DeAGOSTINI THUNDERBIRD 1 & RECOVERY VEHICLES

As some of you know it’s been a while since I’ve blogged for various reasons but now I think it’s time to get back in the saddle and begin with a few photos in suitable surroundings of course, of the DeAgostini  1/144 scale Thunderbird 1 kit along with the Recovery Vehicles as seen in the episode, ‘Pit of Peril’.

As I’ve said in previous posts , the Thunderbird 1 kit was originally produced by Aoshima, and has been repackaged by DeAgostini in Japan to compliment it’s  1/144 Thunderbird 2 model, and comes complete with an accompanying glossy magazine , and additional pre-coloured nose cone and atomic pile covers for those modellers who prefer not to paint the model.

The kit comes with landing legs that can either be the earlier wheeled version with struts facing sometimes inwards and sometimes outwards or the later ski version with struts facing outwards.

 I decided on the wheeled version on this particular model as most of the ones I’ve seen built are the ski version, plus the wheeled version was the one seen in ‘Pit of Peril’, the second episode in production and broadcast order. (I did purchase a second kit from Japan at the same time which I will use to make a ski version)

The kit is a fairly easy build. The fuselage, wings and engines are a toned-down silver, while the atomic pile drum, wing tips, and rear stabiliser wings are a Tamiya TS-23 light blue. The engine’s exhausts and ram jet intakes are painted black. A final black wash all over highlights the detail and helps to give a light weathering.

The perfect companion to the Thunderbird 2 build.

Now we turn to the two DeAgostini versions of the Recovery Vehicles, those powerful tractors that fire magnetic grapples that are used to haul the stricken Sidewinder out of the Pit of Peril. 

Recovery Vehicle 1 is manned by the multi-tasking Virgil Tracy, while Recovery Vehicle 2 is remote controlled.

In the episode the 500 ton Army Sidewinder , a revolutionary jungle walking machine is trapped on its side 300 feet down in an open cast mine crater that’s filled with surplus military equipment that was dumped following WW2. A weak crust of top soil has formed over the top, and Brains’ decides that a section must be removed to enable the Recovery Vehicles to pull the Sidewinder out.

At the moment my DeAgostini vehicles are all in showroom condition, however, they will get some weathering at some point to give a more authentic look.

As to my Thunderbird 2 build itself it’s coming along nicely. I’m up to pack 7 with 5 to go, and the possibility of additional extras following those. The main model is becoming quite complicated inside now, with assorted gears and wiring. One of the Pods is more or less complete now and here we see the two Recovery Vehicles stored inside, although quite where The Mole which also makes its first appearance in the Pit of Peril episode fits in there as well is still a bit of a mystery to me.  

Fun pedantic fact; While the photo shows the inside of the DeAgostini Pod 3, it was actually Pod 5 in the episode.