Sunset on a Dirigible

Name of Model: Sunset-on-a-dirigible

Created by: Balamorgineas

Found at: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=459637

Details: Every once in a while, you come across a model that rewards close inspection but can't be photographed well from a distance. Trust me - this model is one of them. This airship (in a loosely "steampunk" tradition) features some spectacular techniques and part usages. One thing you can see in many of the photos is a choppy, water-ish texture (perhaps it's supposed to be a cloud) created by dozens of minifig legs. The balloon-shaped bit hear the top is made entirely out of 2x2 round plates - and that's attached cleverly with hooks, chains, and skis! The front hull is a pair of sideways staircases, with click hinge sections attached. That hinge element reappears in quite a few other places, somehow feeling like an intentional motif instead of an overly-available part. Minifig telescopes make nice railings on the sides, and an unusual open cabin rounds things out - with the fins in the back being an entertaining nod to proper ship steering.

Technic "Steampunk" Motorcycle

Name of Model: Fatasse 1929 with Y9 'MaxOverBlown' engine

Created by: ~:Lola:~ who is on flickr and MOCPages

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zenerves/sets/72157625616257670/with/5263846343/ or http://mocpages.com/moc.php/184209

Details: Every once in a while, someone does away with the goofiness of fanciful airships and instead does something "steampunk"-ish by actually doing something great with a Victorian-era technical idea. Sure, things can look cool if they're using that style, but it'd have to actually run on a boiler to really hit the spot. To be honest, I'm not up-to-speed on the topic enough to know if this is truly based on the design used in 1929 in a failed attempt at setting a new motorcycle landspeed record (a few quick Google searches didn't turn up anything decisive). This model, though, looks like it has the right amount of detail and could compete nicely with most of the official motorcycle kits. The engine in particular is very well fleshed out.

World's First Interplanetary Trans-Aether Steam Rocket

Name of Model: Aether traveler

Created by: captainsmog

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/captainsmog/4542571453/in/set-72157623908933430/

Details: It was probably inevitable that we'd see Space and steampunk combined eventually. Perhaps the ultimate in retrofuturism, the style of this minifig-scale spacecraft brings to mind a few different eras of sci-fi all while keeping the greebling realistic. The use of color here is surprisingly effective - particularly on the Martian surface. Don't miss the little black ladder either.

This is Tuesday's model of the day

Steam Battle

Name of Model: Steam Battle

Created by: SlyOwl

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27444109@N04/3317519426/

Details: SlyOwl is a a fairly prolific builder who gets blogged a lot and for good reason. Here's one he posted at the end of February that I didn't see mentioned elsewhere—much to my surprise! Steam Battle is a good dose of LEGO steampunk with a lot going on without overdoing it, and a variety of excellent modern building techniques. Here are three of my favorites in this MOC: The Splashes You've got that boiler unit hitting the water front and center of the MOC and a gigantic clear cylinder dish representing the splash. A bit to the left is a smaller splash but a really cool "freeze-frame" effect like you often see in a photo of a drop of water taken at a very high speed. SNOT Wake This is better visible from a slightly different angle, but you can see some of it here behind the smaller splash. The boat is moving in toward the dock at a decent clip, demonstrated by the use of white, light blue, and light bley built into the SNOT (Studs-Not-On-Top) base. You can also see SlyOwl's use of 1x1 clear cylinders here as bubbles. The Floating Rock I've noticed a number of builders recently using this concept (e.g. Reejoc on his amazing interpretation of the Queen of Hearts' Castle from Alice in Wonderland). Let alone the excellent building techniques, I'm intrigued by the idea of a chunk of dirt or rock that defies gravity and is its own island in the sky, as it were.

Prepare to Have Your Mind Blown

Name of Model: V&A Steamworks

Created by: V&A Steamworks (famed effects whiz Guy Himber)

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/32482342@N05/

Details: Occasionally, someone will introduce himself (or herself) to the LEGO fan community with such a bold, original, how-did-he-do-that-with-LEGO-parts style that it just takes everyone by surprise. This is one of those builders. I don't care what you think of Steampunk, minifig-scale, or Bionicle - these are truly works of art. There are technically 5 models here, but only 15 photos. I found myself going to the "All Sizes" link on every one to decipher what was going on. So many of these parts are the sort of thing people tend to write off as useless - it's truly shocking to see some of them put to such great use. To see so many of them used so well in this context is mind-blowing. Just to top that off, there are a few more common pieces - but they're all used in unusual ways (note the boat sections that turn into jaws on the HMS Vern).

Steampunk Organ (and Contest Info)

Name of Model: Steam Organ

Created by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23673573@N05/

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23673573@N05/2303753783/ Contest at: http://www.reasonablyclever.com/lego/contest/steam/grid.html

Details: This detailed steampunk-styled organ was made for a contest being held by the website Reasonably Clever. The contest is challenge to get people to build steampunk-themed models that use 50 or fewer pieces. The contest ends on March 15th at midnight EST, and more models entered into the contest can be seen at the "Contest at" link above. This particular model has an interesting back story and a few nifty techniques. Click-hinge parts and minifig legs flesh out the sides of the organ. I'm digging the use of small white tiles and a 1x4 cockpit component for piano-style keys too - it's a bit impressionistic but a great way of getting the right effect at that scale.

This is Tuesday's model of the day

Falcon of the Millennium

Name of Model: Falcon of the Millennium

Created by: ReasonablyClever

Found at: http://www.reasonablyclever.com/lego/falcon/index.html

Details: This startling motorized model is another steampunk Star Wars vehicle. FBTB is running a contest to build Star Wars themed Steampunk models out of LEGO® bricks. I have a feeling we'll be seeing a few more excellent entries from that appear here, but I'd be surprised if we see more motorized ones. Or more Millennium Falcons - it's not easy to build something on this scale with these sparse retro stylings. There are some great details and photos here, but make sure you get a chance to see the video of the propellers in motion.

This is Friday's model of the day

Star Wars Steampunk - without the "punk" stylings

Name of Model: Imperial London Shuttle

Created by: thwaak

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thwaak/sets/72157603725197418/

Details: This model shows two new twists on the "steampunk" theme (which, for those of you keeping score, isn't an official LEGO® theme, but a fan-created one) - first, this model is roughly based on a ship from Star Wars. Second, this ship is made with more of an upscale Victorian look than a "punk" look. It's also a well-made model - I love how the propellers were made with steps from one of the newer staircase assemblies.

This is Wednesday's model of the day

Steampunk Airship

Name of Model: Radiant Kestrel

Created by: zachmoe

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7969176@N03/sets/72157600227509456/

Details: I'll be honest - I don't know anything about Steampunk airships. It is pretty clear, though, that some awesome stuff is going on in this model. There's a boat-like base, but a big part of it is upside down (presumably with a bunch of studs-not-on-to action underneath). Antennas hold up propellers, and some Technic parts can be seen holding other parts up. There are some details on the "deck", and even some outlying pods (I guess these are called "greebles" - in any case, they look great and make good use of some unusual parts). A section with steering equipment features some fencing and tiles to make a railing of sorts for the front of the ship. Curved tiles and claws accent a large amount of brown tiles to give it an authentic wooden look with some expensive-looking details. Some of the clever controls really have to be seen to be believed. There's even an interior cabin, complete with a patchwork quilt on the bed. The hinges to get just the right angles inside the cabin are a nice touch too. That's a lot of cool stuff for something that I can't even figure out what it is (readers - feel free to drop a comment and enlighten me).