History According to Sears

I have found in my collecting that not all history comes from text books or documentaries. In fact, if one wants to get a real idea of the impact of a subject on everyday Americans, there is really no better place to look than pop culture. And in pop culture, there is really no better place to look than at toys. And for toys there is really no better place to look than...The Big Toy Box at Sears!

In the 1950's and 1960's Sears had a near monopoly on kids' imaginations with the Christmas catalog. I can remember pouring through the pages and dreaming of the wonderful things Santa might bring. Fortunately, due to the folks at Classic Toy Sodiers, Inc, I can do it again! A few years back they published all of the Sears Christmas catalogs (1951-1969) in one book!

I was glancing through my copy the other day, and an idea came to me; could I tell when America got serious about the space program by looking at the toys offered in these catalogs? Sure, why not? I've writen college papers on worse premises...So let's take a look, shall we?

1958

1959

1960

1962

1962

1964

1966

1967

1968

1969

So there you have it. In the interest of full disclosure, I admit that I left out some duplicates and even some toys that weren't quite as interesting. That being said, it looks like the huge uptick I expected in 1958 due to Sputnik didn't really happen, but by 1961 to 1962, the space race was in full swing! I guess things took longer to ramp up back then. Another observation is that our toys ROCKED. Give me these over video games any day!

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

A PMC Instruction Manual.....Sort Of....

Well, the voting for the DARS contests for 2016 has finished, and once again Plastic Model Conversion is to be featured at DARSTAR. This is, of course, no surprise, since it is featured every year. Therefore, this week's blog will focus on a resource that I have had laying about since the early 80's that actually is useful for the event.

The book is "The ETV Model Book," by Robert Schleicher. I picked it up at Half Price Books in the early 80's. It was published in 1979 by Chilton books.

Robert Scheicher wrote quite a few books for Chilton, mainly focusing on miniatures and hobbies. His subjects range from doll houses to Lionel trains to slot cars. In this particular book, he focuses on "ETV models," that is, models of Extraterrestrial Vehicles.

The book is a wonderful stroll down memory lane for modelers who were active in the 1970's. Both Estes and Centuri provided information and illustrations for it. That, however, isn't its main value.

You see, this book is a step by step instruction manual in building plastic models too! It shows all aspects of models from construction to finishing. It doesn't actually show how to convert a static plastic model to fly, but the modeling tips are still quite valuable!

Here are a few pages from my copy...

The good news is that although this title has been out of print for quite some time, it can still be found for very reasonable prices on Amazon! So, if you want a good read, a trip down memory lane, or some solid modeling tips, here is the book for you!

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

Spaceflight- Educating a New Generation

First of all, let me apologize for being a bit late on this post.  A four day weekend with about eight days of stuff cramed into it meant I had little time to think...much less blog! However, I have mended my ways and here is the result...

Years ago, when I was first starting out in school counseling, I had an idea about teaching a new generation about the wonders of space in a fun, exciting way. I wanted to cover several subjects and also show how character development was involved. Therefore, I came up with the Spaceflight curriculum for 5th graders. The program focused on science and social studies, and ended with a modified spot landing competition. We actually did this for several years at two different schools that I worked at, and it was a huge success. However  losing 5th grade, and a large part of the field next to my current school put an end to the project.

But, for your enjoyment, here are some shots of the book I put together for teachers. It's 156 pages long, so I just included a couple...

The lessons in the book included all hand outs and TEKS covered.

So until next time, fly 'em fast and high!