Author: Parker

Advent calendar – day 3

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Our 2025 advent calendar brings special offers, plus raffles, auctions and special items for charity

With December comes our now-traditional advent calendar, giving you the chance to save money and raise money for our charity of the year – Prostate Cancer UK.

Day 3 – CHARITY AUCTION – Place your bid here for this Sidewinder model, from Thunderbirds Pit Of Peril. It was produced by Robert Harrop in a limited edition of 200.

We aim to update the advent calendar page daily with highest blind auction bids, enabling you to return to the bid page and increase your bid, should you wish.

Fanderson 2025 advent calendar terms and conditions:

  1. In addition to these overall terms and conditions (Ts&Cs), the club’s normal Ts&Cs apply, and individual daily offers may have specific applicable terms, conditions and/or instructions (shown in the daily offer details)
  2. All offers are available to current Fanderson members only (ie, those with a current club membership, including those applying for membership as part of their basket) with an online club account
  3. All offers are available online only
    • Members must buy all items detailed in the same transaction.
    • Apply the coupon code(s) before you pay to get the discount. You can use more than one code in the same transaction
    • Members must apply the coupon code themselves to get the discount. It cannot be applied after you have paid, and we cannot apply it retroactively.
  4. Orders placed online are valid once payment is received
  5. Availability and price given on the website will be applicable at the time of purchase
  6. All offers are whilst stocks last
  7. All time references are Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
  8. Unless noted otherwise in an individual offer, all charity raffles and auctions end at midnight on 31st December 2025
  9. Fanderson reserves the right to withdraw any offer at any time
  10. The condition of vintage items may not be as pristine as brand-new items (ie, surface blemishes, but otherwise complete)
  11. We aim to publish raffle results on the website as soon as possible after the event closes
  12. All funds collected in respect of charity raffles or auctions will be donated (minus postage expenses) to our 2026 charity – Prostate Cancer UK
  13. We reserve the right to combine members’ individual orders (or to split orders) for posting
  14. Be aware of our post guidelines in the run-up to Christmas

Advent calendar – day 2

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Day 2 of our 2025 advent calendar brings a set of limited edition picture cards for a donation to our charity of the year – Prostate Cancer UK.

Day 2 – CHARITY DONATION – You can get these four picture cards by donating to charity. The cards were mailed mailed with FAB magazine in 2014/15 in the run-up to our The Future Is Fantastic! convention (and make the perfect companion to our The Future Is Fantastic! picture card set, available separately):

  • Thunderbirds (second series) card 51 – Thunderbird 6
  • Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons card 51 – Spectrum’s Finest
  • UFO card 71 – Beautiful Dreamer
  • Space:1999 card 51 – Commissioner Simmonds

The price you pay for any products in the Charity category will be donated on your behalf to Fanderson’s charity of the year (for 2026 that’s Prostate Cancer UK). We will deduct postage and packing before making the donation, so more of your money will go to the charity if you buy these products along with other merchandise (not memberships, events or Silva Screen), which we can mail to you in one package.

See all advent calendar offers so far, and Terms and Conditions, here.

[UPDATED] Growing up with Thunderbirds – Gerry and Sylvia’s daughter Dee Anderson on tour

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Dee Anderson is embarking on a tour of the UK, sharing her memories of ‘growing up with Thunderbirds‘

 

As the daughter of Sylvia and Gerry Anderson, Dee Anderson, lived and breathed the magic of Thunderbirds and all the other Supermarionation programmes as a child. In this show, Dee presents a heartfelt tribute to the boundless imagination and thrilling adventures that defined a generation.

Gerry and Sylvia’s extraordinary legacy comes to life on stage like never before, inviting you into the world of a child who grew up with Thunderbirds. In her words “It was simply FAB!”

Dates/venues being added as confirmed and tickets become available:

The Eagle Obsession, UK premiere on 11th December 2025

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The Eagle Obsession, UK premiere on 11th December 2025

The Eagle Obsession is Jeffrey Morris’ love letter to the iconic craft from Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s Space:1999. Jeffrey’s been obsessed with the Eagle’s beautiful and functional design since childhood. At that time, he discovered a link between his favorite fictional spacecraft and his favorite real one—NASA’s Lunar Module. Now, he’s ready to explore that connection, and more, with you! Join him as he talks all things Eagle with Space:1999‘s Barbara Bain, Nick Tate, Brian Johnson, Star Trek‘s William Shatner, engineers, fans and many more who share his passion.

The UK premiere is at 18:00, including a live Q&A with Jeffrey Morris on Thursday 11th December 2025 at The Rio Cinema, 107 Kingsland Road, London E8 2PB. Free tickets are available here.

Keep an eye out for the postman!

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The postman’s on his way with your winter mailing

FAB Express 111 was posted today to all Fanderson members. As well as all the Anderson news and your views, this issue takes a FlashBack to Titan Goes Pop, the perennially popular episode of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s Stingray.

Unfortunately, we are extremely sorry that FAB Annual 2026 is not included in the winter mailing. Editor/designer Mike Jones has been unexpectedly distracted by some personal issues recently, and the team felt it was better not to rush to get an annual finished that we’re not happy with. We know many of you will be disappointed to not have an annual to open on Christmas morning, but hope you agree that it’s better that the book is the quality you expect, albeit coming to you in the spring. We’re all working to support Mike to get FAB Annual 2026 finished so it can be with you alongside FAB Express 112 in the spring mailing.

As we mentioned in issue 110 this summer, we’re now reviewing our merchandise pricing on the website. As well as postage prices going up recently, we’ve aligned ourselves with Royal Mail’s world postal zones to ensure you’re paying the right postage.

Our 2026 charity of the year is… Prostate Cancer UK

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Fanderson to support Prostate Cancer UK in 2025/6

Thanks to our members who nominated and then voted for Prostate Cancer UK to be our charity for 2025/6.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. 1 in 8 men will get it, and if you’re Black, your risk is double. We’re standing together with Prostate Cancer UK  who support our dads, brothers, partners and friends – by raising awareness, funding lifesaving research, campaigning for change and providing helpful support and information.

We’ve started raising funds for Prostate Cancer UK now, with some new items in our Shop for which you’ll be making a donation to the charity. In December we’ll have our now-traditional advent calendar too, with raffles, auctions and other ways to do your bit to support Prostate Cancer UK.

Prostate Cancer UK was chosen by Fanderson members from six charities, also nominated by club members.

Fanderson members have a fantastic tracks record of raising funds for charities. In our 44 years, over £61,000 has been donated to a variety of good causes, including Actors’ Benevolent Fund, Alzheimers Society, Baby Lifeline, Children In Need, Demelza, Diabetes UK, The Film And TV Charity, Guide Dogs For The Blind, Hearing Dogs For Deaf People, International Rescue Corps, Macmillan Cancer Support, Orchid, Silverline, Terrence Higgins Trust, Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Appeal and many more.

 

Ghost Stands display your models in an action pose!

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Displaying iconic toys, figures and models with the illusion of levitation!

Ghost Stands was established in 2024 by toy designer and collector Matt Jones from Lunartik. They’re designed to be the most inconspicuous toy display stands in the world, enabling you to display your toys and models with the illusion that they’re flying!

Matt says “As an 80s child I was lucky to have many toys, especially Star Wars and He-Man figures. A lot of them were sadly given away by my parents, but since starting Ghost Stands, it’s definitely helped me reconnect to my past and I know with all my toy design knowledge and appreciation, I can finally add value to the toys I played with all them years ago while building a beautiful private collection.”

The range currently features bespoke stands designed for Dinky and Corgi models from Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons, Joe 90, UFO and Space:1999. You can see these and more in their Ebay shop. Stands for Vivid Imaginations, Matchbox and Product Enterprise products are coming soon too.

Ghost Stands are produced from a special highly durable and flexible, thin crystal clear plastic material. Every stand has had hours of engineering dedicated to its development, especially as each toy or model is positioned into a particular dramatic pose when designing. This affects the centre of gravity of the piece and the challenge is to make a Ghost Stand that is well hidden, stable enough to display and easy to clip on to the piece without marking it, damaging stickers or paintwork.

Order in good time for Christmas

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We know, it’s not even December yet, but for some countries we’ll need to get merchandise orders on their way as soon as possible if they’re to arrive before Christmas!

You can see Royal Mail’s full details of last posting dates here, but to allow us time to package your order up and get it in the post, here’s a summary of ‘last order’ dates that will apply to the majority of Fanderson club members:

  • Wednesday 3rd December – everywhere outside the United Kingdom
  • Monday 15th December – UK (17th December if you add the optional Special Delivery payment to your order)

We’ll do our best to fulfil orders as quickly as possible, but we cannot guarantee orders will arrive by Christmas. If in any doubt, please place your orders as soon as you can. Remember, they’ll show as ‘complete’ in your online account once they’re in the post. Of course, we’ll save up any packages we haven’t been able to mail in time for Christmas and send them as soon as possible afterwards.

Thanks to Fanderson members, kids supported by Demelza are WINners!

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Young Joe McClaine presents our donation to Demelza

Over the last year Fanderson members have helped to raise an amazing £1234.11 for Demelza, helping them provide extraordinary care to children and young people with serious or life-limiting conditions, providing expert clinical care and helping to create extraordinary moments along the way. Activies have included our 2024 advent calendar, 44 FAB Years and items available for a donation to the charity.

Professor Ian McClaine took his son Joe along to Demelza to present our donation cheque.

Demelza’s CEO, Lavinia Jarrett, said,

“We’re so grateful to Fanderson for your generosity to Demelza.

“Without the support of organisations like yours, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do.

“Every donation we receive makes a difference to the children with serious or life-limiting conditions and their families who use our services.”

Fanderson has a great reputation for supporting worthwhile causes, and over the club’s 44 years members have raised in excess of £62,000 for Alzheimers Society, Baby Lifeline, Children In Need, Demelza, Diabetes UK, The Film And TV Charity, Hearing Dogs For Deaf People, International Rescue Corps, Macmillan Cancer Support, Orchid, Silverline, Terrence Higgins Trust, Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Appeal and many more.

With special thanks to Chris King for the presentation photo.

Network lives on!

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Network lives on as Future Network

The much lamented cult TV and film distributor Network, which collapsed in 2023, lives on again as Future Network has secured many of Network’s old stock and now has a website selling them, with free postage within the UK.

Of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s productions you’ll find:

Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons Blu-ray Disc

Crossroads To Crime DVD

Fireball XL5 Blu-ray Disc

Joe 90 Blu-ray Disc

Space:1999 Year One Blu-ray Disc, DVD, Ultimate DVD

Supercar Blu-ray Disc, DVD

The Protectors DVD

For completists, though not an Anderson production, they have Torchy The Battery Boy series 2 DVD. Also of interest to Fanderson members is Mary Turner and John Read’s The Adventures Of Rupert Bear DVD.