Core77

Sign In / Join Now

Topics
- Core77 Guides
- Product Design
- Tools
- Furniture
- Technology
- Process
- Lifestyle
- Business
- News
- Transportation
- Education
- Impact
- Reference
- Video
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
Subscribe
Features
- Features
- Designing Women
- Getting Hired
- Design Files
- True I.D. Stories
- In the Details
- Photo Galleries
- Bizarre Inventions
- Questionnaire
- Hand Tool School
- Tools & Craft
Awards
Careers
- Careers
- Design Jobs;
- Talent Search;
- Design Salaries;
Firms
- Firms
- Search Firms;
- Firm Projects
Forums
- Forums
- General Discussion
- Students & Schools
- Design Employment
- Sketching
- Software & Technology
- All Forums
More...
- About Us
- Contact Us
- Advertise
- About
- Terms of Use
My Account
- My Account
- Sign In / Join Now
Follow Us
- )
- m
- Y
- '
- S
Search
e

Core77 is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more

The Government Modelmaking Shop That Helped Navy SEALs Capture and Kill Osama Bin Laden

Hot glue guns of death

By Rain Noe - September 14, 2020

A weird overlap between industrial design and assassinating a high-value military target: At some point during the planning process, you need to review a physical model.

For that reason exists the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency employs a team of modelmakers--people that we're guessing have architecture degrees--whose job is to accurately create FoamCore and 3D-printed mock-ups based on satellite photos and on-the-ground snapshots.

Here's a photo of one of those modelmakers:

Yes, he's shrewdly chosen to remain anonymous. If religious fundamentalists are willing to murder French cartoonists, they'll surely have no problem targeting a guy who's good with an X-Acto blade and a hot glue gun. Perhaps you recognize his work:

Here's a video interview with the dude and a look at that now-famous model he and his team made, unaware at the time that it was where Osama bin Laden was hiding:

Enter a caption (optional)

o

Favorite
Q
1

Comment
&

The Government Modelmaking Shop That Helped Navy SEALs Capture and Kill Osama Bin Laden

Eric Strebel

4 months ago

Z

1Z

Reply

6 weeks! that's a long time to build a model.
I love how they have a graphic about the scale of the model....hilarious.
Looks good. Just like visualizing products I can see how this would be super helpful to executing a plan on so many levels. I have met a few military model makers that work for the government, their work was always of very high quality and top notch. Some were IDr's others were train model guys.

!Report as spam

Share your thoughts

Rain Noe

I’m a lapsed industrial designer. I was born in NYC and figured I’d die there, but a few years ago I abandoned New York to live on a farm in the countryside with my wife. We have six dogs.