We love our weapons, so it was no surprise to find a ton of modified toy shotguns and revolvers at the inaugural Wild Wild West Con at Old Tuscon Studios. If you're not familiar with the genre, steampunk combines Victorian era dress and steam-powered technology with science fiction. Will Smith's Wild, Wild West and League of Extraordinary Gentleman are good examples.
Costumers literally brought out the big guns for the three-day steampunk festival in Tucson; we saw everything from a teensy, lady-sized ray gun crafted from glass vials and a hot glue gun to a four-foot tall homemade rifle with a telescoping stock.
Yesterday, we covered some of the well, overdone fashions we saw meandering around the Con (and angered more than a few steampunkers) but today, we're all about big, original guns ... and how you can create your own.
After chatting with a few of the more "dedicated" steampunk fans, we compiled a few tips for making a super-duper death ray that would put Dr. Horrible to shame.
| This backpack includes everything but the kitchen sink! |
Home Depot is good for more than your home repair needs. Many of the amazing weapons we saw were cobbled together using ordinary hardware items. PVC pipe, for example, mimics solid metal tubing when painted. It's mega-cheap, sturdy and weighs a hell of a lot less than the real thing. Towel rods, brass light fixtures and dryer vents were also commonplace.
Of course, you could cheat and buy a $300 blaster on Etsy, but it's hard to justify spending your rent money on a toy you can make from thrift shop finds.
For more steam-powered action, check out Steampunk Street II from 6-10 p.m. on Friday, April 8 in Downtown Mesa.
(This post was edited after publication.)
