Hello Woodsy, I recently acquired a JR21 Thunderbird 2 in relatively reasonable condition considering it’s well over 40 odd years old. It’s a ‘Made in England’ version of the toy featuring 'The Mole’ as opposed to the rather disappointing Land Rover toy that came with the earlier version. Just like it’s TV counterpart the toy looks good from any angle in spite of the friction drive and the fold back legs.
Now, a couple of things do strike me about this toy. One is how many have survived relatively intact after all these years considering how fragile they are, and the other thing is The Mole that comes with it.
On close examination, apart from ‘MOLE’ written across the top, it bears only a passing resemblance to the I.R. vehicle. There are no markings underneath. The toy looks more like a futuristic tank design with a ray gun type turret.
I wonder if this too is a generic toy from an earlier age, maybe even from a set of early futuristic toys, that was acquired to replace the Land Rover when the production shifted from Hong Kong to England.
What do you think?
As I say, mine is a Made in England version with all its associated alterations, although it does carry the same design no 916622 as the Hong Kong version along with HPM in a circle stamped on the rear friction drive cover as opposed to the JR mark and ‘NO 2’ found under the front of the earlier one.
As to the box art, I’ve attached a scan of the Dinky box and the JR21 for comparison . The stance of the Thunderbird is exactly the same on both pictures and there are similarities in lettering and style, but to be honest I really don’t think they are the same artist. As a point of interest the Dinky artist misses out one of the rear engine exhausts which leads me to think that both artists traced from the same photograph and Peter Archer [possible artist] just didn’t pick that up. I would also assume that the traced photo would have shown the pod up which to my mind would explain why the Dinky Thunderbird pod looks added on. I would imagine the picture of TB 2 during the Thunderbirds titles is probably what was used.
As to JR21 re-using existing toys, I’m like you. I’ve never come across the originals which presumably would have appeared in the fifties.
Cheers
Mike B
Excellent find. I only ever had the version with a jeep. The Mole does look like something from an earlier time. The box art is fantastic.
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