Plastic Models and Merchandising

One of the business units we have developed is Lunar Traders, which offers a mail-order catalog that carries carry all the nifty space stuff (real, accurate things, we're being carful about that) we can find. That includes products other than just Artemis Project moon base things.

Besides the obvious goal of earning money to buy spaceship parts, this is a good idea because it gets across the point that the Artemis Project is about more than a little moon base. The basis of our financial approach is to use the resources of the moon as the front door to the universe; and a big toy catalog is a fun way of enjoying the adventure while we're on our way.

If those sales prove to be successful, then we will have a strong argument for Revell, et al, to release other models to fill in our launcher collections.

As for models specifically of the Artemis Project spacecraft: we'll have a lot of variations on designs to look at over the next few years. But personally I'd love to have a good conceptual model right now even if it means later versions would come out as new kits. We need to know how many other people feel the same way.

We're not putting a lot of effort into models right now because we're concentrating on getting the publications division going first. (Tell the story, then sell the story, as it goes.)

However, someone with actual business experience in producing and marketing plastic models might help shorten the process by taking the reins for this product. (If you'd like to talk model business, contact artemis@asi.org.) We'll open the negotiations by offering the designs and use of the trademark at 2.5% of MSRP. Any profit we make goes to fund further development by the space flight division; any profit you make can go into your bank account to save up for your condo in Luna City.

If we could get a kit into production right today, it would depict a triple module with its external supporting equipment and descent propulsion package for the lunar exploration base, a lunar transfer vehicle designed around a single module, and supporting robots. The ascent vehicle would be the open-cockpit design, the same one you see in the illustrations here on the Artemis Project web.

So, is there enough demand to justify cutting molds for these things?