Vivid releases new Thunderbirds Are Go toys

Posted on 5th April 2016 by 1266 Nick Williams

New toys from Vivid – don’t let the Hood get his hands on them!

The latest additions to Vivid’s impressive Thunderbirds Ar Go toy range include an articulated Kayo action figure, a Brains and M.A.X action figure twin pack, and FAB 1, with retractable wings and sound effects.

A Thunderbird Shadow toy, complete with vehicle and communication sounds, and Shadow Bike, is also imminent.

Having taken it for a ‘test drive’, we can confirm that the FAB1 toy lives up the standards of the other vehicles from Vivid, with some excellently captured sounds. Our favourites being, undoubtedly:

Parker: “I believe we’ve got company, m’lady.”

and

Lady Penelope: “Turn the car around, Parker. I have some international rescue business to attend to.”

The Brains, M.A.X. and Kayo action figures are all highly faithful to the characters as they appear in the series, and are both highly durable and fully poseable.

In the UK, Thunderbirds Are Go toys were the second highest-selling new licensed toys of 2015, while Vivid’s supersize TB3 playset was recently voted the best action toy at London Toy Fair.

Sylvia Anderson has Died

Posted on 16th March 2016 by 1266 Nick Williams

Sylvia Anderson, writer, television and film producer – but probably best known the world over as the voice of Thunderbirds’ Lady Penelope – has died at the age of 88, following a short illness.

On hearing the news, Fanderson chairman Nick Williams paid tribute to her:
“Sylvia’s talents and contribution to the AP Films/Century 21 productions have always been acknowledged by Fanderson members, and I was delighted that she could experience this by a long-overdue standing ovation from hundreds of fans at our convention The Future Is Fantastic! in 2015.

“For many years the club had been unable to make contact with Sylvia, and I was so pleased to make amends for this a couple of years ago when we finally met. She was a gracious hostess, full of fun stories and lots of laughter.”

Together with her former husband Gerry Anderson, Sylvia co-created and produced some of the best known family entertainment, including Stingray, UFO and Space:1999. Whilst Gerry was more interested in the technical side of film-making, Sylvia brought humanity and an avant-garde fashion sense to their ventures. But Sylvia will always be best remembered for her puppet creation in Thunderbirds – the aristocratic London agent of International Rescue, Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward.

Following the breakdown of her marriage to Gerry, Sylvia Anderson forged a new career for herself by scouting out new talent as Head of Programming in the UK for the Home Box Office cable network. She had recently co-created and was developing a new television series, The Last Station, with her daughter Dee. And just last year she was re-introduced to the world of International Rescue when she recorded the voice of Lady Penelope’s Great Aunt Sylvia for ITV’s new series Thunderbirds Are Go.

Sylvia leaves a daughter, Dee Anderson, and a son, Gerry Anderson Jr.

Fanderson will pay a full tribute to Sylvia Anderson in FAB 83, due in April 2016

Read the news BBC’s story story here.

Attending Fanderson’s AGM

Posted on 22nd February 2016 by 1266 Nick Williams

Members still have time to let the club know if they wish to attend Fanderson’s annual general meeting on 19th March 2016 in Bracknell, Berkshire.

Last month a flyer was mailed with FAB 82, requesting members to confirm their attendance and raise any issues they wished to see voted on at the AGM. No issues were raised by the deadline of 31st January, but all members are still welcome to attend the meeting. Venue details will be emailed to confirmed attendees nearer the date.

If you wish to attend, please email query@fanderson.org.uk

Thunderbirds-inspired original art to go on sale

Posted on 5th February 2016 by 1266 Nick Williams

Gallery and art publisher Blutulip Publishing has commissioned the artist Alberto Martinez to create a collection of Thunderbirds-inspired original art pieces. As you can see below, Alberto, whose studio is based at the JAG Gallery in Brighton, has put great care and thought into these unique, dream-like pieces:

Fabulous Penelope

Alberto:
“I have always incorporated themes that reflect ‘Britishness’ in my paintings as acclimatising to the culture and surroundings since I moved here has greatly influenced my work. So doing so with the Lady Penelope piece was almost a natural progression. The bus, British Bull Dog inside the car, teapot, Leyland truck and architecture are all nods to British culture. You’ll also notice that Parker has a football which acknowledges that the original Thunderbirds series was produced between 1964 and 1966 (the latter year being when England had a historic victory in the World Cup).”

T2 – International Rescue

T2 - International Rescue

Alberto:
“Thunderbird 2 is almost like Noah’s Ark…providing a place of shelter for the animals from the world we live in. There’s a moral undertone here that is saying that mankind are so busy worrying about their own lives and being materialistic, that they have forgotten about the rest of the living things that share the planet.”

You can take a closer look at these inspiring art pieces at www.blutulippublishing.co.uk/thunderbirds

New Thunderbirds Are Go DVDs released in UK

Posted on 28th January 2016 by 1266 Nick Williams

Thunderbirds Are Go volume 2 Thunderbirds Are Go complete series 1 ITV are set to release two new Thunderbirds Are Go DVDs next week in the UK. Following the thrilling climax to the series last weekend on ITV, fans will be able to buy the last 13 episodes on Volume 2, as well as the entire first series, from February 1st. The full series box set retails at £24.99, while Volume 2 costs £14.99.

We’ll be running a competition for all Fanderson member in the next issue of FAB magazine – so keep your eyes peeled!

Corgi and Vivid Thunderbirds toys hit London Toy Fair

Posted on 24th January 2016 by 1266 Nick Williams

Please note: all toys are products are subject to change.

Fanderson paid a visit to The Toy Fair at Kensington Olympia to check out the latest Thunderbirds Are Go and classic Thunderbirds toys from Vivid Imagination and Corgi, coming you way in 2016…

Corgi 60th anniversary Thunderbirds toys

Supersize Thunderbird 3

This massive toy is quite impressive, and features ‘launch smoke technology’ take off, as well as the usual plethora of sound effects.

Thunderbird 5, FAB1 and Thunderbird S toys

Action figures
A possible new look for the Tracy brothers in series 2?

Clips from the upcoming mobile app game, from Miniclip – please note this is early design/footage and the final game might change

Thunderbirds Are Go boardgame

Brian Johnson interviewed in latest Andersonic issue

Posted on 23rd January 2016 by 1266 Nick Williams

Issue 20 - Andersonic Issue 20 of Andersonic is now available for all discerning fans of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson!

The latest issue of the hit Anderson fanzine includes:

Brian Johnson interview – covering his work on Space 1999, Stingray, Thunderbirds, 2001 and the Alien films

Mark Harrison Interview – CG director on New Captain Scarlet and leader of the Scarlet Team, Mark discusses his work on Gerry’s last series

Thunderbirds 1965 – set visit during the filming of ‘The Abominable Snowman’ episode

Anderson Dream Episodes – clever lateral thinking or a feeble cop-out?

Space: 1999 – Another Time, Another Place – Mark Braxton reviews one of the first series’s weirder episodes

Reviews – Alan Shubrook’s new book, CD21 interview CDs and ‘The Lost Worlds of Gerry Anderson’ DVD

Strip Story – the Andersonic time machine goes back to 1965 to dissect the first issue of TV Century 21

Featuring new art by Richard Smith, issue 20 comprises 44 pages with colour inner & outer covers, and is available to purchase from www.andersonic.co.uk

The Cinema Store to hold closing down sale

Posted on 14th January 2016 by 1266 Nick Williams

Anderson fans may be interested to know that the last remaining film and TV collectors shop left in central London is closing down. The Cinema Store was established in 1994 and will be closing on Saturday 23rd January.

A closing down sale will run from now until then, so if you want to pick up some rare items at bargain prices – this is your chance!

How to get to The Cinema Store

The Cinema Store
Unit 4b Orion House,
Upper St.Martin’s Lane
London,
WC2H 9NY
www.thecinemastore.co.uk

Tel: 0207 379 7838

The nearest tube is Leicester Square

Finishing touches made to Thunderbirds 1965 episodes

Posted on 5th January 2016 by 1266 Nick Williams

Thunderbirds 1965

The Stately Homes Robberies has been screened for the first time at a private event for backers of the Thunderbirds 1965 Kickstarter campaign.

The episode, along with the other two episodes, was shown in a preview screening for backers who had pledged the appropriate amount during the campaign. The rest of us will have to wait just a little longer to see these amazing new productions!

Focus now switches to the production of the rewards for backers, and when the discs will be available for eager fans to watch in the comfort of their own living rooms. Steven La Rivière has revealed that the discs will be accompanied by a number of special extra features, to be confirmed.

An incredible 3,378 backers pledged £218,412 to help make this project a reality, and the delivery of these episodes will be one of the highlights of 2016 for all fans of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s work. We can’t wait to see them!

Make it a Merry Christmas with Fanderson Sales!

Posted on 29th November 2015 by 1266 Nick Williams

Christmas with Fanderson

Important:

Club members need to get their orders in no later than 10th December in order to receive their delivery before Christmas.

Fanderson club members can make it a Christmas to Remember for friends and loved ones with our fantastic range of sales items. 2015 has been a bumper year for Anderson fans in terms of new merchandise, and Fanderson has certainly played its part!

Gerry Anderson Greetings Cards

We have two sets of cards beautifully designed by Jonathan Baxter. These cards are blank inside, and set 2 is perfect for last-minute Christmas greetings.

Soundtrack CDs

Our marquee sales items for 2015 need little introduction. With the 50th anniversary of the original Thunderbirds this year, we knew it was the perfect time to finally release a comprehensive soundtrack that fans would be proud of. Unsurprisingly, this has turned out to be one of our fastest-ever selling items. If you haven’t got a copy of this sumptuous 4-CD set yet – don’t miss out! As with all our sales items, numbers are strictly limited.

We followed up this release in October with another hugely anticipated soundtrack. Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, which launched at The Future is Fantastic! Both releases come with lavish full-colour booklets containing detailed sleeve notes and souvenir slip cases. We really have tried to do justice to every moment of both series, showcasing Barry Gray’s much-loved cues and arrangements as they are heard in the episodes themselves.

Scarlet fans can also purchase the first in our new range of Captain Scarlet mini albums, which contain unique linking narration recorded by the late Ed Bishop in 1993. Allowing you to experience these classic adventures in a completely new way, the first release in the series features two recordings that have never been released before – Flight 104 and Special Assignment – alongside fans’ favourite, Big Ben Strikes Again.

FAB Book of Gerry Anderson Sweet Cigarette Cards – Vol 3

The third and final of Fanderson’s series of Sweet Cigarette Card guides focuses on cards produced to promote SuperCar, Fireball XL5, Stingray and Joe 90.

The Future is Fantastic convention brochure 2015

A full-colour 20-page book produced for The Future is Fantastic!.

A3 Posters

Four beautiful A3 posters produced especially for Fanderson’s 2015 convention, The Future is Fantastic!

Thunderbirds 50th Anniversary Sticker

Released at Fanderson’s convention, The Future is Fantastic!, this sticker celebrates the 50th anniversary of the original Thunderbirds series.

Sweet Cigarette Card Set

Special set of 50 sweet cigarette cards, released to mark Fanderson’s 2015 convention, The Future is Fantastic!

Remember…!

Club members need to get their orders in no later than 10th December in order to receive their delivery before Christmas.