LEMS of Paper, Dreams of Glory

You know, the space race in the 60's seems to be a theme that keeps creeping into this blog, and I really don't have any problem with that! The 60's were a time when all things seemed possible, and the entire country (if not the entire world) was caught up in the rush toward "the final frontier."

Part of that push was merchandising. Yep, it is American as Apple Pie (for sale at your local grocer). If there is a popular fad, grab hold and sell, baby sell! I'm not saying that's bad at all. Some of our greatest treasures from that time period are things that were produced to cross-promote space and...well, just about anything.

A case in point is the Gulf Oil LEM paper model. It was given away at Gulf stations in 1968 to celebrate the moon landing. (As an aside, I really miss the times when gas stations sweetened the pot of shopping with them with giveaways and special offers. I have Disney LP albums, Dallas Cowboy drinking glasses and other stuff from that time. It seems they could do that again and maybe make up for the fact that we are getting totally ripped off with every tank. Just saying...)

The Gulf Oil Lunar Module Kit was a single sheet of heavy card stock with die cut pieces that could be punched out to give you your very own Lunar Lander (with a bit of folding and assembling). The finished model was actually pretty good, and it has gone down in paper model circles (yes, there ARE paper model circles) as a classic.

The Gulf Oil Lunar Module Kit as seen, framed, in my office.

I happened to run across one on our old friend Ebay a few years ago. It took me a couple of more years to finally get it matted and framed, but now I see it every day in my office. Of course, I would never build it, but if you have a hankering to actually build one, you can. Just follow this link:  http://jleslie48.com/gallery_models_apollo.html and print out your own! I'm pretty sure this can be converted to fly (hey, I've seen plastic ones fly, so how tough could it be) and if you crash, just print out a new one!

In the mean time, fly 'em fast and high!