Dialing In...
When I first started plotting my course when it came to reimagining and making parts available in the steampunk/machination line, one of the very first things I did was look at how difficult it was to procure real life examples- whether it be buying them new which is almost impossible, short of being limited to modern parts, or spending hours trying to hunt down ones that people were offering that could classify as antique, or vintage. The latter did not beckon me to any extended investment.
One that stuck out for me was dials and gauges. Old steam and electrical equipment were littered with them and to me they provided a big part of the aesthetic that seems to be missing in modern machination.
So of course, I looked first at what I hated about modern dials and gauges. They are simply put, bland and nothing to write home about.
Whether I'm thinking about it as a person in modern society or as one who may have existed during those early industrial eras, I would have came to the same conclusion and that being what perfect examples of something that a craftsman could express themselves artistically with.
Each of the different parts of a machine should in its own way, be a focal point, giving the person viewing it an opportunity to stop just long enough to ponder what the craftsman was thinking. There should be pride in ownership, there should be pride in use, and a desire to take care of it- something that is lost in today's throw away, replaceable and planned obsolescence society.
As you can see, even with his first design I'm showing, I'd like to think that I went big instead of going home as the saying goes. I'll leave that up to you to decide.
The artistic patterning aside I also had to think about functionality, since these are in the cosmetic line anyways, meant to be just that and I needed to implement a flexible way for people to customize them even further. Now if you caught what I just said, it would lead you to believe that at some point I plan on also making functional machine parts.
Aside from allowing people to customize the dials and gauges with any one of thousands of the available dial faces out there, I've also figured a way to allow backlighting and perhaps, if time permits faux steam emission similar to what you find in model trains. I thought that would be cute anyways. We will have to see. Not all venues out there allow that sort of thing, so of course variations on that will be optional.
Anyways, I know you get the idea by now.
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