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If one had declared to the masses that, in the final years of the nineteenth century, this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than that of man, and yet just as mortal, none would take such a claim seriously. None would believe that as men busied themselves about their worldly concerns they were being scrutinized and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinize the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. With infinite complacency, the people of this world scurried to and fro across this globe, going about their little affairs, serene and ignorant in their assured dominion over the material- probably not unlike the infusoria under the microscope. No one gave a thought to the older worlds of space as sources of incontrovertible human danger; or, if they did, thought of them only to dismiss the idea of life upon them as impossible or improbable. It is curious to recall some of the mental habits of those departed days- a bygone age where terrestrial men of greater imagination pondered whether there might be other men upon Mars, perhaps inferior to themselves and ready to welcome a missionary enterprise. Yet, across the gulf of space, there brooded minds that are to ours, as ours are to that of beasts; intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, appraising our world with envious eyes, slowly and carefully drawing their plans against us. And early in the twentieth century came the great disillusionment. The year is 1903, the Great Martian War rages on. Five years ago, mankind received a bloody and violent answer to the eternal question - "are we alone?". Indeed, the first cylinder falling from the heavens was a surprise to all, but markedly was only the tip of the proverbial spear. The merciless attack on humanity itself that soon followed was destruction the likes of which no person had seen - a terrible assault from cold, vile intelligences which shook even the greatest of human nations to their very core. Like lightning and rolling thunder the otherworldly invaders struck across Great Britain from the landing sites of their silvery vessels, sweeping south past the great city of London and up to the furthest reaches of Scotland in the north. In a matter of days, there was naught but destruction and desolate wasteland as far as the eye could see - that is, if any poor soul had managed to survive in the wake of the invader's advance. Even still, this was not the extent of the invaders’ insidious designs, and even now the Martians conspire to leave absolutely nothing for us. However, the mettle and resolve of humanity is poised to determine if our home is something that we shall give up so easily... To this day, the nations of the world push back! Equipped with unbroken spirit and boundless valor, brave soldiers make use of mechanical marvels reverse-engineered from the Martians’ own fighting machines. These mighty few, clad in iron and possessing prodigious courage, may yet turn the tide. Terrae Impetus Retro. The State of Things The British Empire Defeated! So said the headlines of newspapers across the world during the winter of 1898, not but a day after contact had fully and completely been lost with England. Only a few short months into the Martian invasion and one of the most powerful nations the world had ever seen was no more. Some nations celebrated, others quietly gathered their military forces, but many simply watched, unwilling to acknowledge or unaware of the danger that the otherworldly beings posed to them. This complacency was only compounded when the Martian’s advance simply stopped at the English Channel, and for two long years it seemed as though that was the extent of their assault on humanity. Of course, none sat idly by during this time. The remnants of the British Empire, formerly scattered across the world, lobbied for the retaking of their homeland. Others, such as France and Germany, made quick work of snatching up what precious few pieces of the Martian technology could be acquired for their own use. The lack of activity looked to some as though the Martians had simply left, gone to return to their planet. Some academics even went as far as to say that the Martians had been wiped out by the Earth’s own microscopic biosphere, for surely they could not have developed an immunity to Earthly diseases as mankind had over the millennia. Whatever the reason for the pause in action, it was not to last. In early Spring, after the turn of the century, the second Martian advance began with their fighting machines emerging from the waters of the channel onto the shores of Belgium and the Netherlands. There was little forewarning to prepare a defense, and in the time it took for the powers on mainland Europe to marshal their forces the aliens had made it far as the French and German borders to the East and West, leaving swathes of destruction in their wake. It has been three years since then, and while ironclad battleships from the world's nations hold the line from the Channel itself, landlocked defenses are slowly beginning to weaken as the Martians continue their unrelenting assault. But man has not been idle, and their newest weapon may be just what turns the tide of this war of worlds... Ferreis Induti No later than the first sightings of the Martian’s massive mechanical beasts did the minds of man begin to work, wildly speculating and postulating exactly how the various mechanisms by which the fighting machines of the otherworldly invaders operated. After the first of the tripodal giants were felled, its components were hurriedly collected and whisked away to nations that coveted them by enterprising individuals for these theories to be validated and amended. At first, various nations only received bits and pieces of the Martian’s strange technology, and information that could be gleaned from the disparate parts was fractured and incomplete at best. Indeed, it took the Martians’ second brutal assault for the inventors and engineers of the defending nations to come together and truly unlock the secrets of the Martians’ greatest weapon. Thus soon after, mankind saw fit to create fighting machines of their own. With boilers and reciprocating engines powering dynamos, these man-made titans leverage the magnetic-mechano limbs derived from the Martian technology to achieve motion. However, the more esoteric of Martian technologies have proven to still be beyond our grasp for the time being - the heat ray in particular vexing the brightest of minds. Though not as large as the hundred-foot tall behemoths they are designed to fight against, a dedicated and determined crew gives these machines an edge. Demons from Mars Much has been written of the men from Mars in the years since they landed in their gleaming pods, though as of yet no live individual has yet to be found. From the bodies recovered from their destroyed fighting machines, the true face of the enemy has been closely studied. The Martians themselves are large, with oily grey bodies about the size of a bear. They possess no limbs like the kind familiar to us - instead, a plethora of long, whip-like tendrils surround the area underneath their V-shaped mouths. Two large eyes, round and lidless, are perhaps the only familiar aspect of their peculiar biology. Internally they appear to possess no organs save an enlarged brain which occupies the majority of their body. How such an organism is able to live and function is beyond our science thus far. More striking, however, are the great machines they pilot. Approximately 100 feet tall, the machines stand atop three spindly legs with which they glide across all manner of terrain. These legs attach to a girdle of sorts that is secured to the body of the machine itself, with a mass of writhing tentacles extending down from the bottom of the machine. A hood caps the very top of the body, while the weaponry - such as the heat ray - that the Martians utilize is held at the ends of the tentacles. It should be noted that there are a secondary, distinctive subspecies of Martians, separate from those who occupy the tripods. While the large, cephalopoid creatures are undoubtedly the masterminds of the invasion, a second, subservient species has also been observed. Peculiarly, they are two-armed and two-legged, a form that at great distance could be mistaken for mankind itself. Indeed, it was initially thought that these creatures might be some twisted abomination of humanity, until specimens could be properly investigated. These are no humans - with brittle siliceous skeletons and long limbs which attach to an overly rotund body, it appears that without wearing the form-fitting, metallic space-suits provided to them by their masters, they would be crushed by the increased gravitation of our world. Beginning with the launch of the second wave of Martian assaults, the two-meter tall bipeds have been observed being deployed as foot soldiers, equipped with odd hand-held projectile launchers that fire metallic bullets without the use of gunpowder. To Hold the Line The time for action has come, for the first time in recorded history humanity’s fighting machines will clash with those from the red planet. The first generation of these colossi, built by nations around the globe, have been gathered along the French line to prepare to push the Martians back off the mainland. Housed in the mighty airship Thunderchild, this will be a deciding battle! Name: Age: Gender: Job: Country of Origin: Appearance: Personality: History: Equipment: Fighting Machine: Designation: Country of Origin: Crew: Description: Weapons: Traits: Rules of Engagement Listen to your GMs (krayz, grav). Don’t metagame, godmod, or otherwise exceed the limits of fair play. Get your profiles approved first. BZP rules apply. Arabella Fortunado and the Damocles Erich Volk and the König Arnault Mongouse and La Charlatane
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Finally! After a long hiatus of not building anything (that collab project I did really did drain my creativity for a while afterwards ), I'm back with a new MOC. Though I may well have made it just to show off my latest rare acquisition... Kulta's mask in Pearl Gold! Surprise, surprise - it's another original creation Skull Villain from me. Skull Smasher, a hugely successful wrestler in his previous life during the age of Steampunk and given new life by "mysterious forces", is an eloquent brute who towers above even Kulta, and could "accidentally" squash a Protector underneath his feet and throw Toa around like they were a dog's chew toy. Even Kulta himself dares not underestimate Smasher's sheer power, as Smasher could crush Kulta in an instant in one of his huge hands. But don't think Smasher is all brawn and no brains or class. Smasher is incredibly vain as far as Skull Villains go. He never goes out without wearing his feather and velvet robes, held together with his lucky golden bone. Show him a mirror or give him a camera (he'll stop mid-fight and take a selfie of him crushing his victims) and you'll probably distract the titan enough to get past him... or land the killing blow on him. Selfies are dangerous things! Anyway, onto some full pictures then! An interesting side note: He got named "Smasher" not because of his giant hands, but due to the fact that I was listening to a lot of the rock band The Offspring while building him, and they have an album named "Smash". So there you go This is actually the first time I've ever tried to do something even vaguely Steampunk themed (though my second creation done in this sort of colour scheme, the first being my dragon, Golden Furious), so it's probably not perfect. Comments, upvotes and obscure references all appreciated I might enter this in BBC#71, but it's not really Halloween-y, plus I have an idea for a horror hound for that contest anyway
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Wow, it's been a while since I posted any of my MOCs here. I kind of fell into the habit of keeping them all on Flickr, but I've been meaning to post some of them in BBC for a while, so let's get to it. First up is Onuku, Matoran of Copper: Flickr Gallery Onuku here was my entry to the April 2015 Flickr Banner Contest and has become one of my two Self-MOCs. His build was based on an old concept of mine mixed with a fantastic design for a Toa of Copper built by Lol-Pretzel on Deviantart, and Bionicle 2015 gave me just enough dark orange to finish him up. I had been wanting to use that amazing Steampunk Akaku customized for me by Modalt Masks that has turned into my avatar on most other websites.
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Steampunk fans! Have you heard the sweet tunes of the Steam Powered Giraffe? For the uninitiated, they are a steampunk-themed rock band (with a slight hint of folk), and at shows they even act the part of being automatons through their movements and way they talk with each other. They have all kinds of songs, from things about steamboats to pirates and suspenders to magic. It's not a gimmick, their singing is really good and the songs are catchy! So I immortalized them in LEGO for BrickFair's Steampunk theme: Furthermore, I'm bringing another new Steampunk build, utilizing the Pteranodon: And, almost surprisingly, there are more MOCs to come! I've been keeping busy the past couple of weeks, seeing as how I procrastinated on LEGO building for a while. Stay tuned! -CF
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L'Supervivere Over the course of several years during the great industrial age, this mechanical suit was created by the lesser-known Professor Stewart Phoenix out of disused parts scavenged from various scrapheaps and abandoned factories around the outskirts of Victorian London, hence L'Supervivere's rather cobbled together and complex appearance. The original and sole purpose of L'Supervivere was to be used by Professor Stewart Phoenix to protect his family and his estate, Phoenix Manor, from destruction, but over the years this technical monstrosity was also used for several other suitably vital causes, such as fixing leaks in the Manor's roof and rescuing cats from trees. The most notable alternative use of L'Supervivere was during a lengthy voyage abroad, in which it was used to navigate the treacherous rainforests of the Amazon and defend a party of explorers (including Professor Stewart Phoenix himself) against any threats they may have encountered. At the end of Professor Stewart Phoenix's long and fruitful life, he proclaimed in his last will and testament that L'Supervivere would be passed down to his eldest and only son, Dr Joseph Phoenix, on the sole condition that it mustn't be used for any type of criminal activity and that at the end of his life, he should also pass on L'Supervivere to his eldest son, and that this son should pass it on to HIS eldest son, and so on until what is only described within Professor Stewart Phoenix's will as "The end of all days", but so far no-one has been able to fully understand the meaning behind this choice of words. Mysteriously, after being passed down through several generations L'Supervivere and the Phoenix bloodline completely disappeared from public view in the early 1920s. It is still rumored that L'Supervivere still exists in its original form to this day, but the location of the suit itself and it's rightful owner is currently not known... More images on my Flickr. Enjoy!
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Flickr Made out of intricate geared components and a polished wooden exterior stronger than steel, this antique mechanoid forever guards the remote mansion of a particular eccentric nobleman... Name means "striding" in German. Also my entry for the November Flickr contest. ~B~
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Coming in at 794 words, my second entry (here's my first) to this contest actually made it under 800 for once! For some reason, I felt that I could write something else for this contest, and I've been wanting to write a short story with a reason to be Steampunkish for Bionicle. I think I might use this same island in a Lesovikk's Hiatus entry (which you should also enter because it's no fun being in a contest with five entries so far). So, I'll just let you read now. Please leave reviews though! If you do, I'll review yours! New Beginnings By: Click We've been here a long time. I remember when our little island home far South of anything had been safe, protected by at least a Toa of the Green, that is, until he took off. Botharix said he was going to the North of the island to check for perimeter leaks that Rahi got through into our village, but when he failed to reappear for the next week, we went to check on him. Turns out the coward had taken an old rowboat and split. Not that we blame him. We're not exactly living in paradise here. You see, our island has a particular problem. When the first settlers came here with a steady flow of supplies from the Southern Continent, we had no idea we just walked into a Makuta playground. Half of our number was quickly killed by Rahi unlike anything we had ever seen. Our Turaga was killed by some kind of giant burrowing snake-like creature lined with tiny sharp legs and lots of needle-like teeth. Then, our last Toa gave his energies to create a new line of protectors, but even those were killed off (except for the aforementioned Botharix) by everything from a stout, round creature covered in fur-like metal spikes to tiny creatures the size of a Madu Fruit that are just as explosive. Those of us that are left could only watch behind our wall as our supplies dwindled away with our numbers. Without those supplies, and with the constant sieges by creatures I can't even describe, many of us were forced to use the island's bountiful supply of protobrass and other materials to build ourselves defense machines, appliances, and the occasional replacement limb. Our woefully inadequate knowledge of building left us starting from the beginning, clockwork. None of this fancy electronic stuff that many of our luckier brethren got to live with. And that would be the lovely situation I woke up to this morning, with my mechanical hand whirring and pumping as I sat up and gazed around. From the smell, I could tell some of the large fire-breathing Brakas had found another way in, as well as some food to feed their internal furnaces. Rations would be cut short again I guess. There goes my dream of having some nice Bula Berry juice for breakfast. With this in mind, I began my usual chores for the day: clean up last night's mess, make my threadbare bed, shoo away the acid-coated avian Rahi, sweep up ashes in the backyard, the usual stuff. The storm last night definitely made my job a lot harder, but the rain was refreshing. I gathered up my downfall collection bucket and began to filter it. It was about that time that I suddenly looked up to hear shouting. Not that shouting was unusual in this Karzahni, but this almost sounded...joyful. Something I hadn't heard in a long time. I nearly dropped the precious water in my haste to see what was in Mata Nui's name was going on. I was followed by about half the village, including our Turaga, limping on his clockwork peg-leg and cane. A Matoran of Air was shouting and pointing, something about the beach. As I got closer, I could tell he was saying something about a Canister. Could it be Botharix coming back to us? Or some new threat? Either way, a stir swept through the crowd in a wave of optimistic whispers. As one, everyone pushed forwards to see for themselves something that would inevitably change everything about how we lived on this island. I ran forwards after the Matoran to avoid being trampled, and we soon came across a large metal cylinder with rounded ends laying in the surf. Yellow lights on its extremities pulsed slowly on and off. A good portion of the crowd took off to do their best to open it like a Naming Day present with knocks, rocking, and yanking on what they judged was the lip of the top. Our Turaga slowly limped forwards, and the crowd respectfully divided for him. He rapped his cane on the nearest light, and the lid twisted open with a hiss of steam. We all peered in over each other's shoulders and heads to see two orange eyes peering out of the blackness. They came closer, and the early light shined off a silver Mask of Rahi Control and blue armor. The Toa of Water stretched outwards, and we all stepped back, many fearful of the same betrayal exhibited by Botharix, but all of us in awe of the new Toa. "Who...who are you?" asked the Toa tentatively. I think that all of us could feel her honesty. This was the start of something new. A new life for all of us. ----- Hope you enjoyed, please review if you did! I'd gladly take the time to review yours if you even just leave a quick comment. Thanks!
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Just some stuff Steampunk stuff I'm working on. The gun was an el cheapo dart gun that I repainted. I have every intention of customizing it a little bit, but am content with leaving it as mostly a paint job. The goggles have some more stuff to be added on to accent them. I'm working on my own version of a Tesla inspired by Warehouse 13 though. It is going to be more Steampunk, but in the shape and form of a shotgun.
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RSF Orbital Sailor The Philosopher's Stone (click for gallery) First spaceship I’ve really ever built; kinda sucks, but I like it.1 - First angle2 - Back shot3 - Side view4 - Front5 - Interior of the control center6 - Greebling side 1 *7 - Greebling side 2 *8 - Room 1, cargo hold9 - Room 2, bunks10 - The Royal Steam Federation11 - Main part of the ship, 112 - Main part of the ship, 213 - Observation port ***14 - Entry into the observation ports15 - Topside radar16 - Engines (with fuel tanks immediately next to them)17 - Topside airlock **18 - Topside back greebling *19 - Bottomside back greebling *20 - Airlock hold with space suits ****21 - Space suit (with light thingy flipped down)22 - Captain and crewmemberThis isn’t exactly Steampunk; I’d say it’s actually a bit more of Dieselpunk, but considering they’re going to space, I’d give them a little leeway to be a bit more futuristic than their current era.Basically the way this thing contextually works is that it explodes, launches itself into orbit, and floats around the earth a couple of times (considering it's Steampunk, the safety and well-being of the crewmembers is just an extraneous variable).The ship isn’t actually white; it’s this weird shade of light gray that’s in the LDD color palette, but I’ve never seen it before in real life, unless it’s supposed to be the NXT/Thok white…This whole ship is maybe held together by…three or four major connection points. Hence why I love building in LDD.* To be honest, I really don’t like the greebling I did on this, on the few parts that actually have it. My problem with greebling is that I’m just not experienced; my idea of the trick is just to surf through the minifig piece inventories and just pick out random pieces that look mechanical-ish would maybe work if thrown all together. My idea of good greebling is basically mechanical puke where you can’t distinguish separate pieces out of the whole cluster; I just haven’t gotten up to that point, yet.** I didn't really like this part, either; I just really wanted to do something with this design that I made, so I was all like 'Hey, airlocks.' Probably a bad move.*** The best job on the ship is getting the port that faces the earth; the worst job is the exact opposite.**** I guess I could’ve added a little something more into the latter part of the ship where the space suits and airlocks are; that rooms kinda blandishness.Anyways, enjoy or whatever.
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Hello, BZP! IT's Lord Darkon, with some concept art for a story i never got around to writing.Here's the original skecthes:http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/namealot/Art/airship_pirate_2.jpghttp://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/namealot/Art/airship_pirate_2_001.jpghttp://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/namealot/Art/airship_pirate.bmpAnd here's color:http://www.brickshel...ethius_copy.jpghttp://www.brickshel...anchor_copy.jpghttp://www.brickshel...pirate_copy.bmpThe First one Is Nethuis, Captian of a steampunk like airship. Elemental control over Iron and AirThe second is Anchor, a insane Toa of both Gravity and Magnetisim. First Mate.The Third is Sithias, a female toa of electricty/lighting and Cook and Navigator.If interested in writing this story, Pm me about it.Likey?
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A new deadly weapon at an inconvenient time in history, built by and for a most inconvenient of peoples... 123456789Folder (when public)This is my baby. I built this for a story I'm currently working on - a Steampunk story - but unfortunately this MOC is no longer assembled. =[so it's got a minigun and a high-powered rifle on the right hand, a Gauss cannon on the left hand, and a laser on the head. Yes, it was built off of who you think it looks like. No, I'm not ashamed. The wheels on the feet are there for next to nothing. I think they just look cool and Steampunk-ish.Personally my only complaint on this one is the ankles - I was never able to fill them in good, even in the earlier version (seen here). It was a ton of fun to build, though - and if I could recommend to you guys one thing at all to build, just take your already existing sets and Steampunk them.