Author
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Topic: Apollo patches from Flint Model Supply
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gjeovazb New Member Posts: 7 From: Adrian, MI USA Registered: Aug 2015
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posted 08-12-2016 11:53 AM
I just acquired a set of Apollo patches from Apollo 1 through Apollo 14 including the Apollo program patch. They were in a box the came from Flint Model Supply, Chicago, IL and was postmarked 1971. The Apollo 11 and 12 patches are the dated commemoratives, while the Apollo 7 has a red border instead of the dark blue/black border. Any info on this company and who made them? Were there Apollo 15-17 patches made afterwards? Thanks! |
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 44826 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-12-2016 12:24 PM
Apparently, these were advertised in the back of Boys' Life magazine (the official youth magazine of the Boy Scouts of America). The ads date back to at least November 1969 and continue through 1976 (with the offer of an Apollo-Soyuz Test Project patch). One ad from 1972 reads: America's most historic emblems. Complete collection of all of the Apollo Moon Landing emblems. Special all 6 for $5.00 2 sets (12 emblems) for only $9.00. Free catalog with order. An early ad from 1969 describes the Apollo 11 emblem as an "8-color Swiss-embroidered patch." (This would seem to be the 3" [AS11UNK3i3] patch here.) |
gjeovazb New Member Posts: 7 From: Adrian, MI USA Registered: Aug 2015
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posted 08-15-2016 06:51 PM
Thank you very much. Do you know, or anyone for that fact, who may have manufactured these? With the red Apollo 7 it seems like it would a third party business and not AB Emblem, Lion Brothers or one of the other biggies at the time. |
dcfowler1 Member Posts: 93 From: Eugene, OR Registered: May 2006
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posted 08-16-2016 11:23 PM
Those were my first crew patches, when I was a kid! |
trainliker New Member Posts: 2 From: Atascadero Registered: Apr 2019
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posted 10-03-2020 12:05 PM
Flint Model Supply was founded by my friend Bennett Heck. I knew him from about 1964 until his death in 1983 and worked with him in early 1970.) Flint originally sold N scale model trains mail order and there is an N scale stainless ruler he created which is now made by Con Cor and changed to have that name on it. "Allen Flint" was touted as the company president but was not a real person. It was Bennett Heck "doing business as." When the space program went into high gear, he decided to capitalize on it. Notable was his "8 color" Apollo 11 date patch which he designed and created the artwork for – including the location of every stitch. This was needed for programming the big Swiss Embroidery machines which used a punched paper tape at that time. This many colors would be too costly with thread colors with all the bobbin changes needed. Instead, some of those colors started as white. He paid neighborhood Polish ladies a penny a patch to swipe with permanent magic markers the Earth blue, olive branches green, and colors onto two of the date numbers. Excess color did not show on the black background. And if you look closely at the brown of the Earth, it is slightly darker than the other brown areas due to the blue swiped over the entire Earth. Looking at the back the patch reveals white threads in the various locations colored by markers on the front. He also invented and designed triangular "Sputnik One" and "Vostok One" patches that never existed in real life. He sold a "space suit" flag silk screened on actual space suit fabric, moon landing photos, the usual embroidered U.S. flags in various sizes and a handsome "woven" flag, and other space memorabilia. The photos below are both in and out of the Flint Model Supply header. He had previously sold them in a sealed plastic bag with a small single sheet descriptive inside in a promotion by "Space Patch" but when you received the patch it was from Flint Model Supply with a full sheet flyer advertising his other space patches. Three days before the astronaut parade in Chicago he had the idea for a promotion. Bennett Heck was also an excellent commercial artist and handled his own art and ad placements. He took a photo with his 4x5 view camera with a polaroid back, instead of typeset copy he used an IBM Executive model which had a carbon ribbon and half space to justify lines, transfer lettering for special fonts, and made the art for the flag. He cut rubylith for the photo separation. Then printing plates were made and the flyers printed three to a sheet and cut. The front and back of the "Space Patch" flyer is shown below. He got a western suburbs Boy Scout troop to go all over downtown Chicago and they got to keep the knap sacks he bought them. He also chartered a bus and secured insurance. Yes, in just three days but he was good at twisting arms and getting people to say "yes." Later, Bennett would found more small companies like MM Limited, Bold Industries (with me), and then cofound the very successful Great American Buckle Company (GABCO) for which he did many of designs. Flint just faded away as he lost interest. After Bennett's death GABCO changed its name to "Great American Products" and moved to Texas. Finally, shown is a color advertisement from the April 1970 Boys Life magazine. This was the first issue that had color advertisements and this was a very expensive ad. But Bennett said, "Not when you consider this magazine sits on the coffee tables of middle class families for a month."
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SXPatches Member Posts: 46 From: Port Orchard, WA USA Registered: Jul 2020
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posted 10-04-2020 06:38 PM
This is awesome. I have several of the probe and satellite mission patches without any background on their origin. Having this provenance allows me to more accurately credit the producer on my Space eXploration Patches website. Thank you for sharing! |
Liembo Member Posts: 674 From: Bothell, WA Registered: Jan 2013
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posted 10-05-2020 02:44 PM
Thank you for sharing this exceptionally detailed write up about this patches! |
Rambler Typhoon Member Posts: 30 From: Registered: Dec 2015
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posted 10-07-2020 11:27 AM
Great information! I've wondered about the source of those patches as well! I'd never seen any with paper documentation. |
kosmo Member Posts: 436 From: Registered: Sep 2001
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posted 10-07-2020 12:04 PM
Is there an Apollo 8 patch? |
vanerie Member Posts: 65 From: Outer Banks, North Carolina Registered: Sep 2016
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posted 10-07-2020 02:09 PM
Referencing the previously posted magazine advertisement: bottom row, third from left. |
kosmo Member Posts: 436 From: Registered: Sep 2001
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posted 10-08-2020 07:10 AM
I see that, but has anyone actually seen a Apollo 8 Flint Model Supply patch? |
garymilgrom Member Posts: 1982 From: Atlanta, GA Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 10-08-2020 07:34 AM
Great write up thank you! |
SXPatches Member Posts: 46 From: Port Orchard, WA USA Registered: Jul 2020
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posted 10-10-2020 05:33 PM
quote: Originally posted by kosmo: ...has anyone actually seen a Apollo 8 Flint Model Supply patch?
I think I have one, see Apollo 8 - Mini (Unknown #1). The angle and shape of the 'O' in BORMAN is a key, and though it appears there is a shadow on the left side of Earth, I believe it to be the light reflecting off the threads, at least that is how mine appears under light when viewed in person, just as portrayed in the photo in the eBay auction described in the next post. |
SXPatches Member Posts: 46 From: Port Orchard, WA USA Registered: Jul 2020
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posted 10-10-2020 05:42 PM
There is a set of what appears to be Flint Model Supply mini patches on eBay (333749543407); however, the Apollo 9 patch does not match what is pictured in the above newspaper ad. The Flint Model Supply ad shows a red color USA on the rocket (it's fuzzy, but there); whereas, the Apollo 9 patch on eBay has black letters. |
Liembo Member Posts: 674 From: Bothell, WA Registered: Jan 2013
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posted 10-16-2020 04:34 PM
Did a little more digging around in some Boys Life archives and found they also did some Gemini patches, but the ad was not in color and the scans are not very high resolution:There are also Flint Model Supply ads sprinkled around for Looney Tunes characters patches as well as candy wrapper patches (Bazooka Gum, etc). |