World Cup Sputnik

thingiverse

With the World Cup now in full swing, I needed a Russian-themed football sculpture to hang over my desk. What better than a football-styled Sputnik! The base model of Sputnik on a Stand by Ottaross was scaled up around 400% to fit a Size 5 football, that's roughly 8.25 inches in diameter. At this size, it's about one-third the scale of the original, and the antennas are 80cm long, cut from 6mm wood dowel and sprayed silver. This keeps costs down while maintaining a convincing appearance from a distance. I carved out the antenna base mounts and then shaped them to fit snugly on the ball. Printed with supports to smooth out the rough underside, these provided a solid key for gluing them to the ball at a 90-degree angle, just like the original design. The antenna bases are sprayed grey, and the screw heads were highlighted with a Molotow chrome pen. To achieve even coverage on the ball, I first applied a coat of matte black paint, followed by silver car paint. The booster separation flange serves as a hanging point, while another hook is used for the top, ensuring it hangs flat – otherwise, the antennas would drag the rear down. Modern office ceilings typically feature steel with ceiling tiles, so a 10mm x 5mm magnet at the middle and rear provides sufficient holding power. I've also created a magnet cover to conceal this element. Everything was bonded together using superglue and cyno accelerator spray to speed up the process. Check out this Raspberry Pi FM transmitter for more DIY inspiration: https://www.raspberrypi.org/magpi/raspberry-pi-fm-transmitter/