Steam Punk in N (anyone tempted)

[Snowwolflair]

With Hornby introducing Steam Punk is anyone tempted to have a go. 

I can see several advantages, Old models that look terrible can be willing victims,  anything goes and locos don't need to be lined 

[Snowwolflair]

and as my wife just pointed out a great intro for children to the hobby, and something for them to do if they are couped up at the moment.

[honestjudge]

I can't say it tempts me personally,  but I have seen a steam punk  layout at exhibitions, by the chap that was on the tele (Great model railway  challenge).
It seems to lend itself to the wargamming genre in my opinion,  so it could appeal to the youngsters.

[chrism]

I think that I need to get the hang of steam real first 

However, should I ever be tempted to try it, I do have a little tub of old watch bits that I bought in the hope that some of the gear wheels might be suitable for building Coniston's yard crane - which they were 

I suspect that it would take rather more imagination than many railway modellers use for their "normal" layouts - not that I'm saying that they don't use imagination, because they most definitely do, however I think it'd need a different sort.

Of course, thus far, I've had to use no imagination whatsoever since my choice has been to try and recreate real places as best I can 

[Yet_Another]

Trouble is: steam punk is about a fictional steam-powered future, whereas a significant number of us are modelling a fictional steam-powered past 😂

[railsquid]

I tried a colourful mohican on the dome of one of my kettles once, but it kept falling off.

[snitchthebudgie]

At Stuttgart last year - railway ON a Steam Punk (photo from Allan)

[njee20]

I think the Hornby range looks bizarre. I can't see it ended up anywhere but the bargain bins. Can't see it being a draw for young people either, it not like steam punk is 'big' among kids... I suspect there's a significant overlap among steam punk enthusiasts and those who like trains. 

[EtchedPixels]

I have to admit it grabbed me like a teflon coating.

IMHO Steampunk is really very much art and creative stuff, and whilst I do some steampunk retrocomputer building the Hornby stuff looked like trains with cogs glued on them Each to their own but I think there are going to be a lot of people using them as chassis.

[Jollybob]

I like the idea of steampunk but feel that it would be difficult to model. I feel like it's either little tiny details or truly massive designs that define it.
At home I built a steampunk style computer, basically a real computer hiding in a wooden case with a brain in a jar, lots of wires, pretty lights and some kind of mind reading equipment to make it look different like something built 150 years ago. But in n gauge, that would be microscopic.

I think you would have to build a steampunk city to get the atmosphere. Locomotive designs based on American streamline engines or franco-crosti outlines. Massive victorian style bridges, steam powered cars, people with masks on...
It would be difficult to model in the country, i think.
Still, some interesting things could done via 3d printing.

[Snowwolflair]

I think there is a potential crossover with wargaming for figures and other details.  Looking back Battlespace was a big hit in its day.  Its a variation of what I used to call scrap box Sci-Fi models using all the bits left over from fifty years of model making and the Warhammer models I used to make with my kids.

[Lawrence]

I must admit @Snowwolflair I do like the dystopian look of steam punk, I may not do it N but daughters' intended is into his games workshop 40k and marines and has suggested we build an HO steampunk style railway to transport his armies

[Railwaygun]

There is a steam punk layout in the circuit - it was at a SE london show

[bridgiesimon]

I think that they are trying to access the wargaming hobby but the issue is that the scales do not match at all, most wargaming is at 28mm scale, around 1:56 and almost none at around oo scale so almost a non starter straight away.

Also, I agree with another poster that a kettle with a few cogs glued on isn't steam punk!

On a positive note, this may well result in a cheap line of chassis and spares for various projects

Back to the original posting, to be honest N scale is too small to really investigate and represent the 'Steam Punk' style effectively - as much about fashion  as it is the mechanisms.

Best wishes
Simon

[Bealman]

My own feeling is that it's a harmless piece of nonsense which does not appeal to me in the slightest, but I do remember Triang Hornby Battle Space, which, as Snowwolfair says, was successful back in it's day.

Each model came with a pack of Battle Space commandos, which were way overscale. I recall a review of one of the products in Railway Modeller at the time (I think it was the radar tracking car which came with a rotating radar antenna and a flashing dome). The review was very much tongue-in-cheek, concluding that "the wagon comes complete with six Battlespace commandos, standing at a scale seven feet in their plastic boots"