HOWTO make a tailfin retro media centre PC

The retro media centre was Thomas Thomassen's Final Major Project in BA (Hons) Modelmaking for Design and Media at the Arts Institute at Bournemouth -- it's an atompunk* tailfin fantasy that would look absolutely fantastic atop your giant console TV, serving as your home's media hub. Thomassen's documented the whole process from design to build -- great tips if you want to try it on your own.

Mini Media Centre: retro design - modern functionality (via Make!)

*Yes, I used "atompunk" solely to irritate you. Yes, you. Atompunk, atompunk, atompunk. Atompunk**.

**Steampunk***

***Howdyalikethemapples?

[Takuan #1 02:18 on Fri, Jan.16]

very americangraffiti punk

[Takuan #2 02:22 on Fri, Jan.16]

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=xIkUiD8N81k&feature=related

[ed_g #3 02:33 on Fri, Jan.16]

Jetpunk trips off the tongue better.

Or, God forbid, Streampunk.

'That's the way we're going nowadays. Everything slick and streamlined, everything made out of something else.' George Orwell

[Takuan #4 02:43 on Fri, Jan.16]

Airstreampunk?

[chrism #5 02:53 on Fri, Jan.16]

I still prefer Populuxe. Also a fine book by Thomas Hine (http://www.thomashine.com), full of atom-powered, tailfinned, two-tone pastel-coloured excessiveness

[David Carroll #6 02:58 on Fri, Jan.16]

Now I have to buy a new TV in Harvest Gold to go with it!

[siradambeck #7 03:05 on Fri, Jan.16]

Perfect for Fallout 3 of course.

[bjacques #8 03:11 on Fri, Jan.16]

I kinda like "Atomique" to include the rest of the world in the Atomic Age. Populuxe is the US consumer style that coincided with it.

[Dorkomatic #9 03:27 on Fri, Jan.16]

Deco-punk? I love that "space-cadet" style. Fabulous.

[gentlevillage #10 05:09 on Fri, Jan.16]

Such clean lines!
I don't know what's "punk" about this, oh well..

[BritSwedeGuy #11 05:53 on Fri, Jan.16]

The 1950s are the new 1830s.

[Halloween Jack #12 06:46 on Fri, Jan.16]

Casemod: very nice, reminds me of my grandpa's car.

Table of content on page that has to be removed before you can read the page: not so much.

[eustace #13 06:51 on Fri, Jan.16]

Chrism has it right at #5 - this is totally Populuxe. Not a wisp of steam to be seen.

[Miss Jess #14 07:32 on Fri, Jan.16]

I like the suggestion of Populuxe. Much nicer sounding! This is gorgeous, and I *need* one.

[Alex_M #15 07:42 on Fri, Jan.16]

Sleek and well-done, for sure.

But.. I hate 50's Detroit-retro (which I'm choosing to call this). It's been done to death since "Happy Days" - which is as old now as the 50's were when the show was current..

If you have to go with the period, 1950's European retro still holds charm for me, though. (E.g. the movie "Delicatessen")

[ZippySpincycle #16 07:46 on Fri, Jan.16]

I want a Prius with tailfins

[Versh #17 07:47 on Fri, Jan.16]

gentlevillage @ #10 is right-- why would this be considered punk? Maybe a better word would be "adaption" or something. In any case, #13 eustace is spot on with Populuxe. I love that term!
Anyway, I'm in eager anticipation to the eventual Deco and Art Nouveau revivals.

[randalll #18 08:16 on Fri, Jan.16]

@Versh/gentlevillage - I agree. I'm all for giving the 50's retro maker culture a cool name, but there is NOTHING punk about co-opting 50s design style.

It's about as punk as the late-90's swing dance resurgence.

I have no idea what to call it though.

[IWood #19 09:01 on Fri, Jan.16]

I've been personally irritated by Cory Doctorow!

*swoooon*

[arkizzle / Moderator #20 09:19 on Fri, Jan.16]

I like RocketPunk myself.

[MrJM #21 09:22 on Fri, Jan.16]

Madam chairman, I rise to second the motion nominating "jetpunk"...

-- MrJM

[Gloria #22 09:46 on Fri, Jan.16]

I don't think the point is that it's punk. It's to refer to all the other movements that do something similar.

But "Popluxe" is just adorable.

[Mitch #23 09:51 on Fri, Jan.16]

That looks nice, but I'd like it even more if it had a place to put 2 dvd drives and a floppy disc drive in front.

[Takuan #24 09:51 on Fri, Jan.16]

aftermarket detachable tailfins?

[Xopher #25 09:52 on Fri, Jan.16]

Cory loses! I'm not irritated by 'atompunk', in fact I like it! Nyahnyahnyah! :-)

That said, however, there's something magical about 'jetpunk'. I think this PC case (which is absolutely lovely, in my opinion, though it wouldn't go with the netpunk* decor in my apartment) is definitely jetpunk.

___
*...by which I mean, of course, having the appearance of early-21st-Century style, but among those who are too geeky to bother coordinating their furniture.

[Xopher #26 09:57 on Fri, Jan.16]

Yes, Gloria, just as the suffix '-gate' is now used to indicate "this is the name of a scandal," ever since Watergate. There were no hotels with 'gate' in their names involved in Koreagate or Contragate or Plamegate, but they got the suffix to indicate high-level scandals.

I think that's actually fading a bit, now that the term has been used even for local politicians involved in scandals that are, frankly, tempests in a teapot dome.

[Anonymous #27 10:44 on Fri, Jan.16]

Curse you, ZippySpinCycle! I was perfectly happy with my Prius the way it is. Now I will never be able to look at it again without getting an itch for tailfins!

--Charlie

[Keir #28 10:48 on Fri, Jan.16]

I have to admit that is nice.

[Rickmccl #29 11:56 on Fri, Jan.16]

How do I like them apples? I will log in to tell you. What's annoying is your playing back to the forum trolls in your posts; irritant in that it brings to attention something I could easily have missed, and something I intentionally miss. I think atompunk is a fine phrase that I instantly recognized; I think 'jetpunk' would be a little later on as jet-setters was a 60's thing but 50's was atom age, am I right?

s n rgrd t yr plyfl tng-pstrng t th frm trlls sy, Cry, Gt vr yrslf.

Bye!

[usonia #30 12:07 on Fri, Jan.16]

t DD rrtt m! s y'r fnby f sshlpnk!

[Malgas #31 12:18 on Fri, Jan.16]

Atompunk doesn't really apply here. The Fallout games are atompunk. Put this thing through a nuclear war and 200 years of neglect, then patch it back together with rudimentary tools--THAT would be atompunk.

[trr #32 13:09 on Fri, Jan.16]

Atom-punk I like much better than Steampunk. Keep 'em comin!

[soubriquet #33 15:25 on Fri, Jan.16]

I like the mapples.

[gentlevillage #34 23:42 on Fri, Jan.16]

@#31- Huzzah, Malgas! That's what I was getting at!

[Anonymous #35 01:27 on Sat, Jan.17]

You clearly mean atomfunk, not punk. ;)

[FoetusNail #36 04:36 on Sat, Jan.17]

This is a beautiful thing. I do want this thing. But where's the fin? Where are the pointy red lights? Where's the jet exhaust? This does not look like it will fly. This looks like a very nice upended dashboard, which makes sense, since it's a media center, but it ain't no tail fin.

http://flickr.com/search/?q=tail%20fin%20auto%20car&w=all&s=int

P.S. one is always surprised by the web. Take tail fin for example, it's surprising how many people want a tail fin.

[m1k3y #37 04:50 on Sat, Jan.17]

that thing better make a nice piece of toast!

[Noelegy #38 19:57 on Sat, Jan.17]

The car I drove my senior year in high school was a 1960 Cadillac Fleetwood (this is the first year they stopped using the "bullet" taillights, but still had the awesome fins), so this is full of win for me.