Fanderson confirms first guests for The Future is Fantastic!

Posted on 31st January 2015 by 1266 Nick Williams

Fanderson is excited to reveal the first confirmed guests for The Future is Fantastic!, the club’s first full weekend convention in five years. No less than eight people from across the Spectrum of Gerry Anderson series have so far kindly agreed to give up their free time to be with us and meet fans, and there will be more to follow! The current list includes:

Shane and Sheila Rimmer
Thunderbirds Are Go! might be just around the corner, but fans know that there is only one Scott Tracy! Forever to be known as the voice of Thunderbird 1 pilot, Shane has also had a long-running and successful career as a writer.

Shane will be accompanied by his wife Sheila, and has been a mainstay at conventions for many years.

Matt Zimmerman
Mr Alan Tracy returns once more to entertain us with his vibrant humour and general enthusiasm for life! A successful stage actor, Matt is a real fans’ favourite at conventions. Watch out for his insights into the lives of the Tracy Brothers…

Steve Woodcock
Known by fans for his model work on Terrahawks, alongside his colleague John Lee, Steve provided a fascinating slideshow of his work at Fanderson’s 30th Birthday event for Terrahawks back in 2013.

Judy Preece
As a puppeteer on Terrahawks, Judy was tasked with bringing life and character to Gerry Anderson’s new style of ‘Supermacromation’ puppetry.

Gary Tomkins
Since cutting his teeth as an art director on Terrahawks, Gary Tomkins has gone on to have a successful work in the film industry, including work on the Harry Potter and Star Wars series.

Alan Shubrook
Working alongside Derek Meddings, Alan was a modelmaker during the heydays of Century 21 at Slough and has since published a fascinating book on the subject.

Richard James
An established actor in films and children’s TV, Richard played the likeable Officer Hubble Orrin in Space Precinct.

Future-is-fantastic-1

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

We hope to confirm more guests soon – keep watching this space!

In the meantime, you can…

New Century 21 FX set from Alan Shubrook and Mike Trim

Posted on 6th December 2014 by 1266 Nick Williams

A set of limited edition memorabilia that follows on from Alan Shubrook’s popular book, Century 21 FX – Unseen Untold, has been released in time for Christmas.

The set contains a 36-page brochure featuring new and exclusive stories and photos, including a look at Alan Shubrook’s recent visit to the old Century 21 Studios in Slough, where the special effects pits are still clearly visible.

The set also features 3 brand new, exclusive limited edition prints from Mike Trim depicting some of the vehicles he designed during his time at Century 21. Pictured here is the Domo, from Thunderbirds.

Priced £42.99, the set has been strictly limited to 1,000 copies in order to preserve the exclusivity of the collection. Uk -based fans should order their copy before Tuesday 16 December to guarantee their package is sent out before the final Christmas posting day.

You can order your copy by visiting www.century21fxexclusive.com

Mike Trim and Alan Shubrook to appear at RAF Museum London

Posted on 1st May 2014 by 1266 Nick Williams

Royal Air Force Museum London

Artist and designer Mike Trim and model-maker Alan Shubrook will be make guest appearances at the RAF Museum London in May.

Model Futures will examine the art of science fiction model making in film and television through a series of talks and presentations on 11th May.

The special one-day event celebrates the art of science fiction model making in film and television with talks and presentations by industry insiders.

At 12 noon there will be a one-hour presentation by Alan Shubrook on how the Thunderbirds episodes were made, including hundreds of behind-the-scenes photographs.

At 3pm Mike Trim discusses his artwork in conversation with Mat Irvine.

Find out more and book your ticket now!

Alan Shubrook’s 50th Anniversary Thunderbirds Special

Posted on 5th April 2014 by 1266 Nick Williams

Alan Shubrook - Thunderbird anniversary special

Alan Shubrook

Ian Fryer reviews a beautiful Thunderbirds publication from Alan Shubrook.

AP Films/Century 21 special effects technician Alan Shubrook has followed up his book Century 21 FX with a lavishly illustrated 16-page glossy brochure celebrating the 50th production on Thunderbirds. The brochure makes a real effort to take the reader back to the heady days of the mid 1960s.

Although this is largely a Thunderbirds-focused publication, other series get a look-in. Happily, this includes one of my own favourites, Joe 90. Alan reveals that this was a series much-loved by the crew, its production taking place in a more relaxed, creative atmosphere than the hectic Thunderbirds/Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons period.

With the announcement of the closing of Century 21 Studios in late 1969 there is the sense of an opportunity missed that the studio wasn’t converted into a effects studio for hire for other productions. Alas, although the studio did indeed do a small amount of such work, this was probably the right idea some five or six years too early. Had Lew Grade been willing to fund such a project is would undoubtedly have been crushed by the terrible recession that engulfed the British film industry in 1973.

The brochure is very well-written and contains a fabulous set of stills, mostly taken by Alan Shubrook, a keen photographer, himself. It is now available to be purchased via Ebay here

Alan will be doing THUNDERBIRDS 50TH ANNIVERSARY PRESENTATIONS LOOKING BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE MAKING OF THUNDERBIRDS, WITH OVER 350 PHOTOGRAPHS on Sunday 11th May RAF Museum Hendon then Saturday and Sunday 17th & 18th May RAF Museum Cosford.

Sylvia Anderson interviewed in Andersonic

Posted on 14th March 2014 by 1266 Nick Williams

Andersonic logo Issue 17 of the popular Gerry Anderson fanzine Andersonic is now available to buy online!

As we have come to expect, the March issue contains the usual high standard of interviews, reviews and articles. Issue 17 features two amazing interviews. The first, with Alan Shubrook, covers his career at Century 21 and is illustrated with some of his rare behind-the-scenes photos. The second is an exclusive interview with Sylvia Anderson, in which she talks about her work in the creating and casting Lady Penelope, Parker, the Angels and Ed Straker!

Other juicy morsels not to be missed…:

Space:1999/ Siren Planet – a look at the original script written by Art Wallace, which was later rewritten by Johnny Byrne to become the series’ second episode ‘Matter of Life and Death’.
Thunderbirds/ Desperate Intruder – two writers take opposing views on this desert adventure where Brains finds himself up to his neck in it.
UFO/The Long Sleep – we curl up with a tube of Smarties and take a look at one of the weirder UFO episodes. Take a trip with us back to that ruined farmhouse…
Home Taping: 1999 – Mark Rosney recalls the days before VHS.
Strip Story – we look at an individual comic strip story to see what makes it tick. This issue – Countdown’s UFO story ‘The Final Climb’ drawn by Jon Davis.

Issue 17 also features internal art by Steve Kyte and a cover image by Martin Bower.

Buy your issue today at www.andersonic.co.uk