Tag Archives: Steampunk

Looking at these LEGO steampunk models, you can almost hear the hiss of steam, the clank of gears, and the whirr of clockwork. The steampunk aesthetic isn’t all wood and brass, so be sure to check out all the colorful models alongside classic steampunk creations from around the world.

The original pony car

Want a vehicle worthy of this Victorian age, but can’t afford a steam car? Yearn for the elegance of the horse and cart without wanting to appear outdated? Then Peter Ilmrud‘s mechanical carriage may be for you! Perfect for the discerning gentleman or lady, this ingenious product can be retrofitted to your existing carriage. You will have access to more horsepower than any carriage could previously accommodate! No need to keep any grain either – coal is the only fuel you’ll need, with the only emissions of a much more nose-friendly nature!* Don’t delay, act today!

Horse powered Steam Carriage

*We do not accept any liability for smoke-induced illnesses, diseases, or losses of elegance. Goggles, tophat and driver sold separately. Please consult our catalogue for more modern steam-powered products.

A hop, skip and spring-loaded jump

The expansion of Caleb Flutur‘s LEGO steampunk insect menagerie continues apace. This time, he has cooked us up a cracking grasshopper. This might be my favourite of his mechanical bugs so far! The gold highlights look great, without being too overbearing; ditto for the reddish-brown ‘wooden’ parts. The black sausages are a fine – if fragile – solution for the antennae. The elements that jump out to me, though, are the shock absorber and spring elements used for the hind legs. It’s such a good fit, yet somehow it doesn’t seem like an obvious choice of a part. It makes it look like this thing really could spring up at you!

Grasshopper

I have a need for ‘pede!

We truly don’t mean to feature every last LEGO creation Caleb Flutur has built lately but damn, son, that guy is prolific! He’s clearly having the best week ever with his series of Steampunk-inspired creepy crawlies. He says he’ll be posting one a day until…we don’t know when. We’re amused, if not a bit bugged out. We can feature other things but the rest of youse haven’t exactly been doing anything to exterminate this onslaught of jeepers-creepers. You know who you are! Build something, will ya? We just might feature it. In the meantime, check out some other things that bug us imensely.

Centipede

Itsy bitsy mechano-spider will exterminate all bugs in your home

When it comes to weird mechanical mashups, Caleb Flutur seems to have the market cornered. Fresh off the back of his addition to Sodor’s territorial defense , he has gone in an altogether different direction with this pair of steampunk insects. A lot of steampunk builds like to accentuate the use of, well, steam, but I like the focus on the electromechanical here. After all, that was one of the great advancements of the Victorian era. The clockwork fly makes ingenious use of a pair of window panes as wings. Meanwhile, the spider has a great whopping filament bulb forming its thorax (another Victorian bright idea). I normally think spiders get a bad rap since they eat all sorts of annoying bugs, but this is one arachnid I’d rather not have hanging around my house…

Spider and Fly

Caleb says this is the first of a few steampunk creatures in the pipeline, so we’ll be keeping a beady eye out for more! In the meantime, why not whet your appetite in our steampunk archives?

Large LEGO clockwork peacock is full of filigree

With so much ornate detail, I don’t even care if this LEGO automaton peacock by Obsessionist can’t fly. I particularly love the marriage of LEGO Technic parts with regular blocks, frequently utilizing the connection of “stud into Technic hole”. This technique means that we would normally see a lot anti studs from the top of the ornithological ornithopter, but the adept use of blue boat skids help to solidify the base color here and smooth out any rough edges. These smooth bits contrast all the fringe in pearl gold, including all the wing and tail feathers repurposed from Bionicle and Ninjago weaponry, showcasing the excellent replication of nature via machinery.

Automaton Peacock

I think the face of this bird is particularly stunning on its own. Each piece chosen here feeds into a theme of minimization: all bars and beams attempting to keep the creature light but also functional. It all channels some strong “Erector Set” vibes for the build: a design choice LEGO has strayed from in recent Technic offerings, but that works well when applied here.

Automaton Peacock

Sailing across the wild blue yonder

Here, Markus Ronge presents a brilliant LEGO series of microscale Steampunk-inspired flying ships based on minifig scale versions he’d previously made. Each one brings something different, but what brought this to my attention was how each build is nearly two-dimensional in design. That can bring its own challenges, but Markus has afforded each build remarkable detail, and the brick-built clouds against the sky blue background really accentuate these builds.

Micro Skytanic

Above we have the Skytanic on a majestic voyage. The gold highlights on this royal yacht add that extravagance you’d expect to see in a luxury liner, as do the white, red and black colours.
There’s something pleasing about the angled smoke stack, too, as the vessel gently charts its journey across the seven skies…

Click to see more these microscale models

Moon Train Station is in a theme of its own

The latest LEGO build by Ilya Zubashev appears to be a theme of its own. We get a train station which would qualify this build as a train-themed build. But then again there is a model of the moon on top of the train station. The ground is rocky, grey, and filled with craters, just like the moon. So this is either a train station to the moon or a train station on the moon. Which would qualify this as a space build. When we take a closer look at one of the figures, we find a dwarf. The architecture of the station looks Victorian or older and quite castle-like, which would make this a castle-themed build. Could it be steampunk?

Moon Train Station

I don’t know, but I do know that I really like it. One of the things that stand out the most to me is the use of the raised snake as an architectural detail near the door. The combination of the viking wheel and the Big Ben clock dish. And last but not least, the design of the lamp posts using the fishbowl helmet.

Things are going swimmingly for this golden fish

This LEGO creation looks like something straight out of a steampunk world. Mihai Marius Mihu has built this intricately detailed mechanical fish, using a wide variation of parts. Wing and blade pieces represent fins, while there are all sorts of parts used across the body; branches, armour modules, claws and snakes. Around the eye, a tyre encompasses the pupil, represented by a crystal globe. The blue wing sections provide an excellent contrast to the golden colour scheme. It’s a fantastic build as you’re guaranteed to spot new clever details every time you look at it.

Fish Concept

I spy with my little eye

LEGO wearables are always an interesting challenge to create. But this set of Steampunk goggles by Dwalin Forkbeard would feel right at home on a full cosplay outfit, even if the rest weren’t made of bricks. This 1:1 scale creation is the perfect use for those super cool trans blue and pearl gold Ninjago windscreens, and I can’t get over how awesome the two pearl gold animal tails look when combined to make the swooping frames. And of course, don’t miss the strap, which is made of brown chainlinks.

Brothers Norn's Binozoomers

The sky pirates have returned in this epic mashup of Ninjago and Pirates

Ninjago has done a lot of settings over its decade-long run, but for me, by far the coolest wave was the Skybound storyline from 2016, which was basically a Ninjago mashup of steampunk and pirates. It’s the LEGO theme we never not from Disney’s Treasure Planet. So this fan redux of some of the sets by Markus Ronge just ticks all the right boxes for me. Markus has taken the already-fantastic idea from Ninjago of sky pirates and turned the dial up to eleven, with slightly more “realistic” designs (you can call a flying pirate ship realistic, right?). The color scheme is on point with the browns and oranges, and check out that bone dragon figurehead on the revised Misfortune’s Keep. I reviewed the original 70605 Misfortune’s Keep back in 2016, and as cool as I thought that set was, this would have blown me away.

Sky Pirates' Air Junk "Misfortune's Keep"

But what really blows me away about Markus’ model is that it’s not just a redux of the Skybound sets, but it’s also a mashup with the LEGO Ideas 21322 Barracuda Bay Pirates set, another set I loved. The Misfortune’s Keep ship breaks down into a sky pirates wrecked base!

The Golden Teapot

And let’s not overlook the splendidly simple yet beautifully stylized way Markus has chosen to display the models, with a simple graphic and brick-built stands.

 

Explore the science of steam in this all-in-one laboratory.

Steampunk is one of those things that I’ve always felt like I would really enjoy. Science-fiction, Victorian England, the American Wild West, top hats, goggles…I love all that stuff. But, for some reason, I’ve never really taken the plunge to familiarize myself with the genre. But this digital LEGO build by Castor Troy and Max Birch might be what pushes me over the edge. A research station where the greatest minds on Earth gather to unlock the secrets of astrophysicists, botany, engineering…and then they go flying around in a bat-winged submarine? What could be cooler?

Steampunk Explorers

This complex can be split into three separate buildings, and inside you’ll find rooms devoted to all areas of study: from a mechanical workshop to a greenhouse, to a space observation dome. And, when you’ve gathered the intelligence you need, explorers can launch off in a hot air balloon from the top floor of the central building.

And speaking of explorers, the building has an octet of adventurers ready to tackle the great mysteries of the unknown together. They look like such inviting people. And I love any excuse to wear a vest. Yeah, I gotta research this Steampunk stuff.

Steampunk Explorer

Have a drink on us!

Thirsty? Then head over to Marvin’s Mead Shoppe, created by LEGO builder Hubba Blöoba. I feel like this could be something out of Harry Potter, with the tiny beer booth actually containing the best pup in all Wizardom. The printed wooden slats and the brick base work perfectly with the white umbrella bricks as a mug of frothy beer. The use of grey roller skates as the door hinges was especially clever. I’m also a huge fan of the beer keg, which I will definitely be coping for my own build soon. When you’ve gazed at this LEGO build long enough, come inside and have a drink!

Marvin's Mead Shoppe