UPDATE 11/17/25: FRIENDSHIP 7 (EXACT & SCALED), & SIGMA 7 INVENTORY HAS SOLD OUT! Pre-orders for each of these are now open!
FREEDOM 7, LIBERTY BELL 7, AURORA 7, & FAITH 7 ARE OPEN FOR PRE-ORDERS, WITH EXPECTED DELIVERY DECEMBER 15
SHIPPING: ALL PANELS ARE SHIPPED IN INDIVIDUALLY PADDED BOXES. THEY ARE SURROUNDED BY EGG CRATE FOAM, BUT MAY BEND SLIGHTLY IN TRANSPORT. THEY ARE EASILY BENT BACK INTO SHAPE UPON ARRIVAL.
After over two years in development, Luna Replicas is proud to offer our line of 1:1 scale, exact reproduction Mercury spacecraft shingles! These are reproduced using exact measurements and color matching of original spacecraft, recreating the corrugated texture using custom stamping dies, riveted reinforcement details, and hand-painted iconic "nose art," as well as stenciled features of all 6 Mercury flights.
Friendship 7 "EXACT" vs. "SCALED" Art Option:
Our shingles represent the exact panel that each spacecraft name was painted, exactly as if it were removed from the Mercury capsule. On Friendship 7, this means the art is cut off at the seam line, as it did on the original spacecraft shingle: The letters "F" & "P" on our EXACT reproduction abruptly stops where the adjacent shingle would have overlapped. We have also created a SCALED art version, where the whole nose art fits onto one shingle. Additionally, Freedom 7 was originally painted a half shingle over to the adjacent left shingle. We chose to move it right, fitting onto a single shingle, using the same size lettering. While this and the scaled version are not 100% historically accurate, this makes an incredible display piece with the whole art visible!
These shingles are recreated in aluminum, similar to the Mercury capsule mockups that were built by McDonnell Aircraft during the Mercury program. The flight-ready Mercury spacecraft used Rene 41 steel alloy for their shingles, to better protect the craft from launch & reentry heat. Each shingle is 1:1 scale, 19.5" tall x 20" wide at the widest point at the base, with a curved radius just like the original panels.
Inspired by Cece Bibby, the original artist who painted Friendship 7, Aurora 7, & Sigma 7. Using a local, 50-year veteran sign painter, we are hand painting each nose art shingle EXACTLY as it was painted by Cece in the 1960s. Each shingle is designed to look like the originals in every way: exactly as if was painted then removed from the spacecraft: seam lines, bolt & washers hardware, and all!
Freedom 7, Liberty Bell 7, and Faith 7, which did not get painted with Cece's custom nose art, are being hand stenciled and painted to match the original spacecraft exactly as well.
These are designed to hang on your wall with the use of an included hanging wire, attached between two of the reproduction hardware bolts with hanging rings on the back. They can also be framed behind glass or in a shadow box by your local framer.
Hand painted in USA