2001 1/12 Scale EVA Pod from Atomic City Build Log

Hi Guys

I got hold of this 2001 1/12 Scale EVA Pod Resin Kit from Atomic City (Scott Alexander) as I really love the film and its such an Iconic Design considering it was done in the mid 60s.




Pretty extensive build manual, Decals for the exterior and Interior and Overlays for the Cockpit Instruments.


Love this design!


All parts including Bowman (or Poole if you want to paint him Yellow )

The cast is "ok"...I have seen worse but it does need some cleaning up and probably some extensive Bondo work, especially on the two semi spheres of the main body.

As the Interior of this kit is pretty sketchy I decided to try to make it as close as I could to the Original filming Set 1/1 Model.

There is a "Working Group" over at the Atomic City Forum LINK. They have more or less mapped all the interior parts and made a set of PDFs free for anyone to download.
So you can print out the drawings of the parts and cut them all out in styrene and glue them together...like a puzzle if you wish.

I thought I would use the "Working Group" way at first but after doing some searching on the net I found this guy "treddie" that is building a 3D model of the EVA Pod interior (also at the Atomic City Forum). The model is simply awesome!!! so that got me inspired like hell so I started to model the dam thing in Rhino...

This is what I got so far.


The plan is to 3D print most of it and I guess some of it will be done using the ol Scalpel and Styrene, I will decide when I get there.
I used the PDF Drawings from the "Working Group" as a base and I also looked at the pics from "treddie" for some of the proportions.

The thing I realized building it in 3D is that as you are modeling within a Sphere every millimeter counts for proportion. I think its not 100% spot on
but it will be a pretty good representation of the Set used in the Film.


Talking about Spheres, I will use this clear one I got from a Architect Material Web shop here in Germany, it was like 3,50€ and it has a dimension of 140mm Diameter.




I think it might work out ok, after trimming some of the surface away and cleaning up the inside of the Resin parts it should fit.

Still a long way to go...but its fun so no prob.

Cheers Guys.

Modulor material total ?! [emoji6]

Aber klar!

Mine is in the stash waiting - so in the meantime, I'm pulling up my seat to watch this one closely. Can't wait!

Hi Guys

A Small update on the 3D Model












Had to set the Camera to extreme focal length to see the overall interior hence the somewhat distorted views.

It looks sorta simple but the geometry is pretty hard to get right as its like a Stealth fighter on steroids...but its getting there.

I used the Overlay from Paragrafix (Working Group) as Maps for now, but due to the somewhat different proportion
I will have to do my own later. I am looking in to if "Backlight" foil used for Photo light boxes will do the trick, if Black is 100% opaque I will go for that as its not to expensive.

Cheers Guys.

Will follow this build with intense interest

Also watching this build- I have one of these kits in my closet of doom.
One thing that does throw me- the casting flaws you mentioned. My kit was blemish free, in fact it is one of nicest resin castings I have ever seen. Based o n this Space Pod kit I took the plunge and got onto the waiting list for his 15" Aries 1b kit

Hi Guys

Been working on the Cockpit a bit...and Its getting there.













I am starting to rad of all the Padding surfaces and details...pain in the B I am telling you. I am learning this as I go along as I am in no way a 3D modeler. I used Rhino back in the 90s and thats a long time ago .

There are some small mistakes that I will not correct as i am to far down the line, the Proportion of the padding is one such thing, but what the heck.
Now I am starting to worry if this thing ever gonna go through to 3D printing, no matter its fun so i will solve that when I get there.

Cheers Guys.

Beautiful stuff! Yes, globes are really hard surfaces to work with and, as you discovered, the interior is not that simple to build. Keep up the good work:cool

Hi Guys

Have been working on the details the last week...PAIN IN THE B! I tell you


"Explosive Bolts Panel" and the "EXT Communication switch board" sorta done


Almost done with the Steering and "Claw" Interface.


I never thought that Small things like this would take so much time. Its as much work as Doing it in hardware.


Hand Controller and...



"Claw" Controller almost done.

Almost done but have to do some details on the front inner Dome and all the graphics for the interface Panels in Illustrator.


Cheers Guys.

Beautiful work!! Yes, it's a PITA but look at the results so far:cool

This may seem frustrating bu tI think you are making incredible progress!

Hi Guys

Thanks for pepping me up guys, means a lot .

Being a Car Designer for a major OEM you have "Alias" modelers (sometimes really good guys and sometimes...well you know what I mean) doing 3D Models for you. Doing a 3D model by your self from scratch have taught me one thing...I will STFU in the future We designers always think things can be done like NOW and don't really understand when stuff is not done like in 30 min, well now I know what it means to change a surface like 30 times cause it wasn't perfect and then make fracking rads thats anyway a pain in the B to do and so on.

I am almost done and ALMOST ready to send the data out for 3D Printing...almost is a again one of those words that don't really tell you anything but there it is ,,,I am almost done and thats it.

I spent a lot of time doing the Graphics in Illustrator and again some time to apply it in Rhino. The Problem with Rhino for MAC is that it won't "simply" apply textures or Bit Maps to surfaces....you sort a have to "cheat" it to make it look like you applied Texture Maps, anyway thats what I had to do as I am no pro at this

I uploaded some detail parts to Shapeways to see if the surfaces are ok and they checked out so I must have done something right .

Pic from Shapeways telling me "No Errors" . This is one of the "Tubing Details that sits inside the "Front upper" Dome.


Some Pics of the Illustrator Graphics applied to the 3D Model. Will do back lit (LEDs) overlays of the graphics applied on Transparent film for the model.


I think its ALMOST there

In the coming week I have to build the wall thickness to make it ready for 3D printing...and believe me...I will be pulling my hair out


Cheers Guys.

Yes!! Great work Sir:cool And the hair pulling goes with the territory

Hi Guys.

I finally got some time to get on with the EVA Pod Interior...was sick .

Prepped all the parts for 3D Printing, modeling the B-Sides and making sure that the parts will fit to each other when assembling...like a proper model should do .

I had to split some of the bigger parts due to cost and also due to the size limitations you have on Shapeways working with Frosted Extreme Detail. Some Parts I will do in Frosted Ultra Detail but all the Detail parts I will do using the FED.

The minimum wall thickness is like minimum 3-5mm so the parts should be pretty sturdy.


This is a good example of a "Big Part", I think the middle seam will be hidden pretty well by the Center Vent part.


The Consoles/Rear Walls I will do in FED so I had to split them due to the Bounding Box limitation from Shapewys


I still have to cut out the slits for the LEDs that will backlight the graphics on these panels, but I think I will do that pretty fast.


All assembled it has a pretty weird shape but thats what you get .
I also extended the walls and floor leading to the Explosive Hatch as I am not 100% sure about the length from the Resin Model, that way I can sand it down to fit finally...lets see how that works out.


Rhino does not have a very good Rendering Engine but it still looks pretty cool.

I have uploaded all the parts to Shapeways for error checks and I had some but they are all fixed and now ALL the parts will pass for Printing....YAY!

Cheers Guys.

This is terrific. Those exterior views really help to truly understand its shape. Do you have any plans to sell or share your printable models? I have had, in my closet, the 1/6 Pod for years. My plan has been to add an interior, if and when I get around to building it.

Lt Washburn said:

This is terrific. Those exterior views really help to truly understand its shape. Do you have any plans to sell or share your printable models? I have had, in my closet, the 1/6 Pod for years. My plan has been to add an interior, if and when I get around to building it.

Click to expand...

Same here- I got my Pod kit many years ago and it has been waiting for a perfect time to build- it is a Grail kit to me and I do not want to take any shortcuts I would regret later.
Your interior is excellent and I would love to be able to get a copy of it to add to my Pod...

Hi Guys.

Been a while as I have been waiting for the 3D Printed Parts. They came last week and there is good news and sort a bad news...

The good news is that the Parts that I ordered in Frosted Ultra/Extreme Detail came out just brilliant.




Even down to the Toggle Switches for the COM Panel

Controllers looks super sharp.


Other bits and Bobs that also Looks the part.

Now the bad news or rather me trying to be clever.

I thought that I could save some cost using a cheaper material, in this case "Black Hi-Def Acrylate"
In my opinion it might be good for Toy figures or something like that but not the precision Parts I am looking for in this build.
If you Look Close you can See Little "Nipples/Points" where the material has been applied, I started to Sand those down but realized that the material was to flimsy and not really "form" stable.
So that was a bummer alright. ordered new parts in Frosted so that will cost me some extra. They should be here next week so all is not lost .


Also got the Graphics done in Illustrator (what a pain that was). Had them Printed by a Guy here in Germany that specializes in decals for RC/Model Kits, ACE! Quality.
The main Panels are Printed on a Headup Foil for stability and its coated with white from the back to be as light tight as possible.
The colored Transfers are just normal Decals as I want the color to light up when I back Mount them with LEDs.


Also got my hands on a Standing Bowman Figure from Atomic City and he will fit just nicely in my Pod Bay Diorama YAY!


As I was waiting for the Printed Parts to come I started building a Slice of the Pod Bay in Rhino. Actually also a pretty slow process as some of the Detail is sorta
Hard to see in the Reference material and it took time to sort out the proportions and all that, but I think I got it to like 90% or so. Will print some of those parts later.


Also got me a Stepper Engine and a Arduino Controller that will rotate the Disc in the Pod Bay.

A lot to do and all that but I really want to get on with building this thing now.

PS: I might unlock the Interior and Pod Bay parts on Shapeways when done and if it turns out ok

Cheers Guys.

Looking very good (love the platform btw!) That's what I need: the interior but in a 1/6th scale...talking about hair pulling. Eager to see the next update!!!

CAPTAINCOX said:

I might unlock the Interior and Pod Bay parts on Shapeways when done and if it turns out ok

Cheers Guys.

Click to expand...

hope it does. i'd definitely buy a set off you