THE EAGLE HAS SUNK!

I was recently watching a modern episode of Thunderbirds Are Go called Ring of Fire with Junior [secretly wishing it was the original show!] 

Half-dozing on his futon I caught an image in the corner of my eye.

'That's the Eagle Transporter!' I cried.

Or at least its nose.

Junior didn't know what I was on about. Space 1999 hasn't appeared on our joint radar yet.

I dozed off again.

Anyone know what the Eagle is doing in Thunderbirds Are Go?

TO THE POINT

 

I love the sleek lines of the 1988 Hasbro Cobra Stilleto for small GI Joe figs.

It could almost be a modern Thunderbirds vehicle like the Thunderbird S released nearly ten years ago, which some of you may have.

My own favourite pointed space plane is the Project SWORD Re-Entry Task Force 1 from 1967, which, like the tip of a Nike Hercules missile, I adored as a kid.

Issued in a variety of colours by late Sixties cloners as well, the original and best is the Century 21 Toys release, which was bright red.

Which is your favourite sleek lined space plane?

M.A.X and BRAINS

I quite like the look of these toys by Vivid Imaginations. I don't have any but the articulation looks good.

This is the Brains and M.A.X set from Thunderbirds Are Go [TV series]. 

These are on Amazon.

Are they in your collection?

THE ANIMATED ZERO-X

As I didn't keep up with the modern Thunderbirds are Go TV series I was keen at least to see the programme's rendition of Zero-X, erstwhile member of the Project SWORD fleet.

For those of you like me who haven't seen the animated OX here it is in Signals Part 1 courtesy of the TAG website.

I've also found a couple of graphics online of it. 

What do you think?

Is the large exhaust unit at the rear a new addition?

CAVE TROLL THUNDERBIRDS

Hello Woodsy

New Zealand:

The new Thunderbirds models were good but why the restriction on photography? The dummy cockpit of TB2 was made for promotion of the new series not even for the exhibit as was the large TB1. From what I saw of the new show building sets made no sense if animating the characters and hardware.

Possibly the Tolkein exhibit is fabulous if that's your thing but the bum's rush round Thunderbirds Are Go was annoying. The above photos show exterior of sales office/shop.

Terranova47
NYC

THE THUNDERBIRDS STUDIO TOUR

Hello Woodsy,

I was in New Zealand earlier this year.

On researching what we should try to see while in Wellington and having recently seen the Peter Jackson movie; They Shall Not Grow Old, we decided to visit the WETA STUDIO, the special effects part of Jackson's empire. 

Not being fans of Tolkien or the movies based on his books but an Anderson fan since TWIZZLE first aired the no brainer was the Thunderbirds Studio Tour!

What a disappointment for any true fan of Thunderbirds this proved to be.

Firstly you go to a retail location, then board a bus that takes you round the houses quite literally, it could have been walked quicker directly. 

The bus stops at a small, and I mean small door at the back of a huge shed/aircraft hanger type building that is one of the shooting stages where you enter a room with two human size fiberglass figures of two of the animated characters from the new shows. 

You get a well rehearsed talk from your guide and a wall screen showing bits of the original opening Thunderbirds titles.

You then move to a room with some lovely studio models of the hardware, the Rolls Royce etc plus old merchandising from the 60's on..............but wait for it, NO PHOTOGRAPHY is allowed.

Your guide keeps you moving from room to room faster than it's possible to completely view the exhibits, the new Tracey Island model, The house and swimming pool model, Lady Penelope's Mansion, the launch strip for TB2, the Hood's secret lair, models from the original show, including for some reason a SPV from Captain Scarlet. 

Far too much to remember without photos to aid the memory!

One tidbit. The cave opening that TB2 exits when the trees fall back to reveal it's runway was one eye socket from the Skull Island set that has been reused from Peter Jackson's KING KONG movie.

The final room contains a rather junky model of a dam with a town in the foreground and a life size cockpit from TB2 with a cityscape behind where you can have your photo taken in the co pilot seat next to a fibre glass pilot, I declined.

There is an eight foot high model of TB1 to stand next to while waiting your turn in the seat.

I have seen a snatch of one of the new animated stories and the graphics just made my eyes ache with all the fast movement.

When you're in the second to last room you can hear the next tour not far behind you.

The bus takes you back to the shop which is full of Tolkien merchandise but nothing model wise from Thunderbirds old or new.

A waste of time and $28NZ a head. If a fan buy a DVD of the original series instead.

Regards,

Terranova47

thunderbirds are go comic tb4 free gift

Hi

Some photos of the nice little TB4 free gift from a TAG comic.

Kevin

Thunderbird Shadow bike by Kev D

Picked up the new Thunderbird Shadow bike. 

Good looking model but all it does is make weird engine noises and move its spoiler slightly! 

Anyway, took some photos.

Take care,

Kevin D

BIRTHDAY PARTY FAVOUR: KEV'S THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO TOYS

Hi,

Just for the fun of it, I took some quick snaps of my newly obtained TAG toys, they are quite good toys and it sort of gives a little insight into how the show could've looked with models.

Take care,

Kevin

VIVID SUPERSIZE THUNDERBIRD 2

Following on my previous post on the Vivid Thunderbirds Are Go Superset, here is their Supersize Thunderbird 2 toy.

 

I've got to say I really like the size and look of this toy. Forget any misgivings you might have about the new CGI series, just enjoy the fun value of this supersize Thunderbird.

Like a lot of larger toys these days you're expected to apply most of the decals.

Give your self a good hour to apply them, and if you've got fingers like E.T. that will help as its pretty fiddly to apply them, especially in Thunderbird 2's cockpit.

But, believe me it's worth it as they really do enhance the look of the toy.

The legs flick down by lifting the wings which have to stay in an upright position. The pod is released by a concealed button on top, which triggers a voice switch telling you the pod is disengaged.

This pod is geared to carry Thunderbird 4, but I'd like to see other pod vehicles.

The supersize Thunderbird 4 is a good size, with detachable deep water rescue capsules at each side and  opening rear hatch.

The cockpit opens up to reveal Gordon Tracy.

Thunderbirds are definitely go with this toy.

A VIVID ZERO-X TOY?

I wrote to Vivid Toys recently about their current Thunderbirds Are Go toy line and the possibility of a Zero-X. Reply below:

Hello,

Thank you for contacting Consumer Services.

Unfortunately we currently do not have any plans to release a Zero X toy as a part of this range, however we will be hopefully expanding the range in future and have passed your comments onto our development team for their future consideration.

If you have any additional enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Regards,

Consumer Services

Vivid Imaginations

THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO UNDER PRESSURE DREDGER

I've just watched this week's episode of Thunderbirds Are Go, Under Pressure, on TV, which I enjoyed a lot. Its an undersea rescue involving Thunderbirds 2 and 4 and yes, a stint from FAB1 too. 

The stricken vehicle is a kind of sea floor dredger. It has a huge toothed wheel at the front, which is hidden in this pic.

The vehicle appears as a hologram in the show and you can see the full monty, toxic waste trailer, front cutting wheel and all, here:

The undersea crawler at the heart of the action sort of reminded me of this toy, Explorex by Spanish maker Clim, which Bill posted on the blog six years ago. Its the yellow chunkiness that did it not any detail in particular. In fact Clim made some of the most industrial toys I've ever seen, which would look great in Thunderbirds!

Maybe there's an even closer resemblance to the Thunderbirds dredger in the toy world? What do you think readers?