Adamski Venusian Scout Ship (1952)

Scale: 1/60
Initial Release: 2003
Medium: Polystyrene
Kit Rarity: 2

About the Design

In 1952, during one of the first great UFO "flaps" of the mid-20th Century, "Professor" George Adamski of the Mt. Palomar Observatory gained significant notoriety when the publicly claimed to have not only seen spacecraft from the planet Venus, but that had been personally contacted by their ethereal inhabitants.  In December 1952 he released a photo of one of these Venusian "Scout Ships" and spent the next several years playing the role of Messianic Messenger from the Stars.
It was subsequently revealed that "Professor" Adamski wasn't an astronomer at Palomar at all -- he mere ran a hot dog stand nearby -- and his "flying saucer" was either the end cap of a 1930s canister-style vacuum cleaner or part of an automatic chicken feeder (Contemporary reports differ). 
In any event, Adamski's Venusian "Scout Ship" was clearly the inspiration for the similarly styled UFO featured in the 1960's ABC TV series, "The Invaders."  Only that craft never fed any chickens.

About the Kit

This is one of the few injection-molded models of a "real" UFO ever to hit the mass market.  Released by Japan's Marmit company in 2003, it accurately captures the simple lines of this historic vacuum cleaner end-cap -- er -- chicken feeder -- er, extraterrestrial spacecraft.
This exotic kit was released in only limited numbers and was available in the U.S. only via specialty mail-order companies.  Marmit also released "All Chrome" and "Glow" versions of the same mold.
This model was built from an original issue.