Our Gallery: The Fantastic Art of 600v
“One of the most beloved artists in the world of dieselpunk” – wrote Tome Wilson about a Russian guy who calls himself 600v on DeviantArt or ixlrlxi in his LiveJournal. We can add that he was also one of the first artists to tag his works as ‘Dieselpunk’.
A short excerpt from his interview published on Dieselpunks.org (2009): “I love the solid feel, reliability and natural sleekness of cars and devices from the 50s. Obviously nobody tried to save on rough stuff, and the beauty of the object was much more important over its functionality. Today’s things are functional, but they suffer from dystrophy, economy standards and overall design simplicity killed the beauty. “
And a few lines (from the same interview) about 600v’s creative process: “Speaking of 3D, first I build the image in my mind. I put the earphones on, close my eyes and imagine the basics of a future object. Sometimes I wave my hands in the process, like a Chinese Wushu master. It must look very funny. When the framework is registered in my memory I take a pencil and draw some basic lines – though this step can be easily omitted. The next step is work with polygons. My conventional drawing until last year looked just by the book – A4 sheet, a pencil and an eraser. When the concept takes visual shape, I scan the picture and colorize it with the Painter program. “
600v’s manner is unique, every object combining familiar real-world features with sheer imagination. You see it once and you’ll never forget it, no matter if the object is a zombie car, a sci-fi hovercraft or a streamline kitchen device.
Five years of work, admired by dieselpunks all over the world. Thirty-two images, published by the author’s kind permission. You can see much more on DeviantArt.
seventh by 600v (2007)
flycar3 by 600v (2007)
motorcycle by 600v (2008)
210908 by 600v (2008)
retro hover roadster by 600v (2009)
bus2 by 600v (2009)
heavy 3 by 600v (2009)
BB2 by 600v (2009)
zombie partyvan OMEGA by 600v (2009)
fire station by 600v (2009)
NFZ A3 by 600v (2009)
NFZ M1 quattro by 600v (2009)
NFZ W11 by 600v (2010)
VOLNA (Wave) radio reciever by 600v (2010)
nfz heavy vanship by 600v (2010)
NFZ W21s by 600v (2010)
M-500 stereo by 600v (2010)
electric teapot by 600v (2010)
vel MTB 3 by 600v (2010)
comfort by 600v (2010)
2.1 stereo by 600v (2010)
NFZ - HUGE and HEAVY roadster by 600v (2010)
NFZ H5 police by 600v (2010)
city bus by 600v (2010)
PRJmoto by 600v (2010)
brainwasher by 600v (2010)
'alternative' book by 600v (2010)
NFZ W40s M2 by 600v (2011)
NFZ M3 Sunrise by 600v (2011)
Karlzonn Coaxial rotor Fan by 600v (2012)
old tablet PC by 600v (2012)
NOT GOLD by 600v (2012)
Our Gallery: Gotham City Revisited
Gotham City is the virtual capital of Dieselpunk. Once a nickname of New York City, introduced by good old Washington Irving in early 19th century (and derived from a Nottinghamshire village famous for its simpletons), it obtained an all-new meaning in 1930s, evolving into a synonym of all things dark. Modern Gotham can be found far from Manhattan. With a sharp eye and a bit of inspiration you can see every modern megalopolis as Gotham City – and Toronto (Ontario, Canada) is no exclusion.
Here are some photographs taken by Ryan aka Metrix X @ Flickr, from his Gotham City set:
NOTE: Some of the pictures were taken with the Contax IIIa film camera, 1953 vintage.
NB: All images published under a Creative Commons license and linked to their original location in the set.
Our Gallery: Diesel Era Giants
When we talk dieselpunk, ‘megalomania’ doesn’t sound like an obscenity or a diagnosis. The genre is inspired by the Interbellum aesthetics, and no one can argue that between two world wars size did matter, the bigger the better. In this gallery there are no abandoned projects and paper designs. Only real giants.
Let us begin with an undisputed dieselpunk icon, the airship. Not just a dirigible but a flying aircraft carrier:
Flying aircraft carrier (PopMech, May 1942)
The concept was already obsolete when this picture was published but carrier airships existed a few years before – see USS Macon and Akron.
Another nice try to increase the operating range of piston aircraft: the Mayo project:
Short S20 Mayo 'Mercury' & Short Empire 'Maia' flying boat
The Short Empire Class S.21 Maia was not the largest flying boat of the period – but large and powerful enough to carry a four-engine floatplane.
And speaking of flying boats, one cannot ignore the Dornier Do X:
Dornier Do X
World’s largest landplane of mid-1930s, the unlucky Maxim Gorky:
Maxim Gorky ANT-20 (from a painting by Vassily Kuptsov, 1934)
Big birds require a big nest, and such a nest was constructed in Berlin in 1936-1941:
Tempelhof (Berlin Central) Airport, aerial view
What about railway stations? New York Grand Central is the champion in ‘number of platforms’ nomination (44 platforms), Cleveland Union Terminal boasts the highest tower (708 ft), but the largest station building, designed in the wake of automotive revolution slowly decaying in Detroit the Motor City, is nothing to be proud of:
Michigan Central Station, Detroit
This grandiose 18-story structure, a victim of short-sightedness and bad planning, reminds us that size can be counter-productive.
1920s and 1930s were the period when ‘white fuel’ (i.e. electric power) was almost as popular as diesel propulsion. Giant dams were built all on different continents, and this is only one of the many. Impressive, isn’t it?
Hoover Dam. Construction nears completion
Steam power was fully legitimate, too. Until 1940s, no fast full-size passenger train could be successfully hauled by a diesel-electric locomotive (electric locos are another story). Hence the need for streamline steam monsters, and the Pennsylvania Railroad T1 duplex drive engines were not only the largest – they cried out loud: “Tomorrow is already here!”
PRR T1 locomotive #5533 (streamline cowling designed by Raymond Loewy)
Bridges! Names like ‘Golden Gate’, ‘Ambassador’, ‘Ben Franklin’ and ‘Bay Bridge’ instantly spring in mind. Each one is an icon. For a change, here is somewhat less famous structure – Pulaski Skyway in New Jersey, three and a half miles long, opened in 1932:
Pulaski Skyway (LOC Archive)
Unsafe and unreliable, they say. But isn’t it huge?
New construction technologies, Art Deco, shattered dreams of economic prosperity and airship terminal in the heart of Manhattan – they are all here, 1,454 ft including antenna:
Let’s go for a ride! Ettore Bugatti designed the world’s longest passenger car, the 21-ft Royale powered by a 12.7-litre 275 hp engine.
Bugatti T41 Royale
Only six were built. But six is too many compared to the Normandie – the one and only beauty of the seas, the largest, fastest and most luxurious transatlantic liner, a ship of incomparable grace:
SS Normandie entering New York Harbor
Warships. Well, the Japanese are holding three world records, constructing the largest battleship, aircraft carrier and submarine of WWII:
IJN Yamato battleship
IJN Shinano aircraft carrier
IJN I-400 submarine
Back to the rails. Beware of railway guns, German Schwerer Gustav and Dora 80 cm K (E) being the absolute champions with their 106-ft 800mm barrels and 7.1-ton projectiles:
Dora 800mm railway gun
Finally, super-heavy tanks. There are quite a lot of these beasts around, ranging from French Char 2C to German Maus. If you really need a tank to inspire you – why not a British 78-ton assault machine:
A39 'Tortoise' heavy assault tank
Have a nice weekend!
Our Gallery: The Machines of Atlantis
Fleet review by vnetwatnik @ LJ
The Atlantic Republic project is jointly developed in Russian-speaking LiveJournal community Atlantic Republic – A Dieselpunk Legend.
In March 2010, the setting was outlined in English on Dieselpunks.org and in January 2012, a short story by Ignat Solovey was published on the same network.
The year is presumably 1934, no exact date given. The Republic is going to celebrate its Centennial – with navy review, air parade, and every kind of festivals. Of course there are pirates, spies, at least one Mad Scientist, brave sailors and aviators, femmes fatales and lady adventurers. And lots of Dieselpunk – factories and workshops, weird airplanes, flying aircraft carriers, streamlined trains, air taxicabs, destructive secret weapons, etc. etc.
The multi-faceted story of the Republic unfolds in an alternative world a bit more happier than ours, no Great Depression or Nazi threat. Nevertheless, the Modern Atlantis does everything possible (and impossible) for self-defense, hence a multitude of military machines – along with civil cars, diesel trains, airliners and mailplanes. Enjoy.
Gwook floatplane fighter pursuing a pirate aircraft
ReL Cyclecar
ReL LuftMaster
Dh04 locomotive
Silver Torpedo Diesel-hydraulic motor unit
Lady V multitask floatplane
Trimotor Mailplane
Basstoelpel Flying Boat
AHGG Heavy bomber, 1935
Persecutor naval attacker
Carrier-borne Takapu biplane over the ARNS Neptune
Sturmschwalbe torpedo bomber
Cahow B-10 dive bomber
Crux airship interior
Colleoni airship
ARNS Aquilon destroyer
ARNS Meduse experimental AA cruiser
SCISC heavy tank Mk.1
Credits: der_fluger, lnago, vasillich, vnetwatnik @ atlantic_rep LJ community
Our Gallery: Mike Doscher
We are happy to exhibit the artwork of Mike Doscher aka Malaveldt, an artist well known and highly esteemed by the dieselpunk community.
Behind each picture there’s always a story, usually a space conquest story told from some future (or parallel) world where Mars, Venus and Jupiter are conquered and developed with the help of Diesel Era-styled machines. Artist’s DeviantArt gallery is highly recommended, as well as his blog.
Space Stuka by Malaveldt
Titan City Dawn by Malaveldt
Casting Off by Malaveldt
1927 Calumet Sixty Special by Malaveldt
Protectorate Scout Car by Malaveldt
Skytug by Malaveldt
Rush Hour by Malaveldt
Donnerpferd Scout Car by Malaveldt
Sky Cab by Malaveldt
Eve celebrities by Malaveldt
Dieselpunk Anthropology
By Lord K.
Take a look around. Ask questions – and don’t wait for simple answers.
This lady (let’s call her A.), looking like she just jumped out of a 1945 magazine ad, silk dress and gloves and veil streaming from her hat – is she a dieselpunk? No, she isn’t. If someone calls her anything ending with “~punk”, she’ll be offended. Her passion is fashion, and she esteems herself too high to be part of any movement.
What about this gentleman (call him B.), sporting a pin-stripe suite and a fedora, wearing a genuine 1935 wristwatch? He’s a dieselpunk, and a die-hard one. Mr. B will be happy to explain why his lavish costume is more “punk” than any skid row outfit. In modern world, too many roles have changed. Oh yes.
At first glance, there’s nothing “punky” about C., but don’t let her “conventional” looks deceive you. This quiet girl is a dieselpunk writer, a hero of discussion boards, an expert in 1930s lifestyle – and her knowledge of zeppelins can easily put some aeronautics engineer to shame.
D. is hanging around dieselpunk websites too, he appears to be one of the crowd… But he doesn’t give a damn for the movement (or genre, or its definitions). Everybody’s buddy D. is weapons geek, and the only thing in dieselpunk which attracts him is… are… weapons! Big bad killing machines, and nothing else.
E. is jewelry designer obsessed with Art Deco. She’s mixing classic shapes and textures with modern materials like titanium and forms influenced by the first years of jet aviation. Is she a dieselpunk? The answer is positive and, quite naturally, she calls her pieces of art “Dieselpunk Bijoux”.
Meet Mr. F., graphic artist. For many years he was busy drawing fantasy vehicles with big fenders and Lucas headlights, dreaming of what could happen to Marmon and Duesenberg in the world without Great Depression. He was a dieselpunk long before the invention of the word. Actually, he discovered the genre only a couple of years ago, and feels quite at home with dieselpunk crowd.
Don’t wait for G. at your local DieselCon. This guy, wearing the uniform of US Army Sergeant, 82nd Airborne, 1944, could be the convention’s sweetheart but he doesn’t belong to the crowd. G. is a WWII reenactor, on his way to the annual Battle of Bulge meet. Probably he will discover the genre later. Let’s wait and see.
Two photographers, H. and I., are working hard to recreate 30s look using the cutting edge digital equipment and vintage lenses. Dissatisfied with the results, they start to shoot on film, processing the stuff in the darkroom. After endless hours, the pictures are still too modern. “What are we doing? “, H. asks. “Dieselpunk! “, I. answers with a weary smile. Is it really dieselpunk? Well, you decide.
Mr. and Mrs. J. are pulp & comic books fans. They love not only the original books but also everything in the spirit of The Shadow and Dusty Ayres. They love Sky Captain, too. This lovely pair would be happily accepted by dieselpunk community. The problem is that the J’s haven’t heard a word about dieselpunk… yet.
Enough. I think you’ve got the point. The genre attracts very different people, not all of them dieselpunks. We don’t force dieselpunk on anyone. To define the genre, to expose it – this is our Encyclopedia’s raison d’être. Have a nice weekend!
