The Carnacki Device

Greig Johnson was hired to create an interactive prop for the Lovecraftian LARP "The Key of Dreams".  His directions were to create a period occult science device that could expose features of the "hidden world".  Based on his build video, he delivered in spades.

Watching the assembly process is exactly the kind of prop pr0n I love.  Beyond the construction and finishing techniques this is the first time I've even heard that something like inductive LEDs exist.  As Mr. Johnson points out, they open up some amazing live-action possibilities. 

 

The Kryptoscope

I'm a sucker for prop scientific devices, and this one hits all my buttons.  Artist Pierre Jean Tardiveau brings us the Kryptoscope, featuring an array of nested lenses that...do something.

 

The Watcher

Artist Brian Poor brings us this fantastic bit of mad science.  He specializes in animatronic art and his gallery is filled with beautiful pieces.

Vintage-Style Laboratory Equipment

"i-Zombie" brings us this wonderful accessory for a vintage mad scientists laboratory. It's based on a similar piece from the craftsmen at Stelter Creative, which was itself inspired by the pioneering prop design work of Kenneth Strickfaden.

The Secrets Of Howard Hughes

Few realize that reclusive multi-millionare Howard Hughes was heavily involved in a variety of secret, occult related projects during the 1970's. Thanks to the internet, we can now catch a glimpse of one of his hidden technological breakthroughs.





The backstory behind this wonderful prop is appropriately insane, but suprisingly believable when you consider the things the real Howard Hughes was actually involved in. To this day there are people convinced he was part of everything from Area 51 to the demolition of the secret Nazi base in Antarctica using a miniature nuke.

Machine Infernale

I wish I could find out more about this amazing infernal device posted to Flickr. It was a featured prop in a French LARP, but there doesn't seem to be anything available beyond that.

Deus Ex Arca

Artist "Jacob P" has created an impressive retro-tech genetic engineering kit .





This is the only "kit-style" prop project I've seen that manages to be both disturbing and funny at the same time. Browse through the rest of his blog and you'll find some amazing work, ranging from mounted fairy heads to a beautiful neo-victorian* blaster.



*I can't bring myself to call what he does "steampunk", since it's actually, you know, good . For every genuine artist like Tom Banwell or Datamancer lovingly crafting retro-tech devices there are two dozen hacks slapping together brass-colored junk from the goodwill store and calling it "steampunk". By sheer force of numbers the hacks won, effectively redefining the term into a label of derision.

Yes, now that you ask, I am a cranky old man. Heh.

For The Discerning Mad Scientist

Gravitymagnet specializes in providing the finest in fiendish scientific devices . Stop by at their website and you'll find a selection of wonderful retro-style props and apparatus.

Pulp Raygun

Rexports has posted a series of short videos to YouTube showing off his retro-style laser pistol . It not only looks like something right out of the pulps, but has a full suite of electronic lighting effects built in.



If he goes ahead with production I can see my wallet rapidly emptying.

The Planet Mongo Videotron

Via Lost in Schlock comes this amazingly creative, ultra-low budget Flash Gordon inspired wall prop from Dave Lowe.



Almost everything that went into the making of this prop was junk lying around the house, but you can see for yourself that from anything more than a foot or two away it looks phenomenal. The difference between great low-budget props like this and the "steamjunk" stuff I hate so much is in the creativity and attention to detail of the creator. Slapping things together is a recipe for failure, but if you take the time to plan your work and utilize your available materials to the best of your ability there's no reason the result shouldn't look at least this good.

Beware The Z-Rays

From artist Alan Taylor comes the Z-Ray Regulation Station. This wonderfully infernal device would look right at home in Dr. Crawford Tillinghast's laboratory.



You'll find his Flickr photostream includes a selection of equally well-crafted props of a psuedo-scientific sort.

The Abominable Dr. Fetus

From the mind of Dr. Fetus comes this disturbing growth chamber.



Although it appears to be a creation of the most abominable sort of mad science, this wonderful device is actually part of a display about manatee preservation. One can only imagine the delightful creations the good doctor would come up with if he turned to the dark side.

Steampunk Underground Explorer Helmet

I have a love/hate relationship with "steampunk".

I love the idea of retro-futuristic props based on the scientific romances of the Victorian era and the pulps of the early 20th century. The ornate elegance of the genre's mechanisms and devices are a nostalgic rebuttal of the smooth, consciously minimalist tropes of modern design. Done well, the emphasis on craftsmanship using basic metals and materials produces objects that revel in the details of their manufacture and evoke a fusion of art and functionality.

Unfortunately, I hate that most of what gets passed off as "steampunk" these days is hackery of the most embarrassing sort. Rayguns slapped together from candlesticks and lamp parts and mad science devices made from plasma balls glued to crappy old jewelry boxes just make my flesh crawl. I'm a huge proponent of the DIY part of the punk ethos, but there's more to crafting a good prop than grabbing some old brass bits at a yard sale and willy-nilly sticking them together with epoxy putty.

I very rarely post any steampunk props I come across exactly because the vast majority of them are pure crap, but then I come across something like this underground explorer's helmet from Tom Banwell that once again gives me hope.





The world would be a much better place if the craftsmanship and attention to detail embodied in projects like this replaced the "Colonel Crapmartin's Expeditious Aetheric Exciter Blunderbuss" crafted from a 2 x 4 and some plumbing pipe that currently epitomizes "steampunk".

Mad Science: The Accumulator

This intriguing scientific device comes from a dusty trunk found in the estate of Professor Gould Zaius.



You can see more of the Accumulator, and a number of other steampunk creations, at Cornelius Sagan's photostream on Flickr. What I really like about this particular one is that the found parts aren't readily identifiable. There's a lot of "steampunk" art along these lines that consists of just throwing a bunch of brass bits together, usually consisting of candlesticks and lamp bases, without any real thought.

Via Brass Goggles.