From the screen to the street…well, to the cosplay hall. This 3D printed Mad Max prosthetic arm is a work of art, inspiration and awesome.

From the first moment cosplayer Laura Vaughn saw Mad Max: Fury Road, she was hooked. Protagonist Imperator Furiosa wasn’t just cool, she and her character meant something important. In a world where leading characters tend to look strikingly similar, Furiosa was different. In Vaughn’s own words:

“I just get Furiosa…and I feel like she gets me.”

Why? Furiosa is a human being with a prosthetic arm but is never defined by her physical differences. Her prosthetic doesn’t define her a person or character; it just is. Born a fetal amputee, Vaughn has dealt with being defined by her prosthetic, and Furiosa was the first big-screen character she had ever seen to question those boundaries.

3D Printed Mad Max Prosthetic Is More than a Prop

Vaughn would soon be introduced to Michelle Sleeper of Overworld Designs, an Atlanta-based prop and costume designer. Sleeper was looking to create something special. Something memorable. Something involving “a T-800 Endo Arm, as an actual prosthetic for an amputee”.

When Vaughn and Sleeper got together, their goal became clear: they would reconstruct Furiosa’s arm. It was the perfect character, story, and, of course, prop. Sleeper made the 3D scan using a Xbox Kinect camera. After molding, it was 3D printed on her home printer, as well as at Freeside Atlanta, a non-profit hackerspace. In order to be both realistic and practical, Sleeper weathered the arm, and laser cut every last detail—including the “mesh.” In the end, they were not disappointed.

Wired with sensors and servos, the hand can open and close—not that it needs to impress us any further. Since then, Vaughn’s images have been spotted all over the internet. Her original Tumbler post on Furiosa’s character has practically gone viral, and we can only presume she’s been showered with all sorts of compliments.

Vaughn should be incredibly proud. This is a story that should be shared not because she wears a prosthetic, but because she created something awesome and made people care.

To read more, check out Sleeper’s description of their great story.