An old MC post on Other Scouts was interesting, including the reply you had some time back from artist Bill Keith, and his mention of a plastic kit from the 1960s.
He thought it might have been a Monogram kit, of a manned orbiting laboratory. The closest thing to that would be the Monogram Space Taxi from 1959 (later re-issued as the Space Buggy), but this does not match his description.
He describes the model as a converted Atlas rocket, with two ferry rockets or escape re-entry gliders attached to the outside. These were triangular in shape, and painted yellow. This sounds much more like the Hawk Manned Orbiting Laboratory, which was based on a Convair design.
The first version of this kit had yellow 'space boats' at the rear, while on the later version they were orange.
Hawk released the Convair Atlas Space Station (Manned Satellite) as kit N.513-98 or No.513-100. The number after the dash is the retail price in US cents at the time. This version has 'Reproduced from Plans Supplied by Convair Astronautics' on the box lid.
It was later re-issued, with a new name, and a new number. The Manned Orbiting Laboratory, No.551-100. No mention of Convair on the lid.
The dates quoted for this kit vary, either 1958 or 1960 for the first version, and 1966 or 1968 for the second. The copyright dates on the boxes themselves are 1958 and 1966, but copyright dates are not always the same as the actual release dates, and may be a year or so earlier.
The kit had a clear forward section, to show off the detailed interior; 4 figures; Space-O-Rama clear plastic display base showing part of the Earth's surface; and two small re-entry vehicles at the rear. Moulded in silver plastic.
Here is a beautiful poster showing both the Atlas Space Station and Lockheed TV2 jet trainer (Navy designation for the Air Force T-33).
There may be further information on the kit in the Mat Irvine book Creating Space, which I do not have.
Hope you like this kit.
Two photographs from Worthpoint.
Paul Adams from New Zealand
Paul -and Woodsy - Mat Irvine's "Creating Space" has the following information about the kit, which appears in the list of Hawk kits in that book:
ReplyDelete"Convair Manned Satellite" - Scale: 1:98 Reference: 513 1st Year: 1960
"Manned Orbiting Lab" - Scale: 1:98 Reference: 551 1st Year: 1968
"These two kits are the same, with different box art, of a Krafft Ehricke design based on the Atlas ICBM."
Cheers - Tony P
Thank you, Tony P, for the extra information. It is especially good to know the scales.
ReplyDeleteThe first wet workshop (wet stage station). The whole body actually went to orbit with a tape recorder in place of the warhead as ATLAS SCORE
ReplyDeleteOh my! What a great memory! I had the 1966 version, and good gosh did I love it! SFZ
ReplyDeleteNeat!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if they make a re-issue of the kit?