I had been kind of dialing back on the details lately, so I wanted to amp it up a bit and go crazy with the flare. This stubby little piece was a bit challenging to figure out, but is probably one of the cutest projects I've put out. I have never put the power gage on the fin before, but think that worked out really cool.
Not sure if you can make out the gears in the window very clearly; it was a cool idea, but the details are not very visible. The do-dads are farther from the window than I would have liked, and there is no alternate light source, so its kinda hard to see. Here is a close-up that shows off the gears a bit better...
I like the kooky layout for the window, and that key actually turns, though it doesn't do anything.
I'm right-handed, and tend to put most the detail on the left side of the gun. This time I tried to share the love and add some cool stuff on the other side, as well.
Again, I worked this out in transparency. I found some cool lightbulb-shaped containers at the craft store, and thought I would see what I could come up with. Here are a couple of WIP pics.
I attached the gears to a square wood dowel that also helped hold on the barrel. I cut the silver gear in half, so that it would fit through the mouth of the bottle better (you really can't see the bottom of it anyway, and it gives depth to the clockwork inside the gun). This was a lot like I imagine building a ship in a bottle would work. If I go down this road again, I will likely split the bottle, add the details and then put it all back together.
The decorative pieces really brought the whole gun together for me. The whole mixture of flare and functionality is what I consider to be at the heart of the steampunk visual aesthetic, and is what makes this one of my favorite. Hope you like it.
Keep Zap'n!!!
