It sounds like you want to build a Nixie Tube clock that doesn't use solid state drivers or counters. There are several ways to do it, but perhaps the easiest would be to use a glow transfer counter tube known as the dekatron. They are available on ebay. You could build counters with triodes but that would consume a lot of tubes.
You could try contacting the author of this video:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenore-m/505382992/
I didn't find any Nixie+dekatron schematics with a google search, but there seem to have been a number of individuals who have built them.
John