Our Gallery: Speed is Dieselpunk

Diesel Era was the golden age of speed records. Every new achievement instantly sparked a need to achieve more. The pace of progress was breathtaking: in 1900, 100 miles per hour sounded like science-fiction; by 1910, it was an already broken limit; in early 1920s, new sleek aircraft reached a 200mph mark; in 1930s, there were cars running at 300mph and floatplanes (yes, floatplanes!) hitting 400. Everything moved faster – not only automobiles and aeroplanes but also trains, passenger liners and warships.

On September 13, 1931, Flt Lt. George Stainforth in the Supermarine S.6B broke the world air speed record reaching 407.5 mph (655.67 km/h).

Of course, it’s not a world records list. Just a gallery for your entertainment and inspiration. But believe us, there is a lot to see!

 

Our Gallery: So Close to Reality

Today, we are proud to present Waldemar Kazak, an illustrator from Tver, Russia. Mr. Kazak is very active in the media. There are just a few dieselpunk-related works in his portfolio, but quantity doesn’t really matter: Mr. Kazak is a house name in the diesel crowd and his art is appreciated by the dieselheads all over the globe. Here are some paintings, in chronological order – from 2008, when his DeviantArt gallery was discovered by dieselpunk community, through 2012.

Monster House by Waldemar Kazak (2008)

Dystopian dieselpunk can be fun. It is possible to turn horror into a cartoon. And humor can provoke serious thoughts without being too weird or too bitter.

 

Our Gallery: Airship is Dieselpunk

A symbol, a trope, a hallmark, a cliché – call it by any other name, the airship is inseparable from Dieselpunk. Our alternative skies are full of dirigibles, real and unreal, peaceful transports and dangerous battleships. These giants can be seen as the ultimate expression of Diesel Era spirit and, at the same time, of contemporary retro-futuristic vision.

LZ129 Hindenburg. May 1937

The most famous airship career ended in a disaster. But the Lakehurst explosion was probably the saddest episode in a long chain of disasters, and the Hindenburg was the largest and most luxurious of many Interbellum airships, some of them well forgotten. Let’s see what we can incorporate into our Dieselpunk setting.

 

Our Gallery: Found in Transition

A few months ago, we did our best to furnish your Dieselpunk setting with 1910s artifacts. Not Diesel Era yet but certainly not Steam Age. How should we call this period – Edwardian? Maybe, but King Edward VII left this world on May 6, 1910. Proto-Diesel? Too pompous. Let’s agree on a somewhat less spectacular but chronologically correct term – Transition. A bridge between two great eras, embracing old and new aesthetics and ideas.

Today, we’d like to celebrate Speed and Power. For example, the car above, the Blitzen Benz, is powered by a 21.5-litre 200hp engine. On April 23, 1911, Bob Burman – remember the guy with goggles? – piloted it to an average of 228.1 kilometres per hour (141.7 mph) over a full mile at Daytona Beach, a record that would not be surpassed until 1919.

 

Our Gallery: The Vision of Tim Huhn

Dieselpunk Encyclopedia is happy to present: Tim Huhn and his Art Deco Series.

On the Just Looking Gallery website there is a short info about the artist:

After graduating from the prestigious California College of Arts and Crafts with a Bachelors degree in Fine Arts and Illustration Huhn worked as a commercial illustrator for companies such as Disney, Universal Studios, Sony & Mattel. After leaving Los Angeles and the commercial world of art, Huhn began to develop a body of fine art while living on the Central Coast of California. Huhn’s experience as an illustrator has enabled him to work in a number of mediums and styles including photorealism and art deco.

Dawn of a New Age by Tim Huhn

We can add something:Tim Huhn’s artwork bears more than a passing resemblance to the famous WPA murals. It’s fun to see a modern artist who, just like his idealistic forerunners in 1930s, is not afraid of figurative art. An artist whose creations are full of positive spirit.

 

Our Gallery: The Adventures of the 19XX

Dieselpunk is proud to present The 19XX Organization.

Somewhere in the 20th century…

not long after the end of the Great War, those who were capable of hearing it, received a revelation… another Great War was coming. This coming war would push the limits of technology, split the atom to create the power of a small star, and bring together forces more evil than the world has ever known. That this war would happen was man’s fatal destiny, but the outcome of the war and the details of it were not as clear. A weak League of Nations banded together to form a group. A group capable of doing what those countries could not. A group of adventurers, explorers, and scientists from every allied country to search the globe and fight a battle far from the public eye. This group is The 19XX, all the public has been told is that they are fighting for all of the good in humanity to survive the nineteen hundreds and beyond.

19XX two-page spread

Their mission is to track down every powerful relic, every modern and undiscovered weapon, and every magic incantation ever uttered on the earth’s crust, because the forces of evil responsible for the next Great War would be searching for the very same thing. Nothing in the realm of the tangible or intangible is off limits when the fate of the entire world is at stake.

 

Summer Report

Six months ago, we started this website. Now it’s time for summing up a bit. No need to tell us that the stats are oooh sooo boooring, everybody knows it. To add a dieselpunk twist, we’ll mix the numbers with some fantastic creations of Tolga Toykoç aka ttvortex, a concept artist from Turkey (to see higher-resolution images please visit his gallery @ Deviantart).

XB-7 Death Dealer by ttvortex

Now, to the stats. More than 52 thousand visits. Daily average: 283 hits. Not bad. Still we have to work a lot to surpass the success of our Grand Opening (Jan. 1, 2012) – 2,107 visits in one day!

 

Our Gallery: Jon Hall’s Air Power

We are proud to present the creations of Jon Hall, an outstanding dieselpunk aircraft designer who builds amazing flying machines using LEGO plastic bricks. His work is highly acclaimed by both LEGO enthusiasts and dieselheads all over the world.

Mr. Hall wrote in his Flickr profile:

“I’m a thirtysomething graphic designer ( and ex- computer game artist, and ex- film and tv animator, and all round geek ). I live in London with my girlfriend and my 2 sons. I’m currently working at book publisher Dorling Kindersley’s Licensing department where I work with companies such as Pixar, Lego, Marvel, Lucasfilm and Disney to produce books based on their films and comics etc.”

“When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.” Leonardo Da Vinci

Here is a small selection of his aircraft, created in 2009-2012, with some comments from the author:

Savoia S-21
A Lego model I made of Porco’s seaplane from the Studio Ghibli film ‘Porco Rosso’

 

Our Gallery: The Art of Alexey Lipatov

Dieselpunk Encyclopedia is proud to present one of our movement’s most famous creators: Alexey Lipatov. His contribution to the genre goes far beyond the images: this Ukrainian artist shows a wonderful ability to catch the spirit of dieselpunk and to present in a most precise and attractive way. No wonder that some of Lipatov’s works were turned into posters, wallpapers and avatars. It’s so easy to fall in love with this brave new world of flying boats and hovercrafts, smiling girls and adventurous pilots, with a light touch of noir and horror – just for fun.
We hope… no, we are sure you’ll enjoy this short selection.

Girl Mechanic by Lipatov

 

Our Gallery: The Future That Never Was

Let us begin with a few quotes from donaguirre‘s gallery @ Deviantart:

Eldorado, a former colony of the Kingdom of Albion, became an independent monarchy in 1776 (“No Eldoradian King – no eldoradian taxes !”), when the King of Albion addressed the elected King of Eldorado as “mon frère” for the first time in the “Dépêche fraternelle”, which is nowadays exhibited in the N.H.City National Museum. Monarchy became constitutional with the end of the Eldoradian civil war (1861-65), when the confederate states abolished absolutism. The Kings name is Jacob ever since (the royal coat of arms reads “Iacobus Rex”), but most Eldoradians use to refer to his majesty as “Jack”.

Two Elekktra-II support airships maneuvering in the docking perimeter of Atlantis station. Elekktrae docked the MPRP on a regular base to keep both, technical installations and crew, operational. A common air force nickname for HE-II standard support vessels was “Milk Cow”, abbreviated as “MC” in radio code.

An early Elekktra class (HE-I) rigid airship entering the landing perimeter of the Westworld Testing Facility “WTF”, (sometimes called “Where The F***), also known as “the dry castle” or “napkinworx”, as the area was situated in the Western Territories’ vast desert regions and due to Citizen Hugges’ often documented habit to scribble ideas onto napkins while in a restaurant to “save them for mankind”, expecting his technical staff to bring them to fruition exactly as seen on his 30 second blueprint.

The Future That Never Was by donaguirre (2010)

…in short, a whole brave new world with its own history, folklore and humor. Sometimes dark, sometimes full of sunlight, always streamlined and uncompromisingly dieselpunk. Welcome to the Future That Never Was!