Nuclear weapon model research material

[Siddly]

I didn't mention my huge interest in nuclear weapons in my 'hello forum, I'm new here' message in case it wasn't deemed a suitable subject for discussion.

After a few searches it seems that nukes are on-topic, so here we go....

I have long had an interest in model engineering and an admiration for the people who produce those awesome models, but have never actually gotten around to doing any kind of project myself because the hobby seems fixated on steam power, which really isn't my thing.
There aren't any plans for the kind of stuff I'd like to replicate in miniature.

So, my question is - given the current state of open source material on nuclear weapons - would it be feasible to collect enough information to make a halfway realistic external model of a physics package ?

PS - I see that Brian Burnell of nuclear-weapons.info is a member here, I'd like to thank him for his fascinating website.

 

[UpForce]

I guess this is the single most freakingest example of a layperson getting his head around a nuke: "The Atomic Trucker" (video) ... I think you'd be hard pressed to do one better! Quote from motherboard.tv:

"... A truck-driver with minimal college education, Coster-Mullen taught himself how to build the most detailed replica of an A-bomb ever made.' The secret of the atomic bomb is how easy they are to make.' ...

Coster-Mullen gives an intensely technical history of the atomic bomb, which is centered around a detailed explanation of how the bombs were built, including exact dimensions and configurations, inside and out. For almost ten years, Coster-Mullen painstakingly analyzed photographs and interviewed more than 150 scientists, engineers, and others involved in their development. The result is an unprecedented and highly accurate recreation of the bomb on paper, both in its mechanics and history.

Coster-Mullen’s ambitious project is certainly a neat example of the ingenuity that led America to be the first to develop the atomic bomb. But it’s also a stark reminder that our most powerful technologies can end up being reworked and used in other ways, by people much less friendly than truck drivers with lots of time on their hands."

 

[Siddly]

Thanks ! I've seen some of his drawings but didn't know about the book.

I found an interview with him that contains the following quote :-
"It was a typical Coster-Mullen moment: he treats the world’s most destructive invention as an ordinary clocklike mechanism, made of simple parts that must fit together according to readily discernible laws "
Which told me a lot about the journalist - how on earth is he supposed to think of the bomb ? it's magic ? it's made from pure evil ?

The gun assembly bomb is attractive as a modelling project because I won't have to deal with any spheres. But then I could always build a spherical turning attachment for my lathe and that might actually prove to be part of the fun...