The Aether Bandit

After a very long absence from this site, I'm back! Took a long road down developing a business using 3D printing for creating collectible one of a kind collector pieces. Learned a lot but did not achieve take off speed. The technology just wasn't up to the challenge yet. Time to pivot.

My original concept for Vyctor's lab was to make the weapons modular and have the audience choose the parts and bits as well as the deco schemes.

Now I've moved to making bespoke designs of very low volume. The modular approach was exciting but also meant that there were certain accommodations and modularity that all parts of the designs had to conform too. Bespoke means being able to just pursue the design result as a singular expression.

I've taken a significant amount of time reworking three key designs for steampunk weaponry and will be sharing those with you over the next few months. Ultimately, I'll start with one of the three and go to a crowd funding system to get the prototype carefully made and the silicon production molds as well. Then I will go live with less than 50 of each weapon.

The first of these bespoke weapons is THE AETHER BANDIT. Stay tuned for more imagery, details and all the story that goes with it as it is part of the Frahnknshtyne universe and does indeed come from Vyctor's lab.

Cheers my friends and huzzah to the Society of the Gentlemen Scoundrels!

Steampunk Pistol 3D printed Prototype parts: It's alive!

Hello friends
The first test parts for one of the steampunk pistols you can make on Vyctor's lab at maykrlab.com have come in for inspection. I chose one of the more difficult designs to print because of all the working parts. It's a steampunk hand cannon (the likes of Hellboys pistol) with a wild huge barrel, a transparent chamber (lights to be installed shortly) and high detail grips (soon to come). I am thrilled at the result! Even unpainted, the pistol is exciting.

Steampunk Pistol 3D printed from Vyctor's lab

These parts are engineered to snap together and these first parts did just that. In addition, the main frame of the gun has a pivot lock at the top that also assembled first time and soundly locked and unlocked the frame.

Steampunk Pistol 3D printed parts from Vyctor's lab

Steampunk Pistol with frame lock from Vyctor's lab

There's still a few parts to come in such as the handle grips and the final bit of the rotating chamber (yes it really rotates).

Steampunk Pistol partially assembled from Vyctor's lab

I'll be posting the update once those are in and the prototype moves to painting and final decoration.
cheers, Kevin

More Steampistol components for Vyctor's lab at maykrlab

Hi again folks
I've continued working on the componants for the different elements in the steam pistol generator in Vyctor's lab that is soon to be featured on maykrlab. Our best estimate is that the lab is going to go live within the next few months so its important to us to have plenty of rich, well designed parts for you to play with. Each of the main sections of the pistol (barrel, frame, handle, trigger, hammer, chamber) will have at least 5 unique options that can be combined with any choice in any of the other sections.
The latest parts just completed are below.

Vyctor Steampunk pistol with bale handle and clockwork frame

The first is a bale handle that connects directly to the back of any of the frames. It sits higher than the other handles kind of like a miniature gunnery grip. It really changes up the look of any of the other parts.

Vyctor steampunk pistol with canister center frame and trip-barrel

The other two new parts are shown here. The first is the canister center frame. It's really one of the more "out there" center frames with a very sic-fi twist to the steampunk and Vyctor theme. Also seen in this image is the tri-barrel front option as well. These barrels are shorter but have a very muscular look to them.

Stay tuned as I'll be posting the next development parts over the next few weeks right up until we go live.
Cheers, Kevin

Vyctor's lab at maykrlab.com

Hello friends
Over the past year, I've become involved with a very interesting startup called maykrlab. It is a company working on the forefront of consumer created goods. Specifically, maykrlab is a web based site (soon to go live) where maykrs can imagine, design and then make amazing objects using bits and parts from their favorite fantasy worlds.

It works like this. If you are into steampunk (and if you're reading my blog you likely are), you go to maykrlab, sign up as a user, open the steampunk toolkit of parts and mechanisms to create with, and simply begin making choices and putting together your own design using the parts available from guest creators on the site.

I am the first guest creator and the first toolkit will be to create steampunk pistols for collecting, cosplay, larping, display or whatever tickles your fancy. The design elements are pulled from the Aesthetic and world of Frahnknshtyne, the story I've been writing and illustrating on this blog. The toolkit within maykrlab is called Vyctor's lab (named after Vyctor Frahnknshtyne, the inventor hero of my story and world).

Steampunk pistol made from parts in Vyctor's lab

I chose pistols first because most of us into steampunk have had to make due with kit bashing nerf guns and the like to achieve something worthy of good cosplay.

Steampunk double flintlock from Vyctor's lab

maykrlab is definitely next level stuff using a fully engineered system where any choice you make fits with any other choice and many of the bits and bobs actually work! Triggers pull, hammers cock and chambers spin!

Custom steampunk pistol from Vyctor's lab

It's all free to show up and play, save and share and that, in and of itself, is great fantasy grist for illustrations, screen savers and the like.

But that's just the beginning. If you want to hold and use the steam pistol you've created, the system lets you choose materials and the design is 3D printed, one-of-a-kind, to show up at your front door in just a few days!

I'm super excited to be part of this big step in enabling all makers and hope you'll drop in and sign up to stay tuned in to the progress as the maykrlab's first entry into the market, Vyctor's lab, marches towards beta and then full launch.

As always, I'd very much like to hear from all of you to tell me what you're interested in. This is being done for you so help us make it really great.

I'll be posting very regular updates on this blog to keep you up to the minute.

Cheers, Kevin Mowrer