Gerry Anderson is a cult TV figure because he
took the unfashionably low tech world of puppetry and applied it with such skill
and design flair to science fiction subjects that the results were highly
original and imaginative. From the late sixties to late seventies, Dinky Toys
produced die cast model toys of some of the more memorable Anderson craft from
Joe 90, Captain Scarlet, Thunderbirds, UFO and Space 1999. They are now highly
collectible. Vote for your faves.
Gerry AndersonMBE,
born 14 April 1929 (1929-04-14) (age 80),
is a British
producer, director and writer, famous for his futuristic television programmes,
particularly those involving specially modified
marionettes,
a process called "Supermarionation".
His first television production was the 1957 Roberta
Leigh children's series The
Adventures of Twizzle and it would be almost a decade before his most
famous and successful production, Thunderbirds,
would be produced. His production company, originally known as AP
Films and later renamed Century
21 Productions, was originally formed with partners Arthur Provis (hence AP
Films - Anderson Provis Films), Reg
Hill, John
Read.
He has also written and produced several feature films,
although these did not perform as well as expected at the box office. Following
a successful move towards live action productions in the 1970s, his long and
highly successful association with
Lew
Grade's ITC
(Incorporated Television Company) ended with the second series of Space
1999. After a career lull when a number of new series concepts failed to
get off the ground, his career began a new phase in the early 1980s when
audience nostalgia for his earlier Supermarionation series (prompted by Saturday
morning re-runs in the UK) led to new Anderson productions being commissioned. A
number of new projects have resulted including a recent
CGI
remake of Captain
Scarlet entitled Gerry
Anderson's New Captain Scarlet.
Thunderbird 4 is a submarine, and by far the smallest
Thunderbird craft. It's piloted by Gordon Tracy. Thunderbird 4 is often carried
to the site of a rescue in one of Thunderbird 2's huge cargo pods.
Thunderbird 1 is flown by Scott Tracy. It's a high speed
sub-orbital scout craft. Thunderbird 1 is normally first on the scene at a
rescue. Scott can then report back to base first hand and advise on the
situation. The craft leaves Tracy Island like a rocket, rapidly climbing to a
high altitude after which it changes to horizontal flight. At slower speeds TB1
employs swing wings for stability.
Stingray Submarine
Die Cast
The Stingray comes complete with extending lower skids and display stand. The
highly detailed die cast and plastic submarine measures 9.5 inches long and
comes in a window box and ready to display.
Back in the 1960's and early 1970's
Gerry and Sylvia Anderson created some truly excellent science fiction shows.
They featured many superb vehicles. It's the models of these craft that we
concentrate on here. We've created original images featuring toys and models
from Fireball XL5, Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and U.F.O. A
publication like this wouldn't be complete without Terry Nation's Daleks - so
you'll find them here too.