Now you can have one of your own. In blown glass, no less, with a flame and everything. This is the sixth in a series of Steampunk Rockets that has been a big hit. Who knew!?
We've got a couple of big ones that are really retro Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon rockets with bulbous bodies and curvy, super-pointed noses that will be coming along in the next few weeks. They'll be about 10 inches (24.4 cm) tall when complete. This latest one is 3-finned, 6.5 inches (16.5 cm) tall and is really cool; with ribbed fins and tiny oval windows.
A great little gem. Though they take quite a while, they're a lot of fun to make. The body is hand-blown on a pipe, shaped and styled then cracked off into the annealer for the night. The fins are done separately using a torch method and assembled to the body after they have been annealed. One of these days, we'll develop a method of applying the fins while the body is hot but that makes the process way more difficult. If the fins aren't good matches to each other, aren't attached at the 120° points around the body or become misshapen while trying to keep the whole sculpture hot as the next fin goes on, you start over. It'll take a lot of practice. Practice time is something of a luxury these days.
A more detailed story of how we make them is on Joy's blog. Check it out. It's pretty cool.
Lest us know what you think. Got suggestions? Want one for yourself? If so, we've just started up our Steampunk Rocketswebsite.
Tags: 50's, award, Bonestellian, glassblowing, retro, science fiction, space, steampunk
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