Building a Steampunk Strandbeest

What is My Project
For my project, I’m creating a steampunk-inspired Strandbeest. A Strandbeest is a wind-powered walking machine originally designed by Dutch artist and engineer Theo Jansen. First introduced in 1990, Strandbeests are fascinating mechanical creatures made from lightweight materials like PVC pipes, using linkages to move like real walking animals. Jansen’s vision was to make them self-sustaining so they could roam beaches and help reinforce sand dunes against rising sea levels.

Image 1: Theo Jansen with One of His Strandbeests

Why I’m Using an Existing Model
Building a Strandbeest completely from scratch would be an awesome challenge, but with the semester’s time constraints, it’s just not realistic. Instead, I’m modifying a pre-existing model created by the YouTuber Engineezy. Using this as a starting point lets me skip the trial-and-error of designing the mechanics and instead focus on making it look steampunk. My goal is to transform the design with brass and metallic finishes, exposed gear details. This way, I can spend more time on aesthetics instead of troubleshooting the walking mechanism itself.

Image 2: Theo Jansen with One of His Strandbeests

How I’m Achieving the Steampunk Look
To get that classic steampunk aesthetic, I’m using metallic spray paints to give the parts a brass, iron appearance. At first, I considered using metallic-colored PLA filament for 3D printing, but after some research, I realized it wasn’t worth the cost. Metallic PLA is more expensive, comes in limited colors, and I wouldn’t be able to see the final look before buying.

Since I’ve used metallic spray paints before and had good results, I decided to go with that instead. It’s not only more affordable but also gives me more control over the final color and texture. With spray paint, I can layer different spray paints to create a worn effect if I chose to also I can specifically color certain parts of the model without using multiple colors of filament.

Current Progress
I’ve already gathered all my materials and am trying to move quickly. I bought three main spray paint colors: brass, metallic, and brown, to create a mix of aged and polished metal finishes. Thankfully I have a lot of PLA filament on hand, so I didn’t need to buy more.

I’ve also sliced all the STL files and started 3D printing the parts. Since this project has over 100 pieces, I knew I had to start early to make sure everything gets printed in time. Managing the print schedule is key because I still need time for post-processing, painting, and final assembly in addition to any unexpected stuff along the way.

Image 3: All Parts Sliced in 3D Print Slicer

Featured image: Chatgpt

Image 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theo_Jansen

Image 2: https://engineezy.com/collections/stl-downloads/products/the-toronto-strandbeest

Image 3: My own