UFO from "The Invaders" (1967-1968)

Scale: 1:72
Initial Release: 1968
Medium: Styrene
Kit Rarity:  1

About the Design

Meant to suggest a classic "UFO," the Invaders' Saucer was clearly inspired by the "Venusian" saucers photographed by self-proclaimed alien abductee George Adamski who published several books about his cosmic adventures during the late 1940s to mid-1950s. It was subsequently revealed that the "Venusian" spacecraft he'd photographed was actually part of an automatic chicken-feeder.

On the ABC-TV series, the saucer was shown both in flight and landed. When landed, only the landing legs were actually on set; the main saucer was a superimposed miniature. This was obvious if you looked closely, for only the legs' shadows were visible, not the shadows of the larger structure supposedly above them.

About the Kit

First released by Aurora Models in 1968, the Invaders' UFO was subsequently re-released by Aurora in 1975 as a "Flying Saucer," in the 1990's by Monogram as the "The UFO,."  in 2003 by Revell/Monogram as "The Invaders UFO," and finally by Atlantis Models in 2020.

​The original Aurora version featured two removable lids; one opaque, the other clear plastic for displaying the interior. In all versions, the landing legs didn't swing into place, but had to be physically removed and reset into their recessed in-flight positions.

Although this collection once featured an original Aurora issue, the copy shown here is a 1990s Monogram re-release.