Steampunk?

So I've been thinking about doing a steampunk story/RP for a little while now, but I'm having trouble tracking down some good images and inspiration-y stories. My idea is that it'll be an alternative history-style piece, set during an extended Napoleonic War. France will still be winning the battle on the land, while England holds the French at sea, but with the creation of airships, the battle for the sky is at a stalemate. Ideally, I'd like things like Napoleonic uniforms, steampunk airships, boats, tanks, weapons, characters, stories - anything that could help out. Y'all are awesome, so I'm sure you'll find stuff so I don't have to.

Although it's sort of tangentially related to what you were talking about, Keith Thompson illustrated a lot of stuff for a book called Leviathan. It's based on a war between organic (Darwinist) and mechanical/steampunk (Clanker) set around the WWI period. It's later than what you were talking about, but it's got a lot of cool concepts and illustrations to stimulate you.

More directly, I dug around for some more Napoleonic steampunk and got some good stuff:


[Note: the text is simply my interpretation of the images, just to give you some ideas ]
Napoleon's Chasseurs à Vapeur de la Garde Impériale are an elite formation of decorated veterans, known for their die hard loyalty to the Emperor - and more so for their impressive fighting record. Taken directly from les invalides, soldiers so grievously wounded in battle they could no longer fight, the Chasseurs à Vapeur are encased in a internally piped steam suit, each individually forged, so that they may fight once more. Few in the unit have served in less than twenty campaigns, mostly as shock troops, so effective that the British have nicknamed them 'Steam Golems'.

The name is not far from the truth. Aside from concentrated musket and cannon fire, very little can pierce the thick metallic skin of their suits, and even when severely damaged the Chasseurs à Vapeur will continue to fight unhindered. The command structure is also furnished with some of the supreme tacticians in the Grand Armee - Marshal Oudinot, Napoleon's greatest division level commander, himself wounded 22 times in combat, leads the unit with impeccable courage and determination - and their famous charges have turned the tide of the battle back in the favour of the Emperor on more than one occasion.


A Prussian mercenary patrols the steppes.


An artist's interpretation of the Battle of Memel. Known popularly as 'the Prussian folly', the Battle of Memel marked the first and last time Napoleon underestimated the Prussians in the sky. Mobilising a flotilla of three patrol ships, two air-paddle torpedo fliers and three of his most powerful dreadnaughts - the Redoubtable, captured from the British three years earlier and refitted to modern standards, and the Glorieux and Rochefort, two new additions to the fleet - Napoleon pressed his Air Marshals for a quick victory against the smaller British force that was rearming over the city of Memel, a direct taunt to the Emperor and a thorn in his proverbial side.

Foolishly, the French commanders did not seek to appease Prussian interests by offering payment or promises of land and military equipment if they were victorious. Thus, when British fliers alerted the main force to the approaching French, they were quick to offer a handsome reward for Prussian assistance in the battle to come. The British feinted to the east of Memel, drawing the Glorieux, Rochefort and two patrol ships towards their smaller flotilla, while in secret the Prussian air lances approached from the south west. A series of skirmishes followed as the Glorieux and Rochefort struggled to bring their guns to bear against the British, who evaded masterfully.

Suddenly, the appearance of the Prussians forced the French to divide their forces, spelling their doom. The feint by the British had isolated the Redoubtable - which had taken the two torpedo paddlers and the last patrol boat to encircle the British - in such a manner that it could not come to the aid of the other half of the fleet. The British cruisers formed a line and began an unrelenting bombardment on the Rochefort, while the Prussian dreadnaughts to the south west made short work of the outgunned Glorieux. The Redoubtable, seeing the demise of the flotilla, attempted to escape to the north only to be intercepted by Royal Marines, boarded and recaptured.


The Watford-Cooper Gun Tractor, more affectionately known among British land forces as the 'Crawling Clara' due to it's slow speed has seen great success against French tanks in the field. Much of this is due to the innovative - and massive - 42 pounder cannon mounted on a shielded rotating platform at the front, giving the gunners cover while still allowing for a large angle of attack. Although originally entirely covered, the Clara was shown to be vulnerable to grenades and other explosives to its rear. The removal of the roof, and issue of repeater carbines to all crews has made them far more proficient at fighting off infantry.

lol, I'm working on an alternate history Steampunk myself, actually; I'll be posting it soon here as well.

Anyways, as far as weaponry and vehicles though, I can suggest looking into the Warmachine miniature table-top game for inspiration. It's more medieval-based, but it's got some neat stuff.

Anyways, just some Napoleonic/WWI stuff I found:



A simplistic air-ship.




Mobile artillery of a sorts


Eh, those are the only useful things I can find other than what Merc posted. Again, I'd suggest checking out Warmachine Miniatures for additional inspiration.