Building an A7l replica Apollo Moon Suit

Here are some pictures of  a prototype inner suit arm. The finished product will be blue with black convolutes. And other details, such as; shoulder restraint cables, hip and knee convalutes.

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This weekend I was cleaning up my workroom. And hanging in front of one of my storage shelves was a suit I had started to assemble using “Sunbrella” cloth. I like it because it has a similar look and stiffness to Beta Cloth. The suit has quite a bit of work done on it, But I don’t plan to finish it. I am working with different materials now.

I noticed during my clean up and re-organizing that I had to move this suit about five time.

That is enough, I don’t want to toss it (too much work in it) and I don’t plan to finish it. So what to do?

I know some of you want to build your own replicas… well here is a head start. I could use some cash right now, so I offer this starting point for sale. Its far from finished, but its well on its way. I had a lot of time in this one before moving on and the parts that are finished look pretty good.

So here it is, $400 and you pay shipping (Or best offer)

No warranty, no guarantee, just a bit of my hard work for you to finish.

If you are interested contact me through this blog, or my email address: anil8tor@gmail.com

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My seamstress  Tamarra, has been doing her regular amazing work reproducing the Beta-Cloth boot on the pressure suit. When attached to the soles I have modified, they will look perfect.

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Here are some photos of helmet disconnects compared to a vintage Apollo era helmet disconnect. Except for the worn anodizing you can see the color is perfect, as is the size and shape. I am really happy with the results.

RIng on a ring

Here is one of my reproductions held over a vintage connector.

Old new

I am liking this.

And for Apolloman here are some better photos of the seal on the helmet disconnect.

Here is the small "o" ring seal

I am pointing to the seal with a small screwdriver.

Another seal photo

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Here are some pictures of the finished electrical connector. Also one of the connector on the Armstrong suit at NASM.

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Okay, now even though I had a lot to do with making these, I am still a bit surprised with how good they look now that they are finished. These truly are the best reproductions in the world. When held next to the real thing, its impossible to tell the difference. I am truly pleased with the outcome.

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I thought I’d show some more of the hardware I have been working on. The anodizing really helps. They look very good.

Below are some photos I took of Armstrongs suit at NASM

more of The real thing for comparison

The real thing for comparison

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After many prototypes and research, here are a pair of finished IV gloves.  They feature neoprene bladders with a pleather palm restraint and nylon palm cinch strap.  The bladder is attached to an anodized aluminum glove disconnect that has a ball bearing rotation allowing wrist movement when connected to the suit.  Covering all this is actual Beta-Cloth with all seams and stitches in the proper locations.

I am very happy with the result. They look exactly like I envisioned them.

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Fresh from the Anodizing shop.

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The real Thing

Re

Repro3

Repro2

Repro1

The actual item at Garber

The Real thing 1

The real Thing

Tamarra has been busy cooking up some pressure suit boots. These are the best I have ever seen. I have included some photos from the Garber facility of actual A7L pressure suit boots. You can see the stitching and shape is perfect. When these are attached to my replica soles its going to be awesome.

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