Defender: Starting the Mask

With the helmet nearing completion, I have begun on the mask. These two parts—the helmet and mask—could be worn alone, but they are designed to be worn together.



This is a variation of the gas mask, with two respirators on the sides of the snout replacing the single central one, which gives it an eerie alien look.



Each of the two eyepieces will be different. One of them will resemble a camera lens, and the other a porthole.



Here is a photo of the mask after the major leather pieces have all been stitched together.

Defender: Antiquing the Helm

I went ahead and riveted the crest to the helm, and then antiqued it all black. The purple and red now remain only as highlights, just the look I was after.



I've been building the luminiferous aether collection devices that fit into the neckguard trim, and I can't assemble that until they are all cast.



Meanwhile, I have started on the headlamp. Here is a photo of the lamp as I found it at a yard sale. I will break it apart, and then the lamp will attach to the front of the helm.

Defender: The Neckguard Trim

I will be adding a second layer of leather over the bottom edge of the neckguard, in order to reinforce it and make it lay smoother. If I make the trim the same size as the neckguard, and stitch them together, the resulting piece will want to lay flat, which I don't want. The neckguard should roughly form a half circle. In order to get it to readily make that shape I will make the trim piece longer than the base piece.

If you take two pieces of paper—one slightly shorter than the other—and fasten the ends together, it will bend into a curve. If you wrap tape around a tube, and keep adding it on over itself, the tape will build up in thickness, with the circumference of each turn being slightly larger than the previous one. Drafting a pattern for the neckguard uses the same principle.


I can make the patterns in paper, and bend and measure them to find the right size differential, but that won't be accurate for cutting it in leather because the leather is thicker than paper, and thus needs a larger differential. Add to that the fact that vegetable tanned leather—which I cut and stitch while damp—will shrink while drying, and I can only guess at how long the trim should be.



Here is the neckguard trim piece after cutting and dying.



And here it is tacked into position. The oblong openings will hold luminiferous aether collection devices.

Underground Explorer Raygun

To finish off the underground explorer's outfit for his formal photograph I put together a down and dirty "rock blaster" raygun.



You can cut through solid rock likes it's butter with this puppy!

Anybody recognize what I made this from?

Underground Explorer: Lamp Comb is Finished

After focusing on the whale tooth for awhile I have returned my attentions to the Underground Explorer's helmet. Yesterday I reworked the comb pattern and remade it to fit properly, then I cut out the leather and hand-stitched it over the acrylic comb form. Today I painted it black, and antiqued it brown to give it that old look. After drying, I bolted and riveted the comb to the leather helm, and attached the lamp to the front.



I have decided on all of the design elements of the helmet, and have just two more to complete: The eyecover/goggles, and the oxygen canister which will hook up to the snout. With this equipment our intrepid explorer will be protected from extremes in pressure and temperature, as well as falling rocks. They will also have a bright light to see what lies before them, and have a fresh supply of oxygen to weather the pockets of foul air. Hopefully this will protect them from all unforseen dangers that might lurk ahead.

Scrimshaw Whale Tooth

After finishing the whale tooth and putting in on the stand, I realized that the scarab bead didn't look right. It was crudely carved and the color was too bright, and detracted from the tooth itself. So I removed it and to cover up the mark on the base I engraved a small 19th century looking black plate with gold lettering.

For the tooth I molded a sperm whale tooth that I had acquired years ago, then cast it in a polyurethane resin. I then sanded down the resin tooth smooth where the scrimshaw was to go, and engraved two steampunk scenes. This left the real ivory tooth undamaged. One side of the tooth shows a giant squid attacking the airship Gryphon.



And the other side shows a steamy mermaid. Here is the story I wrote to explain the history of the piece:

The old Chinese man loved his opium pipe more than any other thing on earth. Because of his devotion to it he had never married, and had long ago lost contact with his family. He had finally found his place in the world on a whaling ship, working as a cook, which allowed him ample time to enjoy his indulgence. It was here plying the seven seas that he learned the art of scrimshaw, scratching a design into a whale tooth, then rubbing lampblack into the marks to make it legible.

It was while in an opiate stupor that he saw the most amazing sight of his life—a giant squid attacking the airship Gryphon. He alone saw it, and the whalers laughed at his tale, but the old man swore it was true, and set about to record the event in bone. On the flip side of the tooth he copied a tattoo worn by one of the sailors, portraying a mermaid in steamy attire—wearing a corset with a set of goggles on her head, and carrying a raygun in her hand.

The old man lost his life while the ship was docked in Alexandria, stabbed to death in a knife fight while gambling in the seediest part of the city. His few possessions were scattered, and his scrimshawed whale tooth—his most precious belonging after his pipe—ended up in a curio shop. The owner paired it with a small display stand which fit it perfectly. It was a bronze casting which portrayed the Egyptian god Horus and lotus blossoms, mounted on a wooden base. He had a small plaque engraved which reads “The Attack of the Giant Tentacled Sea Monster”.

I have more pictures on my Etsy shop.

Designing a Steampunk Spaceman's Helmet

Today, Sunday, my wife and I went to some yard sales. Now sometimes you find nothing, and other times you find one gem. Just as we were about to leave one sale emptyhanded, I spotted a plastic astronaut's helmet. When I inquired about the price, the seller said $1--uh, 50¢--fearing I wouldn't cough up a whole dollar for this plastic helmet that was missing the visor. Of course, I saw much more in it. I knew I could pull a pattern off of it and remake it as a steampunk leather helmet!

Here is the plastic helmet as I bought it.

After thinking about how to break it up into separate leather pieces, I taped it all over with duct tape to make the patterns, and marked the divisions.

Here I've cut off the duct tape using an Xacto knife, and laid it down on heavy paper.

Next I've smoothed out the lines, removed the duct tape, and cut out the heavy paper patterns.

Next using the patterns I cut out the leather pieces, and punched the stitching holes, along with snap and buckle holes. I am leaving the front piece that covers the mouth removable so that the wearer can take it off for eating, etc.

Here I've stitched together the left center piece and the left side piece to see if it will work. I used a seam that exposes the edges, but after seeing it I think I'll remove the thread and do it over with an overlapping seam so that it will lie flat.

I will post more later as I progress on this project.

Flea Market Raygun Finds

Twas a beautiful Spring day, and I went to a local flea market searching for raygun components. Here is what I found.




From top to bottom: A toy cap pistol with good metal parts and a very crude wooden handle; a timing light, all shiney chrome; and an old water sprayer. With a little bit of fixing up and love, these can be made into rayguns. The top one will make a nice air pirate pistol, and the timing light will make a nice futuristic firearm.

Raygun 66: Shaping the Grip

The grip model (black and white on the left) was molded and cast in resin (gray on the right). I wanted the top of the grip to be narrower than the bottom, so I bandsawed the casting right down the middle and sanded a bevel onto both halves. Then I glued the two parts together, and filled in the crack with Bondo™. I'm still trying to figure out what carved design I will inset into the sides of the grip.

Raygun 66: Molding the Grip

The acrylic sheet and Bondo™ construct of the grip is ready to mold for casting. The popcorn cup will get hot-glued down around the grip to hold in the liquid silicone rubber. The wooden dowel and clay below the grip will form an opening in the mold called the gate, through which the rubber will be poured (the mold is made upside down). I will leave it overnight, then cut the mold apart using an Xacto™ knife.

Starting a Second Raygun

After having so much fun making my first raygun—the Raughnold Model 81—I have decided to put together a second one.



These are the parts I'm starting off with: A meat grinder part (bottom), a floral candleholder end (center) (I'm guessing), and a chromed drink pour spout (left). For the grip I've decided to fabricate my own and cast it in resin pieces(right). Each side will have a faux ivory carving inset into the dark colored base. I've made the rough model of the grip by cutting black acrylic sheet and gluing several layers together. To round it off a bit I've filled in the cracks with pink Bondo™ body putty and sanded it down. Next I will make a rubber mold of the grip, then cast it in resin and rework that to get the final shape.


My inspiration came from the pocket pistols of the 19th century, that ladies (and gents) could carry unobtrusively. I love the grips that have the fancy carving on them, and thought of how it would be relatively easy—with my experience working with resin—to construct a nice one in the Steampunk style. Also when I found the pour spout I felt it would make a great middle section of the raygun. Notice some of my sketches for this project.

Raygun Contest: One more clue

Fourth Clue

The one found object that no one has yet identified will be recognized by winners. Above is a photo of the original parts after molding. Careful study could yield a lightbulb moment. Earlier clues (and guesses by readers) and the original contest listing with rules should be read by anyone venturing a guess. Good luck! I expect a winner soon.

Win a Raygun: More Clues

There have been some good guesses, but no one has nailed all five found objects yet. Today I will post three clues, which should make it considerably easier. My first contest was won almost immediately, so I wanted this one to be a little more difficult.

First Clue

When I first announced the raygun contest (refer to it for more photos), I wrote "In the model 81 there are five objects that I can identify." As many of you have noticed, there are actually six found objects, but one of them I cannot identify, so it is not included as something to name. It is the silver colored power generator shown above. It has been guessed as a part of a flashlight, a television knob, a dial from a stove, etc. Please ignore it in your guesses. It is a collar of some sort as it had a large bolt sticking out of it, but exactly what it is I do not know.

So the parts you are guessing are the particle accelerator, pulse delineator, grip, and two pieces making up the exhaust port.

Second Clue

None of the objects is made of wood.

Third Clue

Many of the objects have been guessed correctly, but there is one item that no one has guessed. Think of something other than any of the previous guesses. Good luck!

Raygun Contest!

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Every boy dreams of owning a raygun, and as a soon-to-be grandfather, I have tapped back into my boyhood fantasies. I decided I had to build my own rayguns after being inspired by the works of Tinkerbots and Greg Broadmore of WETA Workshop. The Raughnold Model 81 is my first gun.


Following Tinkerbots example, I have created the raygun by assembling found objects, along with some parts I’ve fabricated. It is a marvelously challenging art form: Bringing together disparate objects into something new—a process through which the individual parts disappear into the whole. Part of making it all work together for me is adding bits and pieces to help disguise the original parts so that there is no distraction.

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The Contest



I have intentionally not shown the gun in progress as I wanted to hold a contest in which you, the viewers, attempt to guess which found objects I used. In the model 81 there are five objects that I can identify. All were acquired at either a yard sale or a thrift shop. The first person who can correctly identify all five objects will win one of the rayguns, which I am selling on Etsy for $95.



Anyone can participate. Submit the list of your five objects as a comment. If after one week no one has correctly identified all five objects, then I will give out a clue. Each week that passes without a winner will lead to another clue. Please submit only one guess per week. After I have given a clue you are welcome to guess again. The contest will continue until someone correctly guesses the five objects.

Clue #1: None of the objects are gears, nuts, bolts etc.

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The Story

We have here an extremely rare raygun manufactured in the late 19th century by the Swedish manufacturer Raughnold. This is their model 81, famous for its sleek lines and fine balance, coupled with its extremely effective vaporizing ray. The functioning of the raygun is not well understood, but we do know that the power generator in the center of the gun sends a ray through the pulse delineator which is amplified by the particle accelerator.

Measuring over 14” long, this beauty is solidly built, yet light enough to be handled even by those of the feminine persuasion. From the particle accelerator nozzle all the way to the rear exhaust port, this raygun exudes quality. The gun is cast in resin, with a hand-stitched leather grip. A custom wet-formed leather holster will be available soon.

The Leather Upper Trunk

Here is what the upper leather trunk looks like. The eye openings will have lenses and steampunk surrounds. Notice the worn appearance of the leather finish, and the ventilation holes for breathing. The leather folded back over itself was inspired by Chinese paper masks.