Amphibious toy cars and dukws were a staple of many plastic toy vehicle fleets in the Sixties. Action Man had them, Billy Blastoff had one and then there were stand-alone toys that sufficiently different from any other toy cars that they were must haves for us kids especially at bath time!
Two such boat-cum-cars were the ubiquitous grey and white Aquacar* and the much less common Amphibious Car, both made by HSI of Hong Kong, a toy company who were linked to the emergence of JR21 Thunderbirds and Project SWORD toys. Both turn up on Ebay from time to time.
So it's no coincidence that Derek Meddings and his effects gang over at Century 21 used these two HSI toys in Gerry Anderson's TV shows. They turned up in at least two episodes of Thunderbirds, The City of Fire [top picture - both toy cars] and The Mighty Atom [bottom picture, just Aquacar].
Here they are close-up and obviously changed by those boys and girls in Slough but enough of the original shapes are there to easily recognise them.
These two HSI toy cars probably show up in other Anderson shows and episodes so any further sightings welcomed! Wouldn't it be cool to find Project SWORD toys in one of his shows but as they first appeared in the shops in 1967 any TV appearances would be after that. Any other toys you spot in TV and Film always welcomed!
*Aquacar was also made by Marx
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