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Thomas M. Darlington
Seattle, Washington
After its launch in 1997, the Cassini spacecraft spent more than a decade exploring Saturn and its moons. Thomas scratchbuilt Cassini and the attached Huygens probe in 1/48 scale using photos and diagrams as reference. “The parts are from a collection of random stuff that model builders collect — plastic, jewelry, tubing (brass and plastic), pill bottle lids, small wood spheres, chipboard, gold foil from chocolate bars, LEGO cones for thrusters, cotton for exhaust, etc.,” he says. “The antenna dish is 3D printed. If one looks at basic design of the space probe, it is a center tank with a frame and scientific instruments hung off of the frame in a radial design.”