Sunday, July 27, 2008

Live Badge*

Photo by Alexandr Rodchenko
1936

* This is a 'live' version of GTO badge. GTO stands for 'Gotov k trudu i oborone' ('Prepared for work & defence) - a physical fitness test, near-compulsory in the '30s

Two Giants

LZ129 Hindenburg and RMS Queen Mary
1937

Four-Wheeled Torpedo

1935 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 Jankovits Spider
See more here

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Dieselpunk Lottery

Soviet lottery certificate, early '30s
Issued for the benefit of OSOAVIAKHIM
(Society for Assistance to Defense, Aviation & Chemical Build-up)
See enlarged version here,
@ Diselpunk LJ

Danish Secret Weapon

Flying Submarine,
allegedly developed by the Danish Navy
Telescopic wings, folding tailfin, armed with lightbombs or torpedoes...
From Modern Mechanix, Sept. 1930
See full text with illustrations here

Beer in Style

Comrade Brewski...
Actually, nothing in common with real Brewski Beer from New Zealand. Looks nice. Anybody wants to brew a potion worthy of this label?

Monday, July 14, 2008

An Odd One

Zeiss Ikon Contaflex 35-mm TLR Camera, 1936
Just a moment... How comes? 35-mm and twin-lens arrangement? And if I want to change a lens, can I? Yes, Zeiss could do it - and produced one of its least successful cameras. Heavy and bulky, it couldn't beat Kine-Exacta and was hardly a match for advanced reporter. But it looks amazing, doesn't it?
See more here
Originally posted by me @ Dieselpunk LJ

Soviet 78 rpm Single Label

1939

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!

Cover art of H.G.Wells' War of the Worlds, 1934 Irish edition

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Soviet Airship

Dirigible by Vassily Kuptsov (oil on canvas, 1933)
Interesting style - very much alike second-generation Italian Futurism of the same period.
Dirigible depicted is ill-fated CCCP B-5 (USSR V5). Built in 1933, it was dismantled in 1934 - its 'envelope' was leaking and generally unreliable. While a new 'envelope' development has been in progress, a lightning struck hangar near Moscow where parts of the dirigible were stored. Everything went down to ashes, not only cases with B-5 parts, but its sistership B-4 (also dismantled) and a brand-new B-7 as well.
All of these airships were half-rigid, thus not falling into a 'Zeppelin' cathegory.
See more of B-5 here
Originally posted by me @ Dieselpunk LJ

Tatra Goes Wild

Tatra 903 Concept by Mike Jelinek
A futurist vision of Tatra's glorious past
See more here
Pictures from Auto Design & Style, Czech Republic
Originally posted by Rogix @ Dieselpunk LJ

Flying Ship

Dornier Do.X Flying Boat
12 engines, 48 m wingspan, up to 160 passengers and a crew of five.
See more here
Originally posted by me @ Dieselpunk LJ Community

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Bugatti AFV

An especially bizarre vehicle:
armored half-track Bugatti Type 41 Royale!
Only a model, though
Originally posted by tancist @ Dieselpunk LJ Community

Fearless Automaton Against the Mob

Robotic Mob Squad as envisioned by great Hugo Gernsback, 1924
By the way, the word Robot, invented by Czech writer Karel Čapek, is yet to conquer universal recognition.
See enlarged version @ Dieselpunk LJ Community

Porsche's Own

1939 Porsche Typ 64 / KdF 64K10 / VW Aerocoupe
Sportier version of VW Beetle with aluminium body, designed for '39 Berlin - Rome Rally. Weighing only 500 kg it was capable of high speeds up to 152 km/h.
Only three built. Only one survived.
See more here
Originally posted by me @ Dieselpunk LJ Community

Friday, July 11, 2008

Carrier-Borne Sturgeon

Short Brothers Sturgeon was developed as a carrier-borne reconnaissance bomber for Fleet Air Arm. In 1948 it was already obsolete for this role, so Royal Navy employed the plane as target tug. One of the strangest-looking creations of Shorts, definitely! Its turbo-prop version would be a perfect match for some British Sky Captain.
See more here

Weird But Reliable

US-made Univex Mercury 18x24 mm camera
There was also a postwar 24x36 model of a similar design
See more here
Originally posted by me at Dieselpunk LJ Community

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Ultra-Compact Swiss Camera

Jaeger LeCoultre Compass
Developed by Noel Pemberton-Billing and produced by famous Swiss watchmakers, it was one of the smallest and technologically advanced cameras of the '30s.
More information here and there
Originally posted by me @ Dieselpunk LJ Community

French Hyper Flying Boat

Latecoere Late 522 Ville de Saint-Pierre
More...
Originally posted by caleb_ @ Dieselpunk LJ Community

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Futurist Ferry

Kalakala ferry was built in 1935 for Seattle-Bremerton Line
Learn more here and there
Originally posted by gerbicid @ Dieselpunk LJ Community

Monday, July 7, 2008

God of War

Soviet B-4 8-in Howitzer at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, USA
Photo by Marc Pellegrini. All rights reserved
Color version

Espresso in Style

Victoria Arduino Venus Centenario, 2005
See more
Originally posted by me @ Dieselpunk LJ Community

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Airwar, 1938

Amazing shots from Soviet not-so SF movie Deep Raid, depicting future air war. The enemy is German Luftwaffe (never named and provided with fancy fantasy uniform). Soviet Air Force is the victor. Multi-motor bombers, airships and dogfights aplenty.
Look here

Originally posted by borianm, reproduced @ Dieselpunk LJ Community

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Friday, July 4, 2008

Prague in Style


World's first successful streamline car - amazing Tatra 77 - with her parents and offsprings at the streets of Czech capital.

See more @ Flickr... as a slideshow

Originally posted by Rogix @ Dieselpunk LJ Community

Soviet Stratospheric Balloon

 Stratospheric balloon and Jumper Balloon
Photographer: I. Shagin
1935