Fighter plane motorcycle sidecar

Some guy bolted part of a fighter plane fuselage to a WWII-era or -replica motorcycle. It is awesome. That is all.

Dieselpunk sightings: Arisia SF Con 2009

*Update: Improbcat is the photographer, not the person pictured below. Sorry for the confusion.

I just happened to stumble upon Flickr user Improbcat’s great dieselpunk outfit from this year’s Arisia convention and had to share it:

Improbcat at Arisia 2009

The hat, tie, headphones, and armband are excellent touches.

The contrasts are easy to see next to the steampunk costumes that are in other pictures from that set. While the crew of Steam Trek looks quite good in tassles, gold trim, and other such extravagances, the military look in dieselpunk style takes on cleaner lines, simpler uniforms, and modern neckties. This outfit cuts a very distinct 40s-era airforce or navy look with a few well-chosen accessories. It looks great as it is, but if someone else wants to try a variation on the theme: add medals, some more early electronic equipment, try a shirt with buttoned breast pockets, chevrons and other military insignia, boots, map cases and period backpacks, etc.

Improbcat: if you see this post, we’d love to see a few closeups of that armband, the equipment you have on your tie, and are those straps for a backpack? Let us know if you have any detail pictures in the comments.

For Want of a Nail…

World War II films are easy targets for discussion for us here, but I would much rather continue the dialogue on how certain stories such as those in Valkyrie and Inglourious Basterds set up the potential for alternate timelines that inherently welcome factors of dieselpunk into their folds.  WARNING: Spoilers!  Not on a grand scale, but enough to diminish enjoying these movies for the first time.