Steampunk costuming advice wanted!

[OverdrivePrime]

Hi all,

I've been invited to (an am going to attend with gusto) the Steampunk Invasion weekend (http://www.renfair.com/bristol/specialevents/index.asp) (NEXT WEEKEND!:smalleek:) at the Bristol Renaissance Faire - the Ren Faire I've been going to about once every 3 years since I was just a pup.

I'm quite excited, and have acquired a pair of regulation welding goggles that I'm going to be repainting and gizomogrifying tonight.

However, I don't have much else in the way of 'steampunky' clothes. I definitely appreciate steam culture, but have never immersed before.

I'm the "big stupid strong fighter" of the group, so I was thinking of going for a Dirigible Battle Crew look - maybe a boarding party shock trooper or something, since a few others in our group were planning to go as sky pirates.

Here's what I have to work with:

Combat boots
A couple old leather belts that I can take apart if needed.
Metallic brass and hammered bronze paint. I was thinking of going more with the hammered bronze look, with brass as highlights.
An absurd amount of screws, plastic gears, knobs and other things that are currently attached to dead or discarded pieces of equipment in my basement.
A columbine-blue collarless shirt that I have no cause to wear outside of 90's revival parties.
A pair of chocolate brown trousers that I have zero love for. They look fine, they're just... pants I don't like. Not sure why. :smallconfused:
A 2 foot long pipe wrench
Lots of rope
Lots of glue and other adhesives
An akubra hat (http://www.akubra.com.au/) but no other hats.
A bastard sword, a claymore, and an arabian-style curved dagger.
The ability to sew halfway decently for a guy who doesn't sew more than once every two years.


With my tenuous grasp of steam fashion, this seems incredibly incomplete. I'd like to make some gaiters for myself, but I'm not sure where to go for a decent men's spats/gaiters pattern. This is the best my Google-Fu could find (http://sidneyeileen.com/tutorials/sewing/costume-making/twolayer-gaiters/), but it seems terribly complex.

Many thanks in advance for any help or advice you can offer. I'll definitely post pictures from the event so you can see what your assistance has wrought! :smallsmile:



edit: sidenote - it's also supposed to be 90 degrees and kinda humid so I'd like to keep as much material off my core as possible. Curse the layered look of gaslamp romance! :smallsigh:

[SamBurke]

If you're going shock trooper, one accessory I'd recommend is a nerf gun. Repaint it, and those things are so big, and have so many extra details, it'll look perfect.

If you can, I'd cut the pants to just below the knees, pantaloons style. That'd normally come with an advisement to wear a trench or duster coat, but at 90... DEFINITELY NOT.

[Gnomish Wanderer]

Ooo, sounds like tons of fun. It sounds like you have pretty much everything you'd need. Just make sure that hat is really snazzy when you're done tricking it out. :smalltongue: As for the pants you could try pinstriping them? And considering the heat of the evening might I suggest more of a plain white shirt (wifebeater, some call it) instead of the blue ones and making overalls out of the belts?

[OverdrivePrime]

Awesome! Thanks for the help - I really just don't want to embarrass the folks I'm going with.

Just finished my goggles - they're simple, but look pretty decent.

I'm trying to figure out how I could easily (but not permanently) add a few more buckets of awesome to my hat.

Hrm... maybe I should find some fake fangs and say I'm a Jägerkin! I can rock that accent with ease. :D

And that would neatly explain me not having a gun as well. Hmmm... that's so crazy it just might work!

[Castaras]

Looks to me like you've got a good collection.

I'll also say - while Steampunk is about lots of weird gadgetry and interesting knicknacks to add to your costume, don't worry about going overboard. Less is more. :smallsmile:

and if you need inspiration... below is my Gaming Society.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/s720x720/579668_342744145784130_1240442561_n.jpg

[OverdrivePrime]

!
That... is actually incredibly helpful! Many thanks!

[Dr.Epic]

Mustache! Got to have a handlebar mustache! No matter what!

Even if you're a woman.

:smallwink:

[Karoht]

@Steampunk Nerf Guns
Most important consideration I discovered while trying to paint up the Vulcan (the belt fed tripod mount rapid fire nerf gun of awesomeness) is if your ammo doesn't match, you're probably best leaving it at home or removing it from consideration.

The magazines are fine, easy to spray paint. Painting that belt was a royal pain in the butt.

If you have a large bulky ammo drum (IE-The nerf shotgun) it is probably for the best to just use a single magazine for the evening. I've yet to see a good paint job on that ammo drum. I saw a very crudely done paint job to turn the drum into a very large pressure gauge, but the color balance made it gawdy and it was ultimately the first thing you zeroed in on when you looked at it.

The new disc launching nerf guns, I found that the ammo magazines for that just don't look great in steampunk colors, and the harder angling of the rest of the gun didn't really fit. If you want to buy one of those, I greatly recommend taking a file and sandpaper, round down some of the corners and harder edges, at least on the top of the gun.

There is a nerf revolver (name escapes me) that I would highly recommend painting. Two or three passes with spray paint and it's done. Grey primer, 1 coat brown, 2 coats bronze. Use a hot glue gun to stick on some dials and such. Also, I found that the gun actually looked better with one of the rail scopes, also painted up.

If you have time and some patience, file off the writing and Nerf logos and sand them down carefully afterwards. My fiance used a file, then used some 60 grit to take off some smaller details, and 200 grit to get the fine finish. She also experimented with using the 200 grit finish all over (lightly of course) before painting. It almost gave the primer a wood like finish, but once the bronze hit you honestly couldn't tell it was there unless you really really looked.

That said, don't underestimate the simple appearance of wood. Not everything has to be made of bronze/brass.

[OverdrivePrime]

Here are the results!

Me:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w219/mwellenstein/Photos/SteamMax.jpg

The group:
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w219/mwellenstein/Photos/SteamGroup.jpg

With my good friend, Keith Justice!
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w219/mwellenstein/Photos/RenFairA07-20-2012.jpg

We had a lot of fun today!
Thanks for your help! :smallsmile:

[Castaras]

Here are the results!

*snip*

We had a lot of fun today!
Thanks for your help! :smallsmile:

Very nice! :smallbiggrin: I especially like how you managed to make it look like American Steampunk compared to the normal English Victoriana. Suits you, you should wear that look more often! :smalltongue:

[OverdrivePrime]

Thank you! I had a lot of fun. I have lots more ideas on how to improve on the getup, particularly now that my dad gave me a box of weird old stuff that he though would look good with a new paint job.

Best compliment of the day was someone who thought I looked like a steampunk version of Ash from Evil Dead. :smallbiggrin:

[Dark Elf Bard]

Where's the top hat and goggles? :eek:

[OverdrivePrime]

Where's the top hat and goggles? :eek:

Goggles are around my neck. Top hat... is doing an Akubra impression. :smallwink:

[Klose_the_Sith]

Very nice! :smallbiggrin: I especially like how you managed to make it look like American Steampunk compared to the normal English Victoriana. Suits you, you should wear that look more often! :smalltongue:

Definitely agreed. Non Victorian Steampunk is so much more interesting, especially after the painfully large amount of regular Victorian Steampunk I've seen.

[MonkeyBusiness]

While I love the Victorian Steampunk style, I have to say this is an amazing look, and perfect for you, Overdrive. You and your friend look quite dashing. :smallbiggrin:

I love the hat in particular, and the colors you chose give the look a more optimistic feel, rather than the darker gothic look that is typical. The blue and brown are earthy, but cheerful, and certainly eyecatching. This isn't "better", but it is different, and it suits you well. Bravo.

- Monkey

[OverdrivePrime]

Wow - thank you for the kind words! :smallredface:

I definitely have a lot more ideas for improvements for next time. I really like what you guys are talking about with the idea of optimism... and I'd definitely like to bring out more of a spirit of adventure and exploration. Between now and halloween, I think I should have time to conjure up some elements that play up that theme.