The Moonwalk Pen

By John Hubbard

John Hubbard, a long-time Huntsville resident, has combined his love of all things space-related and fountain pens to design the Moonwalk Pen, commemorating the 50^th anniversary of the Apollo lunar missions. John recruited a team of area young folks with the right combination of skills to bring his design to reality. Over two years’ work was necessary before the final product was ready.

• 

• 

Caleb Counter, a student (now graduate) in Calhoun Community College’s Advanced Technology Center, created the computer model of the basic pen; then Kara Netterville and Keely Counter used digital sculpting tools to add a “lunar surface” texture, craters, and the famous Apollo footprint.

With the digital model complete, John turned to Clay Williams, of Mastermind Models & Miniatures, in Lowe Mill, for 3D printing with his high resolution Formlabs printer. Clay also used the subtle colors of the moon’s surface to create the delicate hand-painted finish. Each Moonwalk Pen is printed and hand painted by Clay and his staff.

Finally, John adds a fine German JoWo nib. The fountain pen is available in a hand-signed Artist’s Proof edition of 12 pens, one for each astronaut who walked on the moon, and in a Limited Edition of 50, one for each year since Apollo 11 landed. A rollerball version will be available soon.