped and broken and thus would need more protection. The two forward facing side ports would be smaller. The right hand one would have a hinge and a latch to allow it to be opened. There would be two rear facing side ports as well, probably with grills like those on the top.
The plate that sits directly over the head would not have a port. You couldn't tilt your head back far enough to look out of it if there were one there. Directly behind the head I would expand that outwards a bit to give my head a little more room to move. There would be a headrest there, something appropriately upholstered in the Victorian style. Red. Sort of like a wing-back library chair.
I'll have to build a cardboard prototype to see how much room there is inside. If there is enough at the front near the chin, a nice wood panel with some meters and gages would be appropriate.
When I had been thinking about it, I also had the thought of a steampunk version of Gordon Freeman from the "Half-Life" game. If I grew my beard differently and wore the right kind of glasses I look uncannily like the main character from that game. So, I was pleased that my helmet, or rather, the base of the helmet, looked a little like the "Half-Life" encounter suit. I put a little lambda on the front. I'll have to carry a crowbar.
I need to find a base for the spacesuit. Something that looks like an adapted 19th Century diving suit. That's probably going to be pretty tough to do. Maybe I can find a surplus chemical/hazmat suit that will work.
And I'll also need a backpack tank of some sort.
And some welding gloves. That I can add straps and buckles to.
And a holster. And toolbelt.
And a carbide lamp.
Madness, I know, but if I pull this all off it will be really, really cool.
But at work between calls, I've been sketching out the more elaborate costume: The Steampunk Spacesuit.
My first thought was based on the customized Mark V diving helmets used in Disney's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." But not quite what I was looking for. They looked too much like diving helmets and I wanted something more space suit.Then, I found some photographs of the 1882 Carmaynolle armored diving suit. That was pretty damn cool. Unfortunately, the entire idea had been used in the "Bioshock" video game. I didn't want to be mistaken for that game character.So, I spent more time surfing the web, looking at various diving helmets. Most were the common round-top cylinders that everyone knows and those that weren't were, well, pretty crappy. I started to think about how I would build such a thing. The problem would be making it look like one piece from the straight cylinder sides and the rounded top. The Captain Nemo helmet was able to disguise the foundation pretty well but I was still stuck think about materials. Then, I had a flash:
Dodecahedron.
A 12-sided Pythagorean solid. Twelve pentagons. put together in three dimensions. Building a helmet with that as a foundation would save me the trouble of trying to make curves, arcs or semi-spheres. I also realized as I started drawing it, that it looked much like Cavor's spaceship from the movie version of "The First Men in the Moon." (Well, that wasn't a perfect solid, but the impression is there.) This I could build.
I'll have to think more about materials. My first, ideal impression, is that it would be steel plates with brass fittings. Of course, I won't be making it out of steel and brass but I'll need to come up with a way to make it look like steel and brass. If I use a fine grain wood for the flat plates, I can sand it smooth enough to paint it gunmetal. For the pieces holding the faces together, I could use copper strips. There will be three full size faces with full ports. The two on the top will be protected with wire grills, probably made of wire hangers, on the assumption that these would be the most prone to be bumped and broken and thus would need more protection. The two forward facing side ports would be smaller. The right hand one would have a hinge and a latch to allow it to be opened. There would be two rear facing side ports as well, probably with grills like those on the top.
The plate that sits directly over the head would not have a port. You couldn't tilt your head back far enough to look out of it if there were one there. Directly behind the head I would expand that outwards a bit to give my head a little more room to move. There would be a headrest there, something appropriately upholstered in the Victorian style. Red. Sort of like a wing-back library chair.
I'll have to build a cardboard prototype to see how much room there is inside. If there is enough at the front near the chin, a nice wood panel with some meters and gages would be appropriate.
When I had been thinking about it, I also had the thought of a steampunk version of Gordon Freeman from the "Half-Life" game. If I grew my beard differently and wore the right kind of glasses I look uncannily like the main character from that game. So, I was pleased that my helmet, or rather, the base of the helmet, looked a little like the "Half-Life" encounter suit. I put a little lambda on the front. I'll have to carry a crowbar.I need to find a base for the spacesuit. Something that looks like an adapted 19th Century diving suit. That's probably going to be pretty tough to do. Maybe I can find a surplus chemical/hazmat suit that will work.
And I'll also need a backpack tank of some sort.
And some welding gloves. That I can add straps and buckles to.
And a holster. And toolbelt.
And a carbide lamp.
Madness, I know, but if I pull this all off it will be really, really cool.
