Adam’s latest build is a special treat: he’s been tasked with making the hero prop for the new TV show Year of the Rabbit! For this Victorian-era procedural comedy, Adam is making the police truncheon for Matt Berry’s Detective Inspector Rabbit character. It’s also a build that has Adam experimenting with new processes like acid etching!
I’m SO excited that I can finally announce this, but I’ve been working with the National Air and Space Museum on a special build to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Mission, the first time humankind set foot on the moon. We’re calling it Project Egress, and it consists of a LIFE-SIZE replica hatch to exhibit in the museum!
Most of all, I will be assembling it LIVE at the National Air and Space Museum on July 18! (No San Diego Comic Con for me this year; I’m all about the Apollo 50th Anniversary.)
There’s a story behind the project, too. Using 3D scan data and original technical drawings from Air and Space’s archives, an amazing engineering student named Andrew Barth modeled the various intricate mechanics of the Apollo 11 Command Module hatch using Fusion 360.
That detailed digital model of the hatch was separated into its individual mechanical components, which we sent out to more than 40 different makers. They then recreated each piece in their preferred medium, and the artists and fabrication shops who participated are listed below. (Thank you again!)
Note that, like the We the Builders: Rosie the Riveter project, this is an artistic representation of the hatch, and a departure from my typical realistic replicas. While the parts are all accurate in size to the original, they will be made in all different colors and finishes, a celebration of different fabrication techniques, some traditional, some cutting edge. I will have the challenge on build day of fitting them all together, but luckily I’ll have the help of Jen Schachter and Andrew Barth. (And yes, we’ll be filming this for Tested.)
And that’s not all! If you want to take a 3D tour of the hatch or even build your OWN, the Smithsonian’s Digitization Program Office has made the files and drawings public at 3d.si.edu/apollo11cmhatch. The .stl files and engineering drawings used by the Project Egress team are ALL public domain. As always, if you decide to build your own hatch — in ANY scale — let me know please take a photo and tag me and #ProjectEgress!
We’ll have LOTS more about Project Egress later on on Tested, but for now, enjoy the files and thanks again to the following contributors!