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Author
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Topic: USAF Manned Orbiting Lab (MOL) patch
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rje71
Member Posts: 15
From: Chelsea, Maine
Registered: Apr 2010
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posted 05-01-2010 03:01 PM
   
There has been a remake done at some point in time of this USAF Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) patch and was wondering if it was still in production? |
spaceman
Member Posts: 1168
From: Walsall, West Midlands, UK
Registered: Dec 2002
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posted 05-01-2010 03:47 PM
I haven't seen a remake, but artist Tim Gagnon did produce a MOL commemorative. The fifth in the series "Celebrating 50 Years of America in Space" it honors the men and women of the Manned Orbiting Laboratory Program. |
Jacques van Oene
Member Posts: 884
From: Houten, The Netherlands
Registered: Oct 2001
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posted 05-01-2010 04:29 PM
quote:
Originally posted by rje71:
...wondering if it was still in production?
That patch was a remake from the original from a MOL astronaut, there is talk about it in an issue of QUEST magazine (around 1995?), I have to look it up, but if I remember correct it also says in the magazine who did the replica patch. |
OV-105
Member Posts: 892
From: Ridgecrest, CA
Registered: Sep 2000
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posted 05-01-2010 07:11 PM
I belive it was made from Bo Bobko's patch. |
rje71
Member Posts: 15
From: Chelsea, Maine
Registered: Apr 2010
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posted 05-01-2010 10:20 PM
Through a bit of research it looks "Space Country Souveniers" are the ones who reproduced the MOL patch. |
carl walker
Member Posts: 407
From: Netherlands
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 05-03-2010 10:48 AM
I got one of these from the Cape Canaveral AFB Museum shop, during the Then & Now tour of KSC about 2-3 years ago, they might have some still? |
E2M Lem Man
Member Posts: 846
From: Los Angeles CA. USA
Registered: Jan 2005
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posted 05-05-2010 02:03 PM
I was given a hat with the repro patch years ago. It was (re)made at Hanky Panky Enterprises in Lompoc CA.Author Don Pealer (USN, Ret.) had them made from an original, after he wrote the MOL story in "Quest" magazines back in 1995. |
benguttery
Member Posts: 553
From: Fort Worth, TX, USA
Registered: Feb 2005
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posted 09-29-2011 08:59 PM
Recent production MOL patches are available online from the Cape Museum Gift Shop. |
lucspace
Member Posts: 499
From: Hilversum, The Netherlands
Registered: Oct 2003
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posted 10-03-2011 09:32 AM
Comparing the recent reproduction MOL patch and the original shows the repro is actually not all that good... |
lucspace
Member Posts: 499
From: Hilversum, The Netherlands
Registered: Oct 2003
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posted 07-19-2021 06:22 AM
So I finally decided to produce a more accurate reproduction. In blue /grey, with correct meridians, correct font and "too little space between the text and the border." Available from Skyforce Space Patches. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 49756
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 01-01-2023 01:23 PM
Going back through some old emails, I came across a reader's submission of this "MOL Systems Assembly Manufacturing" patch. Has this design been seen before?  |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 49756
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 01-01-2023 04:42 PM
Retrorocket Emblems has produced a replica of the "Flight Crew" version of the MOL patch. Most recently a version of this patch was sold at auction and was owned by Karol Bobko. This patch is a replica of this patch and is 5 inches in diameter.  |
lucspace
Member Posts: 499
From: Hilversum, The Netherlands
Registered: Oct 2003
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posted 01-05-2023 04:19 AM
Despite the established Bobko heritage of the 'flight crew' version, I doubt whether this is an original 60's patch because it follows the silver-blue thread and font of the 2010's reproduction of the original patch.Looking at the back of Bobko's patch, to me it does not look 60's vintage. Any thoughts? |
Liembo
Member Posts: 822
From: Bothell, WA
Registered: Jan 2013
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posted 01-05-2023 11:27 AM
Which part is throwing you? The rear doesn't look much different than some other relative contemporaries in the 1960s. Of these three, the only one with an identified source is the Apollo 11 patch from Universal Commemorative, but the Apollo 8 ("AS8UNK3i3") and Apollo 9 ("Apollo 9 Crew Patch Variant") patches have very similar color (off-white) and embroidery style on their backs. The use of Eurostile vs the serif font of the original MOL patch is of note, I agree, and it makes me wonder why the decision was made to use Eurostile on the common MOL replica patch down the road and where that influence came from.  |
lucspace
Member Posts: 499
From: Hilversum, The Netherlands
Registered: Oct 2003
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posted 01-05-2023 01:22 PM
Most concerning to me are the font and the fact that the original patch used blue and grey threads. The silver seems to have originated with the 2010's repro. |
Peter Merlin
New Member Posts: 2
From: Lancaster, CA, USA
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 01-06-2023 10:39 AM
I have an original vintage MOL FLIGHT CREW patch with silver thread. It looks exactly like the example being so hotly debated here. The MOL flight crew name tags were made in the same style. Gordon Fullerton showed me his when I worked as a historian at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. The National Reconnaissance Office has a photo of the FLIGHT CREW patch, again identical in thread color and embroidery style. |
Liembo
Member Posts: 822
From: Bothell, WA
Registered: Jan 2013
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posted 01-06-2023 02:10 PM
Here's a General Electric MOL Systems Test patch. It is 4" in diameter.
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lucspace
Member Posts: 499
From: Hilversum, The Netherlands
Registered: Oct 2003
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posted 01-07-2023 03:48 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Peter Merlin:
...again identical in thread color and embroidery style.
Interesting and compelling evidence, thanks for providing! Two questions remain: the timing of the blue-grey and silver flight crew versions. And whether a blue-silver version without the flight crew addition — as represented by the reproduction pictured at the top of this thread — has a 60's original. |
Peter Merlin
New Member Posts: 2
From: Lancaster, CA, USA
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 01-07-2023 11:18 AM
In the 1990s, Quest Magazine teamed up with Space Country Souvenirs of Lompoc, California, to create the reproduction MOL emblem patch pictured at the beginning of this discussion. It was supposedly a reproduction of one owned by Karol Bobko. As you can see, it included the silver thread, whereas the only known vintage example apparently has white thread.I picked up my vintage MOL FLIGHT CREW patch sometime around 2008 as part of an auction lot containing several common space patches. I don't think the seller realized what he had. Here is the auction lot offering Karol Bobko's MOL FLIGHT CREW patch and MOL crew name tag. Note that the BOBKO name tag has the silver thread. This is exactly like the FULLERTON name tag that Gordo showed me. The NRO has a surprisingly poor image of a MOL FLIGHT CREW patch. It looks rather wrinkled, possibly from being worn and laundered or just stored improperly. My example is in mint condition, so I sent a picture of it to the NRO historian in case he might have a use for it in future publications. |
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