Steve Cage Terrahawks interviews to appear in best-selling crime thrillers

Posted on 1st September 2015 by 1266 Nick Williams

The 2015 edition of SFX maestro Steve Cage’s best-selling crime thriller, Now The Killing Starts, includes a 25-page interview with the author about how he started his career in SFX on Terrahawks. “Part 1: Working for Gerry Anderson” includes digitally-restored, never-before-seen SFX photos from Terrahawks. Part 2 of the interview carries on in Cage’s To Kill The Queen, with more photos from his work on Terrahawks and Aliens. Book 3, due out in October, also has restored Terrahawks photos of the AS4 and the World President 1, plus many other general SFX shots.

These behind-the-scenes DVD-style extras are in direct response to readers’ desire to learn more about the author.

Please note: only the paperback editions contain the extras, NOT the Kindle versions.

The titles are available from Amazon now for all fans of Terrahawks and fast-paced action-adventure!

…And just to prove that Steve hasn’t left SFX behind altogether, the exploding lorry on the front of Book 3 is a 1/16th scale miniature which he shot! Likewise the cars on the back of Now the Killing Starts. This was the only way to get just the right look for his cover!

Marcus Hearn unlocks Thunderbirds: The Vault

Posted on 28th August 2015 by 1266 Nick Williams

Thunderbirds: The Vault

Gerry Anderson’s official biographer Marcus Hearn has released a sumptuous new Thunderbirds book to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the series.

Thunderbirds: The Vault is a beautifully packaged hardback bursting with design sketches, production memos and specially commissioned photographs of original costumes, studio artefacts and vintage merchandise.

Compiled with the help of Fanderson’s own FAB Co-Editor Mike Jones, the book required unprecedented access to the ITV archive. It also draws upon numerous exclusive interviews with the people who made the show, including John Blundall, David Lane, Alan Perry, Shane Rimmer and Keith Shackleton!

Published by Ebury Publishing and released on 10th September, this book looks like it’s going to be a collector’s dream and is available to pre-order on Amazon now.

About the author

Marcus Hearn is the official biographer of Thunderbirds creator Gerry Anderson and author of the New York Times bestseller Doctor Who: The Vault. His other books include the award-winning The Art of Hammer, Saucy Postcards, The Avengers: A Celebration and Eight Days a Week, the story of The Beatles’ final world tour.

Marcus has written for The Times, The Guardian and The Independent, and has contributed booklet notes, audio commentaries and documentaries to nearly a hundred DVDs and Blu-rays.

He is an associate research fellow at Leicester De Montfort’s Cinema and Television History Research Centre and is the official historian of Hammer Film Productions.

A long-time supporter of Fanderson’s conventions, Marcus will be attending The Future in Fantastic! in October to sign copies of the book. Will you be there too?

New Thunderbirds books: Parker’s cars, Brains’s physics and Penelope’s cocktails

Posted on 11th August 2015 by 1266 Nick Williams

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Thunderbirds, Octopus Publishing has published three special gift books in which Parker, Brains and Lady Penelope speak about their favourite topics!

In Parker’s Cars, Parker gathers together a collection of facts and figures of the greatest motors from the past 50 years, with one car for every year since the creation of the greatest car of all time – FAB1.

Parkers cars book

In Brains Explains Quantum Physics, Brains guides us through a series of seemingly complicated scientific theories and shows how quantum physics plays a central part in all our lives.

Brains explains quantum physics book

And perhaps best of all, in Lady Penelope’s Cocktails, Lady Penelope shares her top 50 Thunderbirds-inspired cocktails, as well as personal anecdotes on other characters’ favourite tipples, and which drinks were used to celebrate successful missions.

Lady Penelope' s cocktail book

By the way, we plan to test some of these splendid cocktails at The Future is Fantastic! in October. Anyone for a Tracy Island Iced Tea…?

Tracy island iced tea

In the meantime…it’s Competition Time!

The lovely people at Octopus Books have given us copies of all the books to give away as prizes to Fanderson club members. To be in with a chance of winning a set of the three books, simply answer these three questions:

1) What is the formula Brains gets Braman to calculate to save the Sun Probe?
2) Which tyres are “best for speed” at Parola Sands?
3) When In Paris, what is Lady Penelope’s favourite tipple?

Send your answers to query@fanderson.org.uk and be prepared to quote your club membership number.

Good luck, and see you for that drink in October!

Thunderbirds Are Go watched by over 1 million UK kids

Posted on 21st July 2015 by 1266 Nick Williams

Thunderbirds Are Go

According to the ITV GE Kids July Newsletter, over 1.3m unique kids in the UK have so far watched Thunderbirds Are Go on ITV and CITV. More boys 6-11 have watched Thunderbirds Are Go than Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Star Wars and Power Rangers for the same age group. In Australia and New Zealand, it was the top-rated show for 5-12 year olds across all channels at the time of launch.

Thunderbirds Are Go is also ready to launch in the Middle East and Israel later in the year. MBC3 will air the series from August. ITV Studios Global Entertainment has appointed MBC as the licensing agent for the market, and Toy Triangle as the master toy partner, with products launching from January 2016.

The series will air on Noga in Israel from December, with toys from Ilanit launching just after the TV broadcast. ITVSGE has appointed LDI as the licensing agent for the region.

Meanwhile, the Tracy Island playset has been listed as one of the ‘Top 10 toys for Christmas’ by Argos, Hamleys and Tesco in the UK. Initial sales of the Thunderbirds Are Go toy range in Australia and New Zealand have proven to be strong. The DVD is also a success, reaching top of the charts at all major retailers according to ITV.

Fans who are signed up to the series official website, www.thunderbirds.com will already be aware of the imminent launch the Thunderbirds Are Go: Bootcamp, featuring a host of weekly activities, downloads, videos, fun facts, polls and quizzes to keep fans engaged until the main site returns with episode 14 in autumn 2015. ITV reports 33,000 active users and over half a million page views per month, with an average 7 minute dwell time.

Original Captain Scarlet mini albums now on sale!

Posted on 11th July 2015 by 1266 Nick Williams

Specially recorded versions of 3 Captain Scarlet episodes
Special narration from Captain Blue

Around fifteen years ago Fanderson released two special mini albums containing four Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons episodes that had previously never been released.

What made them unique was they had been given the ‘mini album treatment’, and contained specially recorded narration by Captain Blue voice artist, Ed Bishop.

Ralph Titterton selected the episodes whilst Cathy Ford and Ros Connors took the scripts and wrote the linking dialogue. The recordings took place at TVS Studios Maidstone in September 1993.

The first two stories, Manhunt and Model Spy were released by Fanderson in 1999 under the title The Manhunt For Captain Black. A second release including Big Ben Strikes Again and The Heart Of New York appeared on the CD The Power Of The Mysterons.

Four other titles were recorded but never released as the club focused on developing its range of highly successful soundtrack albums, the most recent of which is the hugely popular Thunderbirds 50th anniversary 4-disc set.

We have received several requests to re-release the first four Captain Scarlet episodes. Rather than do that, we thought we would take the opportunity to incorporate two of the previously unreleased stories, Flight 104 and Special Assignment, together with Big Ben Strikes Again into a new set. This will form the first of a special range of Captain Scarlet mini albums.

Buy your copy online now!

Please remember that our merchandise is available exclusively to Fanderson club members. If you are not yet a member and want the chance to buy a fantastic range of items from Fanderson sales, you can join Fanderson by completing our online form.

New Thunderbirds episodes are go on Kickstarter

Posted on 9th July 2015 by 1266 Nick Williams

New Thunderbirds episodes Fans have been delighted by news of a new Kickstarter campaign to raise £75,000 for a brand new episode classic Thunderbirds.

Led by director Stephen La Riviere, Thunderbirds 1965 will see the creation of up to three new episodes based on the audio-only ‘mini albums’ released in the 1960s.

The Thunderbirds 1965 project will launch on crowdfunding website Kickstarter on 10th July, and backing the project is the only way that fans from around the globe will be able to watch these new episodes.

In addition to a DVD / Blu-ray of the finished production, project backers have the opportunity to receive other rewards including a photo-book featuring rare and previously unpublished stills from the original series. Backers will also be able to visit the Thunderbirds 1965 production studio and experience the classic model and puppet filmmaking techniques developed fifty years ago.

Stephen La Rivière says: “We have shot new sequences with the puppets using the old-fashioned techniques. Whilst many of the methods used seem a little archaic and time-consuming by today’s standards, we thought that it would be very special to do a one-off project bringing Thunderbirds back to life 1960s style. Sadly, many of the original voice cast have passed away since 1965. However, thanks to the original audio footage we’ve rediscovered, we have new, authentic stories that have never been adapted for screen.”

If you’re interested in backing the project go to the Kickstarter page and donate now!

Thunderbirds are go!

Win a De luxe Thunderbirds jigsaw puzzle!

Posted on 4th July 2015 by 1266 Nick Williams

Fanderson has teamed up with Jumbo Games to offer fans the chance to win one of five de luxe Thunderbirds jigsaw sets.

Released to mark the 50th anniversary of the original Thunderbirds series, this beautiful Collector’s Box Set contains three 500-piece jigsaws depicting craft, characters and famous scenes from the series. Measuring roughly 49cm x 35cm, each jigsaw puzzle comes packaged in its own individual presentation box, and is made from high-quality cardboard to ensure that every piece is hard-wearing.

To be in with a chance of winning, all you need to do is enter the competition that will appear in FAB 81, which will be on its way to Fanderson members at the end of July.

And if you just can’t wait until then, you can buy the box set from Amazon right now!

Not yet a Fanderson member? You can join here.

Parker and Light Fingered Fred figurines to launch at The Future is Fantastic!

Posted on 18th June 2015 by 1266 Nick Williams

22/07/15: Update! Here’s the latest photo of Robert Harrop’s new Parker and Light Fingered Fred figurines. Initially these will be exclusive to attendees at Fanderson’s upcoming convention – The Future is Fantastic!

Fanderson, in association with Robert Harrop, is delighted to announce that these beautiful limited edition Parker and Light Fingered Fred figurines will premiere at Fanderson’s upcoming convention, The Future Is Fantastic.

The early pre-sculpt versions pictured above show the characters in memorable poses from the classic Thunderbirds episode “Vault of Death”, with Parker polishing a boot and Fred complete with fag in mouth.

Sculpted by Anthony Halls, these two figurines will initially be exclusive to attendees at the event, and on sale at a special convention price.

Stock of these fabulous figures will also be available from Robert Harrop after the event through the normal channels…

Another very a very good reason to join us in October!

The Future is Fantastic! So, have you booked your ticket?

The Future is Fantastic! will take place over the weekend of 2nd to the 4th October 2015 at the Holiday Inn Maidenhead.

As well as a wonderful array of special guest panels and interviews, Fanderson’s first full-weekend convention in five years will also feature rare screenings;model, puppet and artwork displays, interactive workshops and games…

…plus a few other surprises!

Archive Anderson interviews on sale for first time

Posted on 10th June 2015 by 1266 Nick Williams

Blast from the Past Productions (run by Jeff Smart and Chris Drake) has released a series of fascinating audio interviews featuring Gerry Anderson, Sylvia Anderson and Ed Bishop.

The archive interviews, conducted in the early 1990s by Chris Drake, have never been released before. Now they have been been brought to the ears of fans in lovely TV21-inspired packaging.

Volumes 1 and 2 go on general sale on 15th June, but you can pre-order your copy now on ebay.

Alternatively you can email BFTPCD@gmail.com for more information.

The discs cost £7.00 each, with post and packing £2.00 (£4.00 overseas). More discs will be released in the coming months, and will build towards a really collectible set. Blast From the Past

Original Lady Penelope puppet goes up for auction

Posted on 5th June 2015 by 1266 Nick Williams

An original Lady Penelope puppet will go up for auction at Bonhams on 24th June. The puppet, which is believed to have been used during the production of the Thunderbirds series as well as the Thunderbirds Are Go and Thunderbird 6, has a guide price of £15,000 – £20,000.

It is believed that the body is an original AP Films / Century 21 production body, with original hip joints, while the hands may have belonged to the one of the Angels from Captain Scarlet!

Thunderbirds sculptors John Brown and Terry Curtis, and puppet operator Wanda Brown, have helped to catalogue this exclusive item.

What do you think? Fan purchase of the decade?!

Find out more