Thunderbirds merchandise
This article discusses tie-ins for Thunderbirds, a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson.
Since its first broadcast in 1965, Thunderbirds has generated more than 3,000 tie-in products. These include episode novelisations, children's toys and video games. In 1995, sales in Japan totalled approximately £60 million a year.
For a discussion of screen adaptations of Thunderbirds, as well as imitations and references in various media, see Works based on Thunderbirds.
Books
Between 1966 and 1967, eight original Thunderbirds novels were written by John William Jennison and Kevin McGarry. Three of the novels focus on the character of Lady Penelope. In 1992, Corgi Books published four children's novelisations, all written by Dave Morris.In 2008, Minnesota-based FTL Publications, in association with Diamond Comic Distributors, launched a new series of original novels by Joan Marie Verba. Verba had attempted to obtain the licence as early as 2004, while Carlton Television was in the process of merging with ITV Granada. After waiting several months, she contacted Granada, and after three years of discussions FTL Publications was finally granted the licence in 2007. It was the first licence for Thunderbirds titles to be given to an American publisher, and the books constitute the first new, official series of Thunderbirds novels to be written since the 1960s. Countdown to Action, published in June 2008, reveals the founding of International Rescue, exploring the establishment of the organisation and the construction of its machines. The other books highlight the individual Tracy brothers, as well as Brains.
List of books
Comics
A comic strip featuring the characters of Lady Penelope and Parker, set prior to their joining International Rescue, debuted in the first weekly issues of AP Films Publishing's children's title TV Century 21 in early 1965, several months prior to the first broadcast of "Trapped in the Sky". A full-length "Thunderbirds" strip debuted in the comic's 51st issue, published in January 1966. Originally written by editor and Thunderbirds TV scriptwriter Alan Fennell, this mostly replaced the "Lady Penelope" strip, which moved to a sister comic of the same name. The "Thunderbirds" strip, illustrated by Frank Bellamy, was the centrepiece of TV Century 21 for 186 issues and 30 serials, until October 1969. At their peak, combined weekly sales of TV Century 21 and Lady Penelope in the 1960s numbered 1.3 million. In 1966, Thunderbirds featured as a strip in the Daily Mail.A Thunderbirds Annual was published by Century 21 Publishing from 1966 to 1968, and a Lady Penelope version until 1969. Thunderbirds also appeared in the parent TV Century 21/TV 21 annual until 1969; the same year, a joint Captain Scarlet and Thunderbirds annual was released. Starting in October 1991, the Bellamy-illustrated strips, as well as some that had first appeared in Lady Penelope, were re-printed in Fleetway Publications' fortnightly Thunderbirds: The Comic. Again edited by Fennell, this new title had a 30-month publication run and achieved peak sales of 100,000 copies. Re-prints had previously appeared in Polystyle Publications' Countdown and Thunderbirds Holiday Special series in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1992, Ravette Books re-printed 13 strips in a graphic album series.
Games
In 1985, the first Thunderbirds video game was released for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum; the title required the player to pilot Thunderbird 1 and Thunderbird 2 and explore an Egyptian-style labyrinth. In 1989, Grandslam Entertainment released a title for the Commodore 64 and Commodore Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, MSX and ZX Spectrum. A NES version was released by Activision the following year. In 1993, a title by Super Famicom, subtitled Kokusou Kyuujotai Shutsudou Seyo!, was released in Japan only. SCi Games published a Game Boy Color title in 2000. The following year, it released a collection of Microsoft Windows themes and screensavers titled "F.A.B Action Pack", as well as Thunderbirds: International Rescue for Game Boy Advance. In 2004, a second Game Boy Advance title was released by Vivendi Universal Games. A new Thunderbirds video game was released in Europe for the PlayStation 2 in July 2007; the North American release was cancelled.IN 2015, a co-operative Thunderbirds board game, designed by Matt Leacock, was released to coincide with the series' 50th anniversary. The game was published by Modiphius Entertainment and three expansion sets were released in 2016.
Home video
The 1980s and 1990s saw a number of Thunderbirds VHS releases by PolyGram and its subsidiary, Channel 5 Video Distribution. These proved to be a significant commercial success for Channel 5. Due to rights concerns, not all episodes were released unedited; some were issued in the "Super Space Theater" format, for which pairs of thematically similar episodes had been combined to create double-length compilation films for US broadcast syndication. The compilations were: Thunderbirds to the Rescue, Thunderbirds in Outer Space and Countdown to Disaster. The videos opened with a brief introduction by Parker, informing the viewer of other Gerry Anderson video releases. Volume 12 contained a selection of Lyons Maid advertisements featuring characters from the Anderson productions, and Volume 14 a "Making of Thunderbirds" featurette.Upon its acquisition of the brand in 1999, Carlton International Media commenced work on re-mastering Thunderbirds for the first Region 2 DVD releases. Dolby 5.1 surround sound was added, and the existing picture and mono sound cleaned up with the aid of digital restoration and noise reduction technology. In addition, the original soundtrack was enhanced with the insertion of new sound effects and background foley.
Region 1 DVDs were released by North American distributor A&E Home Video in 2001, with a "Complete Series" box set following in 2002; it was re-released in slimmer packaging in 2008. The same year, Thunderbirds was released, both in instalments and as a box set, on Blu-ray Disc in the UK. The region-free version distributed in Region B presents episodes in a vertically panned and scanned, aspect ratio; a Japanese set, released by Geneon Universal in 2013, restores the original picture. In 2015, Timeless Media Group and Shout! Factory.
UK releases
The following is not an exhaustive list.| Title | Format | Region | Released | |||
| Countdown to Disaster | VHS | N/A | 1986 | N/A | 4:3 | N/A |
| Thunderbirds in Outer Space | VHS | N/A | 1986 | N/A | 4:3 | N/A |
| Thunderbirds to the Rescue | VHS | N/A | 1986 | N/A | 4:3 | N/A |
| ThunderbirdsVolume 1 | 2 B | 2000 2004 | 1 | 4:3 | DVD/Blu-ray only: Characters FAB Fact File, quiz with behind-the-scenes extra | |
| ThunderbirdsVolume 2 | VHS/DVD/Blu-ray | 2 B | 2000 2004 | 1 | 4:3 | DVD/Blu-ray only: Machines FAB Fact File, vehicles featurette |
| ThunderbirdsVolume 3 | VHS/DVD/Blu-ray | 2 B | 2000 2004 | 1 | 4:3 | DVD/Blu-ray only: Tracy Island FAB Fact File, characters featurette |
| ThunderbirdsVolume 4 | VHS/DVD/Blu-ray | 2 B | 1986 2000 2004 | 1 | 4:3 | DVD/Blu-ray only: Gerry Anderson FAB Fact File, Lady Penelope and Parker featurette |
| ThunderbirdsVolume 5 | VHS/DVD/Blu-ray | 2 B | 1987 2000 2001 2004 | 1 | 4:3 | DVD/Blu-ray only: TV Century 21 records and mini-albums FAB Fact File, making-of featurette |
| ThunderbirdsVolume 6 | VHS/DVD/Blu-ray | 2 B | 1987 2000 2001 2004 | 1 | 4:3 | DVD/Blu-ray only: TV Century 21 Comics FAB Fact File, TV advertisements |
| ThunderbirdsVolume 7 | VHS/DVD | 2 | 1987 2000 2001 2004 | 1 | 4:3 | DVD/Blu-ray only: Novels FAB Fact File, TV advertisements |
| ThunderbirdsVolume 8 | VHS/DVD | 2 | 1987 2000 2001 2004 | 1 | 4:3 | DVD/Blu-ray only: Production crew FAB Fact File, "Secrets" featurette |
| VHS/DVD/Blu-ray | 2 Region-free | 2000 2004 2008 | 9 6 | 4:3 16:9 | DVD/Blu-ray only: "The Thunderbirds Companion", FAB Fact Files, CD-ROM cross-sections, featurettes, original artwork and memorabilia, TV advertisements | |
| The Brains Behind Thunderbirds | VHS | N/A | 2000 | N/A | 4:3 | N/A |
| ThunderbirdsVolume 9 | VHS | N/A | 2001 | N/A | 4:3 | N/A |
| ThunderbirdsVolume 10 | VHS | N/A | 2001 | N/A | 4:3 | N/A |
| ThunderbirdsVolume 11 | VHS | N/A | 2001 | N/A | 4:3 | N/A |
| ThunderbirdsVolume 12 | VHS | N/A | 2001 | N/A | 4:3 | Lyons Maid advertisements |
| ThunderbirdsVolume 13 | VHS | N/A | 2001 | N/A | 4:3 | N/A |
| ThunderbirdsVolume 14 | VHS | N/A | 2001 | N/A | 4:3 | "Making of" featurette |
| ThunderbirdsVolume 15 | VHS | N/A | 2001 | N/A | 4:3 | N/A |
| ThunderbirdsVolume 16 | VHS | N/A | 2001 | N/A | 4:3 | N/A |
| UMD | Unknown | 2006 | 1 | Unknown | Unknown | |
| HD21/This is Supermarionation | Blu-ray | B | 2014 | N/A | 4:3 | N/A |
US releases
The following is not an exhaustive list.| Title | Format | Region | Released | Distributor | |||
| Countdown to Disaster | VHS | N/A | N/A | N/A | 4:3 | N/A | |
| Thunderbirds in Outer Space | VHS | N/A | N/A | N/A | 4:3 | N/A | Family Home Entertainment |
| Thunderbirds to the Rescue | VHS | N/A | N/A | N/A | 4:3 | N/A | Family Home Entertainment |
| ThunderbirdsVolume 1 | VHS/DVD | 1 | 2001 | 2 | 4:3 | DVD/Blu-ray only: "The Making of Thunderbirds" vintage featurette, photo gallery, production credits | A&E Home Video |
| ThunderbirdsVolume 2 | VHS/DVD | 1 | 2001 | 2 | 4:3 | DVD/Blu-ray only: photo gallery, production credits | A&E Home Video |
| ThunderbirdsSet 3 | VHS/DVD | 1 | 2001 | 2 | 4:3 | DVD/Blu-ray only: "The Making of Thunderbirds" vintage featurette, photo gallery, production credits | A&E Home Video |
| ThunderbirdsSet 4 | VHS/DVD | 1 | 2001 | 2 | 4:3 | DVD/Blu-ray only: photo gallery, production credits | A&E Home Video |
| ThunderbirdsSet 5 | DVD | 1 | 2002 | 2 | 4:3 | Photo gallery, production credits | A&E Home Video |
| ThunderbirdsSet 6 | DVD | 1 | 2002 | 2 | 4:3 |
| A&E Home Video |
| ThunderbirdsMegaset | DVD | 1 | 2002 | 12 | 4:3 | A&E Home Video | |
| The Best of Thunderbirds | DVD | 1 | 2004 | 2 | 4:3 | A&E Home Video | |
| Thunderbirds40th Anniversary Collector's Edition Megaset | DVD | 1 | 2008 | 12 | 4:3 | A&E Home Video | |
| ThunderbirdsThe Complete Series | 1 | 8 6 | 4:3 | "Launching Thunderbirds" documentary, vintage publicity brochure | Shout! Factory |
Music
The first Thunderbirds-exclusive music record was the mini-album Great Themes from Thunderbirds, published by Century 21 Records in 1967. Two soundtrack albums were released by Silva Screen Records, to favourable reviews on the AllMusic website and by Uncut magazine, in 2003 and 2004. A 40th-anniversary releaseThe Best of Thunderbirds, a double album featuring music from the first two CDs in addition to three previously unreleased tracks and exclusive CD-ROM contentwas released in 2005. In 2015, Fanderson released a four-disc set for its members in celebration of the 50th anniversary; it contains music either written for, or used in, all but one episode.Beyond the TV series, composer Barry Gray's contributions to Thunderbirds included four original songs recorded exclusively for audio release: "Lady Penelope", "Parker", "Parker Well Done" and "The Abominable Snowman", all sung in character by Sylvia Anderson and David Graham.
Soundtrack releases
1960s
2000s
2010s
Toys
When Thunderbirds was first broadcast, AP Films Merchandising awarded licences to companies including Matchbox and Dinky to manufacture plastic and die-cast toy vehicles. It issued approximately 120 such licences, even buying a company to keep up with demand. Among the first items released by Dinky were a blue Thunderbird 2 and a FAB 1, of which more than two million were produced. By 1966, commentators had dubbed the end-of-year shopping season "Thunderbirds Christmas" in the light of the series' popularity., highly sought after in the early 1990s|alt=Scale, toy model of a tropical island, with stationary, futuristic air- and spacecraft and "Thunderbirds" title
Japanese model kits of the vehicles continued to be marketed into the 1980s. In the early 1990s, Matchbox launched a new range of toys to coincide with the series' revival on the BBC. Sales in the run-up to Christmas 1991 suffered when demand overwhelmed supply. However, by Christmas 1992, the series had provided manufacturers and retailers with the most successful UK merchandising campaign since Star Wars. Matchbox's Tracy Island playset quickly became the UK's most sought-after toy, resulting in stock shortages, fights in shops, and a black market for the item; the story was reported in the national press. The 1991 Matchbox range included:
- Tracy Island Electronic Playsetwith sounds and moveable palm trees. The stock shortage caused by this item's popularity was reported on BBC News.
- Electronic Thunderbird 1with mechanised wings, firing light and sound
- Electronic Thunderbird 2with sounds and miniature Thunderbird 4
- Die-cast Thunderbirds 1 to 4 and FAB 1were also available in commemorative packaging as a Radio Times exclusive
- Pullback-action Thunderbirds 1, 2 and 4
- Thunderbird 2 pod vehiclesthe Mole, Firefly and Recovery Vehicle; all compatible with the electronic Thunderbird 2
- Action figuresTracy brothers, Jeff Tracy, Brains, the Hood, Lady Penelope and Parker
- DollsTracy brothers
In 1993, the BBC children's programme Blue Peter broadcast a making-of showing viewers how to build their own Tracy Island out of "old newspaper, pipe cleaners, yoghurt pots, cereal packets and bits of sponge". Demand for a free instruction sheet detailing the process was so high that the BBC stopped sending the sheets out and released presenter Anthea Turner's demonstration, titled "Blue Peter Makes a Thunderbirds Tracy Island", on home video.
When the BBC repeated Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons in the early 2000s, the Thunderbirds toy licence was re-issued to Vivid Imaginations, who produced a new range for the series' second BBC revival in 2000. The 2000 Vivid Imaginations range included:
- Tracy Island Soundtech Electronic Playsetwith 12 sounds
- Tracy Island Powertech Transforming Playsetwith vehicle hangars and sounds
- Thunderbirds 1 to 4 Soundtech Electronic Playsetswith miniature figures and sounds
- Action Adventure Setto scale with the Thunderbird 2 playset, featuring the Mole, Firefly, the Hood's submarine and six figures
- Thunderbirds 1 to 5, FAB 1 and the Mole
- Action figures and dolls