Jet powered Space Rangers, kit cars, electronic organs, radio hats, and more -- all yours for a low, low price!
Posted 09.23.2011 at 10:14 am
5 Comments
Space Ranger, December 1977
Believe it or not, this was available as a mail-order DIY kit.
Radio hats. DIY jetpacks. Even those of us who never experienced a time when you could purchase science projects for $4.95 and telescope lenses for $1.95 can't help feeling a twinge of longing looking at these crowded, black-and-white illustrations.
A part of their charm lies in the element of surprise. Nowadays, you can scour a product's reviews online and zoom in on its photos before committing to a purchase. But magazine coupons are risky. Like Calvin, you could wait six weeks for a propeller beanie only for it to break upon assembly (and for your pet tiger to scoff when you demonstrate it for him). On the other hand, you could rip open the box to find something completely wonderful.
Click to launch the photo gallery.
We've gathered a few of the more promising-looking coupons here, with an emphasis on build-it-yourself projects. Long story short, these kits became more sophisticated over time. In the 1920s and 1930s we advertised DIY phonographs and erector sets. By the mid-1970s, readers could purchase DIY jetpacks and kit cars.
You'd be surprised at what you can build from a kit. In addition to jet powered aircraft, readers could buy construction packages for electronic organs, fireplaces, weather stations, dome houses, atomic energy labs, and trailers. Don't believe us? Click through our gallery to see these old ads in full.
Want to read more articles like this, plus tips and tricks, home hacks, DIY projects, and more? Subscribe to Popular Science today, for less than $1 per issue!
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I remember the 1982 add for DIY sports car. I feel old.
you could just order tear gas over the mail? wow. my how our country has changed.
why learn from your own mistakes, when you could learn from the mistakes of others?
What an intriguing jet platform thing. It seems incredibly dangerous. I thing people would be outraged to see something like that for sale in a magazine these days. What with no one being allowed to do anything risky anymore. I wouldn't try it, but I'd for sure watch someone else try it.
These seem to be the engines used in it:
http://www.rocketbelts.americanrocketman.com/OFM/G8_2_jet_ENGINE.jpg
What happens if your up in the air and one of your jets has a flame out? Suddenly this thing does a U curve and you are slammed into the ground, SPLAT!
I think I once ordered something like those old Erector sets when I was younger(this was back in the early 70's). It was green metal parts and you put it together with silver screws.