Gravity Rod - Golden Age Starman - Ted Knight

thingiverse

I'm a huge fan of the Golden Age Justice Society. The Spectre, Doctor Fate, Hourman, Green Lantern, Atom - those were my go-to heroes when I was growing up through their appearances in DC Comics' JLA, All Star Squadron, and the 1970s continuation of All Star Comics. One thing that always caught my eye was Starman's original Gravity Rod (later rebranded as the Cosmic Rod, but I'm a purist, so I stick with its original name). When I saw there wasn't a DIY version out there for me to print, I took matters into my own hands and started designing one, pouring over countless comic book images from the Golden and Silver Ages. Of course, there aren't any definitive drawings of how this thing looks - just a general shape that each artist interpreted freely as needed. When designing it, I tried to stay true to its original look while adding some nuances that made it seem like something you might find in real life. While working on the project, I stumbled upon a comic page where Starman mentions pushing a specific sequence of buttons - I thought that would be a fun addition, so I incorporated push buttons and a slider into the grip. However, this does make construction a bit more complicated, so I created a version with no buttons for those who prefer a simpler Gravity Rod. I made sure it's pretty tight to put together because I didn't want it to be loose. You could technically assemble it without any glue, but I added a few drops on each part anyway - and definitely on the buttons. For a couple pieces, I enlarged or scaled them down in Cura for slightly easier assembly once printed (mostly to make button installation simpler). Here are the pieces I adjusted sizing for: Gravity-Rod_Coil_Cap: Enlarged by 2% Gravity-Rod_Grip: Enlarged by 2% Gravity-Rod_Link_Coil: Enlarged by 2% Gravity-Rod_Slider_Block, Slider, and Head: Scaled down to 98% Gravity-Rod_SM_Button, and Mount: Scaled down to 98%