John Lee to attend Special Assignment

Posted on 22nd June 2017 by 1266 Nick Williams

We are excited to reveal that Terrahawks modelmaker John Lee has agreed to attend Special Assignment at the end of September.

Working under Special Effects Director Steven Begg, John designed and built many of the weird and wonderful space craft that appeared in the series. John has been a staunch supporter of recent Fanderson events, coming to both our 30th anniversary birthday celebration of Terrahawks, and The Future is Fantastic!, our last full-weekend convention in 2015.

John will be joined at Special Assignment by fellow Terrahawks crew member and puppeteer Judy Preece, as part of a packed guest list of stars from across the Anderson universe. You can see the full list here.

SIGN UP TODAY – TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE!

Tickets to Special Assignment start at just £65 per person for one day, or £110 for the whole weekend. We’ve managed to keep the ticket price the same as The Future Is Fantastic! convention in 2015 because we’re a fan club and no one is taking a salary. Saturday-only or Sunday-only tickets do not include the Saturday evening meal or any other refreshments that are included in the weekend ticket.

Find out more and register now

Martin Bower to attend Special Assignment

Posted on 19th June 2017 by 1266 Nick Williams

We are delighted to announce that model maker and special effects designer Martin Bower will be attending our Special Assignment convention to talk about his work.

Known by fans for his stunning model and effects work on Space:1999, Martin helped deliver some of the series’ most iconic craft, including the Ultra Probe (Dragon’s Domain) and the Super Swift from The Bringers of Wonder. He also designed and built all the models for the 1975 pilot film, The Day After Tomorrow, including The Altares ‘Lightship’.

Martin has also worked on Blakes 7, Dr Who, The Tomorrow People, Tomorrows World, Horizon and Tripods, and was Supervising Modelmaker on films such as Alien and Flash Gordon.

Martin will be displaying a number of his amazing models at Special Assignment (some of which are pictured here), and will be running a model making workshop with a slide presentation. We look forward to welcoming Martin to the convention and getting a close up view of his work!

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SUPERCAR INTERIOR

Judy Preece is coming to Special Assignment

Posted on 12th June 2017 by 1266 Nick Williams

We’re delighted to confirm that Judy Preece will be attending Special Assignment, the premier Anderson convention of 2017!

Judy worked as a puppeteer on Terrahawks, where she helped to craft the ‘Supermacromation’ style of direct hand-controlled puppets. She has has also performed on Little Shop of Horrors, Labyrinth, Fun Factory and Spitting Image, and appeared on screen in The Wild Bunch and The Muppet Christmas Carol.

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Space:1999 Eagles come in to land…

Posted on 5th June 2017 by 1266 Nick Williams

Sixteen 12 have revealed some jaw-dropping pictures of their 44 inch studio scale Rescue Eagle replica. A worldwide limited edition of just 100 copies, the replicas have been signed by Nick Tate, who played Captain Alan Carter throughout the series.

All Eagles not only come with a signed plaque of certification, (with “storage containers” support) but also a huge printed 19inch x 45inch red launch pad display to exhibit your prized possession!

Sixteen 12 are also releasing a ‘classic’ Eagle One replica in the same scale, limited to 200 copies worldwide, and a VIP Eagle, limited to just 20 copies! Both are signed by Nick Tate and Brian Johnson, production designer on Space:1999.

Make sure you keep on Sixteen 12’s website, as more images are on the way…

Dee Anderson to attend Special Assignment

Posted on 1st June 2017 by 1266 Nick Williams

We are delighted to announce that Dee Anderson will be attending Special Assignment later this year!

Born in Mississippi, USA, Dee came to London as a child, growing up in a world of celebrity and entertainment while her parents – Gerry and Sylvia Anderson – were making Thunderbirds and their other iconic shows.

She has appeared in numerous UK theatre and television productions (The Bill, London’s Burning) and worked alongside legendary actors and performers. She also followed in her mother’s footsteps earlier this year in voicing Lady Penelope in the Halifax national advertising campaign.

Her recent return to her singing career has been extremely successful, with her album Love in a Dark Place being favourably reviewed in the national press, and a national radio campaign and tour of jazz venues taking place throughout the country. She has also written THE DREAM MAKERS, a new Musical, in association with the international franchise Stagecoach Theatre Art.

We look forward to welcoming Dee to Special Assignment to talk about her life, memories of her parents and playing Lady Penelope!

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Captain Scarlet book to launch at Special Assignment

Posted on 11th May 2017 by 1266 Nick Williams

Captain Scarlet: The Vault

Special Assignment will see the launch of a lavish new book by former Fanderson chairman Chris Bentley. Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: The Vault celebrates the 50th anniversary of the classic series and is fully authorised by ITV Studios Global Entertainment. We can reveal the cover here for the first time.

Publisher Marcus Hearn was the author of 2015’s Thunderbirds: The Vault. “I see this very much as the follow-up,” he says. “Fanderson’s Mike Jones designed the Thunderbirds book, and I’m pleased to say that he’s working with us on this new project too. Chris Bentley has come up with an amazing amount of material, and we’ve commissioned new photography of the original puppets, studio models and vintage merchandise. We can’t wait to share what we’ve done.”

Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: The Vault is published by Signum Books on 6 October, but Chris will be signing advance copies at the Special Assignment convention on 30 September and 1 October.

TICKET PRICES WILL RISE VERY SOON – SO SIGN UP TODAY!

Tickets to Special Assignment start at just £55 per person for one day, or £90 for the whole weekend. We’ve managed to keep the ticket price the same as The Future Is Fantastic! convention in 2015 because we’re a fan club and no one is taking a salary. Note that Saturday-only or Sunday-only tickets do not include the Saturday evening meal or any other refreshments that are included in the weekend ticket.

Find out more and register now

Guest update: Terry Adlam confirmed for Special Assignment

Posted on 7th May 2017 by 1266 Nick Williams

Dick Spanner - Special Assignment We are very pleased to announce that Terry Adlam will be attending Special Assignment later this year. Terry’s association with Gerry Anderson began when he joined the visual effects team on Terrahawks. He then went on to become the creator, writer and director behind the stop motion comedy series Dick Spanner, that aired in 1986.

Terry has been an enthusiastic supporter of recent Fanderson conventions, and attended both Expect the Unexpected and The Future is Fantastic! in 2013 and 2015 respectively. As an experienced comedy writer, we’re looking forward to hearing some funny stories on stage!

TICKET PRICES WILL RISE VERY SOON – SO SIGN UP TODAY!

Find out more and register now

Alan Perry is coming to Special Assignment

Posted on 2nd May 2017 by 1266 Nick Williams

Captain Scarlet - Alan Perry

We’re thrilled to announce that director Alan Perry will be attending Special Assignment later this year.

Alan joined AP Films as a camera operator on Stingray and Thunderbirds, before cutting his directorial teeth on Captain Scarlet, where he directed some of the series’s most popular episodes, including The Trap and Heart of New York. He then went on to direct episodes of Joe 90, The Secret Service and UFO. A flamboyant character and firm favourite at conventions, we’re looking forward to having Alan with us to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Captain Scarlet!

TICKET PRICES WILL RISE VERY SOON – SO SIGN UP TODAY!

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UFO’s Georgina Moon and Penny Spencer sign up for Special Assignment

Posted on 25th April 2017 by 1266 Nick Williams

We are thrilled to announce that UFO’s Georgina Moon and Penny Spencer will be attending Special Assignment this year.

Georgina played beautiful Skydiver operative Lt. Sylvia Howell, and also appeared in a number of Carry On films. Penny Spencer played an unnamed SHADO control operative, but is best remembered for her role as schoolgirl Sharon Eversleigh in the LWT comedy series, Please Sir!

We are really excited about welcoming both Georgina and Penny to the event, and asking them to share their memories of working on UFO. It will be a – sadly – increasingly rare treat to hear from actors who worked on set with the likes on Ed Bishop, Georges Sewell and Michael Billington. You won’t want to miss this.

TICKET PRICES WILL RISE VERY SOON – SO SIGN UP TODAY!

Find out more and register now

FAB 86 is here!

Posted on 3rd April 2017 by 1266 Nick Williams

Fans of Anderson rejoice – FAB 86 is on its way to all four corners of the globe at supersonic speed.

As you might have guessed from our amazing cover courtesy of co-editor Mike Jones, this issue’s Timelash celebrates The Perils of Penelope. FAB readers can immerse themselves in a world of Parisian suspense and intrigue… plus an exclusive surprise from a top Anderson artist!

Thunderbirds fans will also love our article titled You Bet!, where veteran Fanderson member Martin Townley takes us back to a special day in 1992 when he pt his Thunderbirds knowledge to the test.

In The Big Rat Part One, we look back at the adventures of WIN’s most special agent, Joe 90, both on screen and in print. On the live action front, co-editor Ian Fryer investigates Crossplot, the 1970 live-action Roger Moore feature film which featured the work of Century 21’s special effects team.

This issue also has a distinct extraterrestrial theme. We look back at ten top alien abductions in UFO and bring you the first part of Countdown’s very first Captain Scarlet comic strip. We then fast forward 40 years to New Captain Scarlet, where we take a detailed look at the series’ unforgettable opening story, Instrument of Destruction Part 1, in a fascinating new script to screen.

There’s also all the much-loved regular features, including FAB News, where we report on Fanderson Chairman Nick Williams’s exclusive access to Weta Workshop, the SFX home of Thunderbirds Are Go.

We hope you enjoy!

How to get FAB magazine? Join Fanderson!

FAB magazine is available exclusively to Fanderson club members – we deliver three times a year, and we do our very best to make each issue a joy to read for every fan – regardless of your favourite series!

Find out how to join Fanderson and receive FAB