Time to Build a Full Size Fully Functional AT-AT Walker from STAR WARS
Holy crap! Is this guy serious? I sure as hell hope so! Star Wars geek Mike Koehler of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has a dream to build a full-size fully freakin' functional AT-AT walker from The Empire Strikes Back.
AT-AT for America is a crowdsourced project that aims to build, no fooling, a fully fuctional, full-scale model of an AT-AT Imperial Walker from The Empire Strikes Back. They've gotten preliminary approval from Kickstarter to make it happen, so it sounds like they just need some funding plus a bunch of engineers from Kuat Drive Yards, or failing that, an alliance of Earthlings with a level of mechanical expertise equaled only by their hardcore sci-fi geekiness.
In case you were wondering, an AT-AT stands nearly 75 feet tall and has a maximum speed of just under 40 mph (!). It can carry 1 ton of cargo, or up to 40 Imperial Storm Troopers.
Will they be able to pull this off? Is this even possible?! 40 mph!? 75 feet tall!? How freakin' amazing would it be if Koehler succeeded? I want to see this happen. If your interested in getting in on the action here's is a note from the organizer:
NERDS OF AMERICA:
We were once a country that made things: giantmetal cars, Hoover Dams, non-AutoTuned popular music.
But now we are stuck in an economy in limbo, surrounded by our Internets, our hipsters and our arguing politicians.
Nerds, I have a great idea to make America great again. We can show our brain power, our manufacturing prowess, our organizational skills and our geek-fueled eye for detail.
That idea: an AT-AT for America.
Now I have an idea, but no money and a total lack of mechanical aptitude.
That’s why I am hoping this project spreads like wildfire, inspiring the nerds, makers, geeks, motorheads, sportos, dudes, steampunks, Jedis, halfwits, greasers and geniuses to band together for one goal.
To build a fully fuctional, full-scale model of an AT-AT Imperial Walker from The Empire Strikes Back.*
Impossible? Perhaps. Inspiring? Of course.
The AT-AT would become an instant monument of America’s obsession with popular culture and our ability to be awesome.
I’ve already shared this idea with some of the kings of geek/make culture. Adam Savage of Mythbusters, Mark F. of BoingBoing and Make Magazine and Ken Denmead of Geekdad.com.
Now the rest is up to you. Spread the word. Get organized. We can get this done.
If America can put a man on the Moon, we can bring a little bit of Hoth to the Earth.
To volunteer to help, email ATATforAmerica@hotmail.com