Clockwork tiger.

October 21, 2006 8:13 AM

Clockwork steampunk rideable tiger. (via YouTube.) Flickr photos here. Artist's site here.
posted by loquacious (23 comments total)

I hope it ships in time for christmas.
posted by Alex404 at 8:19 AM on October 21, 2006

Awesome. Though clearly not clockwork.
posted by Hogshead at 8:29 AM on October 21, 2006

Nor technically steampunk, in that steam is not involved. No less awesome, mind you.
posted by luftmensch at 8:57 AM on October 21, 2006

Yeah, yeah, technically not steampunk nor clockwork. But they're good descriptors for this crowd. It's still crazy awesome.
posted by loquacious at 9:14 AM on October 21, 2006

technically not a tiger either. you know, ceci n'est pas un tigre.
posted by carsonb at 9:53 AM on October 21, 2006

but yeah, awesome.
posted by carsonb at 9:54 AM on October 21, 2006

Awww, that metal tiger, he was happy. You could hear him purring.

What an incredibly bizarre and cool thing to build. Now the artist just needs to make it much, much faster. And then he needs to build some clockwork gazelles for it to feed on.

Because that would be a Wild Kingdom episode I would fucking watch.
posted by quin at 10:01 AM on October 21, 2006

Peh. It's OK, but it's no 40 ton mechanical elephant.

And while I've never ridden the forty ton variant, I have ridden on this one
posted by PeterMcDermott at 10:26 AM on October 21, 2006

Awesome.
posted by mygothlaundry at 11:17 AM on October 21, 2006

That's a gas engine. As neat as this looks a car covered in wood isn't "hearth powered." Also, those are just old fashioned gears and belts in there, not clockwork.
posted by damn dirty ape at 12:16 PM on October 21, 2006

Great post - thanks loquacious!
posted by madamjujujive at 12:27 PM on October 21, 2006

Arthritic mechanical tiger that sounds like my lawn mower. If all tigers moved that slowly, they'd have really gone extinct centuries ago.
posted by crunchland at 1:31 PM on October 21, 2006

*muttering* damn dirty ape...
posted by loquacious at 1:43 PM on October 21, 2006

Amazing. Thanks for posting this!
posted by kosher_jenny at 4:03 PM on October 21, 2006

Fantastic, even if it wasn't clockwork.

Are the other sculptures, which the artist builds, also motorized?
posted by elephantday at 5:38 PM on October 21, 2006

Loved it, thanks.
posted by salvia at 10:07 PM on October 21, 2006

Next time I hear the word "steampunk" I'm gonna punch Cory Doctorow in the throat.
posted by dozo at 10:42 PM on October 21, 2006

Steampunk? Steampunk. Steampunk! STEAMPUNK.

Cory says "Bring a wheelbarrow, bitch."
posted by loquacious at 12:42 AM on October 22, 2006

How did Doctorow get to be that poster boy?
posted by crunchland at 5:56 AM on October 22, 2006

I don't know. He doesn't even fucking look like Bruce Sterling or William Gibson. Or Rudy Rucker, or even fucking Neal Stephenson. He looks like freakin' Dilbert and Drew Carey's mutant freak love child, and really has little to do with steampunk.

I'm in yr engine differencing yr rods.
posted by loquacious at 7:14 AM on October 22, 2006

*Nods*

What loquacious said. When I think steampunk, I think Gibson, Sterling, and Stephenson. I know there are others that probably predate it, but as far as I'm concerned, the Difference Engine invented the genera, and the Diamond Age perfected it.
posted by quin at 8:13 AM on October 22, 2006

Not to derail, but I really enjoyed both of those books, esp. Diamond Age. Are there any other books worth reading from the genre?
posted by crunchland at 8:38 AM on October 22, 2006

Reminds me of these steampunk clockwork rideable camels.
posted by ewagoner at 8:52 AM on October 22, 2006