The first ever "flying saucer" plastic model kit is produced (and patented) in 1954. In fact, it's the very first space-themed and science fiction kit ever available to the good citizens of Earth. This little hunk of plastic embodies all that America's best and brightest scientific research has gleaned together about these strange visitors from another world.
The Lindberg "Flying Saucer" kit reveals all: the aerodynamic inverted dinnerplate shape, the pair of turbo thrust rockets mounted on the smoothly curved silver hull, the rotating rim studded with jets, the futuristic cockpit bubble... and yes, the presence of a little green man at the controls of the whole unearthly device.
And what of the twin blaster cannons which one must assume that our large-brained friend is aiming? Just what are his intentions? Can we be long for this world???
You too can own your very own piece of saucer history. This kit has been reissued several times over the years. One of the more recent releases, reissued under the Glencoe name, can still be seen offered on eBay.
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Be sure to come back for more tomorrow... it's "Flying Saucer Hysteria Week," only on Atomic Living!
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6 comments:
Ooooo soooweeet, hadn't thought of getting a flying saucer! =D
Glenco, eh? *going to ebay to check*
Yep, the guy who runs Glencoe rummages through old warehouses to find the casting dies, cleans up the corrosion and produces new kits as identical as possible to the original runs. He's done the old Walt Disney "Man in Space" kits and the Moonliner based on the same rocket once seen at Tomorrowland - some goodies no space room should be without!
Wow, very cool!
I see there is one Glenco UFO model for $25. It's a 1:48 scale. How big is that? (I'm not much of a model expert lol)
$25 sounds about average. It's a desktop model, the whole thing measures just 6" across, but that also makes it pretty simple to assemble. If you're good with your hands and feel confident, use super glue (after trial fitting the pieces) instead of that nasty old modelling cement/airplane glue :P You'll get much better results!
Thanks!
I love this saucer, one of the all-time greats. A variation on the toy was also used for a saucer shaped space bank back in the Fifties (which, of course, I have no picture of at the moment).
I completely forgot that Glenco reproduced this. Since I doubt I'll own the original any time soon, I might just have to grab the reproduction... Thanks for the reminder!
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