Created by Ben Chun and Nevada Merriman

Building the Pod

The design of the interior was inspired by Mickey Muennig, whose architecture we experienced at the Post Ranch Inn. This picture shows the first set of two sets of alternating slats which formed the interior.

We used metal straps to hold the wood in place over a lightweight metal frame.

We cut the door with a circular saw after the frame and wood interior were assembled.

We covered the wood with paper to get a smooth surface.

We stretched fabric over the wood and metal frame to create the basic shape of the escape pod’s body. Later, we painted the fabric with fiberglass epoxy.

Battery-powered blinking white LEDs were installed in the sides of the pod to give it some night-time visibility.

Working with fiberglass epoxy

We applied polyester resin to lycra-based fabric. This construction technique allows you to create almost any shape by stretching the fabric over a frame, and then brushing on the resin. When it dries, you have a lightweight, sandable, paintable plastic-like surface. Take caution when using this stuff because the fumes are pretty bad, and you don’t want it on your skin. We got our supplies at Tap Plastics.

A few tips:

• Support the fabric as much as possible. The weight of the liquid resin will make it want to sag. Using chickenwire as an underlay is a great idea because it’s light and flexible but strong enough to support your fabric while its wet.
• Work in small batches. You want to have plenty of time to work before it hardens.
• Make sure the fabric is taking up the resin, you may need to be persistant with the brush to get it worked into the fiber of the fabric.
• It’s almost like paper-mache for people who don’t mind toxic industrial chemicals. As a bonus, you end up with a three-dimensional shape that won’t dissolve in water.