Our first HUGO Award can now be revealed. The committee places an embargo on the design, only to be released to public view during the Science Fiction WorldCon where they will be presented. Up to that point, we have to provide a secure login area on our web server, so that the committee and we may work together during the refinement and production phases.
The design is related directly to the location of this year's WorldCon, Loncon3, in London, England. The signature HUGO Rocket is resting upon a moon surface, with the very recognizable Gherkin Building as a locality-specific backdrop just behind.
When we developed the design, I fully modeled the sculpture in 3D, as we do in most all of our commissions. This helps to not only better see the finished product and design toward that end, but to more easily create it in Real 3D. We know the size of everything, how it all precisely fits together and, in this case, the design model was used directly in the physical process.
We employed our 3D printer to reproduce the lunar surface contour as a positive, to be used in making the negative molds into which the crystal would be cast. The model of the building gave us a precise curve that was measured against to create the slumping molds, so that the completed fused shape would nestle within the groove cast into the lunar surface. A bushing for each rocket/base combination was printed and inserted into a clearance bore in the crystal, so that there is no contact between the rocket or its mounting bolt and the crystal.
The completed sculpture is very heavy, as one would guess when all of the major portions are solid stainless steel and glass. It must be shipped disassembled, as the crystal would likely suffer damage in transit, no matter how well packed. The leverage that the long rocket has is too great to risk it. To that end, a complete set of assembly and handling instructions are made available on the 2014 HUGO Award web page. There, you can see the 3D Model Design Video and our Award Presentation video, which gives a peek into our backgrounds and how we create.
Tags: 3D model, art glass, award, science fiction
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