Filled with dirigibles and floating cities, penny-farthings and pirate ships, curiosities and robots galore, Steampunk LEGO is an illustrated collection of Victorian-era sci-fi treasures, all built from LEGO.
Curated by award-winning LEGO builder and special effects master Guy Himber, this full-color coffee table book showcases an eclectic variety of models designed by dozens of the world's best LEGO artists.
Grab your brass goggles and join fictional explorer Sir Herbert Jobson as he travels the world cataloguing its technological wonders for Queen Victoria. His entertaining descriptions of an imaginative alternate history bring these delightful LEGO models to swashbuckling life.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
However overall I find that the models chosen to highlight in the book are all quite excellent, and the overall style of the boo
By William R. Ward
There is a new book coming out about the intersection of two of the most creative hobbies I know: LEGO and Steampunk. The book “Steampunk LEGO” by Guy Himber, a.k.a. V&A Steamworks covers a wide range of LEGO creations in the Steampunk genre.For those who aren’t familiar, Steampunk is “a subgenre of science fiction and fantasy that typically features steam-powered machinery, especially in a setting inspired by industrialized Western civilization during the 19th century.” (Wikipedia) Typical Steampunk scenarios involve airships, highly improbable steam-powered mechanisms, and lots and lots of brass gears and cogs. The LEGO creations in this theme tend to be made with brown (representing wood) and metallic (metallic gold representing brass) colors, and involve a lot of mechanisms and gears.This book takes the form of a scrapbook of discoveries by one fictitious Sir Herbert Jobson, who explores the world and reports back to Queen Victoria about the creations he has encountered. The book contains a lot of over-the-top graphic design, with the text presented on scraps of faded and water-stained paper taped onto textured backgrounds of maps, wallpaper, and other designs of the Victorian age. The photos are largely black-and-white or sepia tinted, with some muted color. Overall the look and feel of the book is very old fashioned and in keeping with the steampunk style.My only complaint about the book is that the models are represented a little too artistically. As a source of inspiration for builders, it comes up a little short. The building techniques are not revealed at all, and in most cases there is just one photo of each model, so if someone were to try to take inspiration from this to build their own versions of these creations they would find it frustrating.However overall I find that the models chosen to highlight in the book are all quite excellent, and the overall style of the book is consistent, slightly amusing, and fun. It would be a great Christmas present for anyone interested in both LEGO and Steampunk, regardless of age.Disclaimer: I received a complimentary review copy of this book.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful.
Steampunk LEGO is a tantalizingly terrific compendium of curious creations. Five stars!
By Ashley Glennon
Steampunk LEGO is a tantalizingly terrific compendium of curious creations.If you’ve made it through my headline, you will love this book.Steampunk LEGO follows a “Fantastic Voyage” style of story telling similar to a Jules Verne novel. You—the reader—have stumbled across the diary of Sir Herbert Johnson and are taken on a photographic journey to strange and unusual places full of clever LEGO creations. Storyline aside, this is a 180+ page book that showcases some of the best Steampunk themed LEGO creations in the world.Himber shows you page after page of tricked-out steam trains, airships, horseless carriages, zany weapons, automatons and much more. If it’s made with gears, springs, cogs, valves or gauges, you’re sure to find it among these pages.While the lavish LEGO creations are certainly the stars of this book, the layout and design are delightful as well. Sepia-toned pages adorned with Sir Johnson’s note-cards, maps and other doo-dads make this look like a Victorian-era book. And the gold embossed cover is a nice touch as is the hardbound heft that’s usually absent in our digital age.Among my favorite areas of the book is an area that features LEGO renditions of antique sewing machines, phonographs, telephones, cameras and even a scientific scale. These creations are so lifelike it’s hard to believe they are made of LEGO bricks. Another favorite is a multi-page area called the “Cabinet of Curiosities.” Within this area, Himber showcases dozens of miniature LEGO works, reminiscent of how a 19th century naturalist might show off his bug collection.And as fun as the creations are to look at, the names, subtitles and other notes seemingly taped on every page are a riot. Where else might you view a LEGO model labeled “Kaptain Kazoodle And The Travelling Circus Of Doom” or a rusty looking parody of Han Solo’s famous craft, “The Falcon of The Millennium”?This book is a must-have for LEGO Steampunk fans, and for Steampunk fans overall. It’s important to note this is not a book full of building instructions. This is a book of building inspiration. Hats off to Himber for pulling together such a rusty revue.Ashley
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.Let There Be Steampunks
By John Z
I have lots of Lego books in my library. Originally, all the books were of the modeling design type where you're shown a picture or pictures of a model and how to build the item. Of late, many of the books come from a different genre, where you're shown a picture of a model and along with it comes a story, but no instructions on building. This book is of the latter type. I would classify the Lego Space book of the same type, even though it has the occasional full scale build instructions. The focus is more on the story, where the models are supporting the story, versus the other way around.As the title says, all the models are from the Steampunk world of Victorian sci-fi treasures. Think movement centric in nearly all of them. No Lego neighborhoods here, but were you to look up from those neighborhoods into the sky, that's what you'll typically find here. Lots of brown and golds in the models along with sepia photos.Great coffee table book for the Lego fan. I just wish there were more instructions with additional photos online on how to build the items. The book holds up well without them, but I just want more.I was provided with a copy of this book with the hopes of posting an honest review
