A Gentlemen’s Duel

This is a pretty fantastic animated short film: “A Gentleman’s Duel,” by Blur Studios. Hilarity and action ensues!

The Great Martian War

As historical footage / CGI mashups go, this one takes the cake! Using World War I archival footage, CGI, and probably some reenactment footage as well, this video shows what a real Martian War would have looked like in 1914.

The footage is from a History Channel mockumentary called “The Great Martian War” which I apparently missed seeing, somehow. If anyone knows where to get the show, let me know!

Marvelous Monowheels

Wild and whimsically, the monowheel was a 19th century mode of transportation that never really took off.

Steampunk Monowheel

Monowheels first appeared in Europe around the 1870s, and remained somewhat of a hobby curiosity. Numerous inventors worked to create monowheels that were fast, fuel efficient vehicles.

Another monowheel

For the most part, monowheels remained the purview of Popular Mechanics covers, hobby clubs, and eccentric inventors. Of course, nothing makes for a better steampunk gadget than an impractical gadget invented by an eccentric genius.

JA Purves Monowheel

You can tell this particular monowheel inventor is an eccentric genius by his hair (his name is J.A. Purves by the way).

And it even seems the British Army was interest in monowheel tanks.

British Tank Monowheel

I’m not sure how that would have turned out, to be honest.

Nevertheless, there are few vehicles that look more steampunk than a monowheel. For more on Monowheels, drop by Dark Roasted Blend’s article on Monowheels. It’s worth a read!

Space Pirate Captain Harlock

In a nostalgic flashback to Japanese anime of the 1980s, Space Pirate Captain Harlock is returning in a new 3D animated movie. James Cameron says of the film “This movie is already legendary.” Judging from this trailer, it does look to be pretty awesome. It’s been a long time since the old days of the Captain Harlock, Queen Emeraldas, and Galaxy Express 999, so we’ll just have to see how this film plays out.