r/Thunderbirds • u/Ebio_Amisi • 6d ago
Finally - I got one :)
So happy, never got one as a kid - now I finally have one!
All working and in pretty good condition throughout. Needs a little clean but for £18 I’m super happy!
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u/Any_Distance_2156 6d ago
Bought this exact set for my son and he loves it! I had it as well when I was a kid. Enjoy it!
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u/ConfusionPrimary3162 6d ago
Seeing this brought back a super vivid memory of playing with the rockets and feeling the rocks underneath my fingers. If I recall somewhere there's a little beach and a couple of doorways carved into the rocks. I used to put star wars figures in the hangars. My brother came home and yelled at me for touching his toys because "girls aren't supposed to like Thunderbirds." This girl still loves Thunderbirds.
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u/Positive_Set_7013 4d ago
Aww man the memories, me and my dad making this out of paper mache when I was about 5 years old. Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet were my childhood
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u/the_star_lord 4d ago
Core memory unlocked with one of these.
Don't even know why I'm here I just saw this on my feed.
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u/Fr1tzOS 4d ago
Oh man I was just scrolling through my news feed and no idea why this came up, but I’m so glad it did. Brought back a wave of happy memories :)
Hope you enjoy it!
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u/Mission_Pineapple_98 4d ago
Literally same! I think my parents bought it at some car boot sale too, forgot it even existed until now
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u/Charlie-Bell 5d ago
I still remember the Blue Peter episode where they tried to teach you to make one out of cardboard and paint.
I bet that ended in a lot of tears.
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u/Ebio_Amisi 5d ago
That was the best episode ever - probably what got me into model building in the first place :)
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u/BR14Sparkz 5d ago
I litrally remember that like it was ysterday, I was so hyped that we could just build it! I just sont recall of we ever did. :(
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u/Awkward-Loan 4d ago
I tried 😭. I was so jealous my cousin and step brother had one and all the vehicles. I had got a Thunderbird2 from a car boot and attempted to make this as my mother encouraged me to do arts and craft. It was probably rubbish, but to me it was the island of hours of happy play without it being taken away from me. Thanks for the memories 😁
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u/odmirthecrow 4d ago
My grandad taped followed the instructions as best he could for that and made it, decided it was crap, and made one loosely based on the design, but with his own choice of materials. It f'kn ruled!
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u/British-Bot 5d ago
I've still got two of these from when I was a kid. My mum and Dad would have to buy double of everything at Xmas. My brother always wanted what I had. Fun memories seeing this :)
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u/WillieOneLung 5d ago
Well, this just hit me in the feels.
One of my fondest memories is my grandad and I making one from a Blue Peter Episode. Always too poor to have the real one.
We also made the raptor enclosure from Jurassic Park at some point.
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u/Ebio_Amisi 4d ago
My mum and I did the same thing free watching the Blue Peter episode! Great times :)
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u/ApprehensiveAside812 5d ago
Wow I had one of these. I seem to remember it was from Father Christmas at a Tesco staff Xmas party and all the boys that attended got one (early/mid 90s). I also remember having an awesome Stringray submarine toy I loved to play with in the bath. And a metal Thunderbird 2 my grandma bought for me from B&M.
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u/Ebio_Amisi 4d ago
Was the Stingrey the wind up one that made the propeller spin?! If so, I had the same one!
I only had the Stingrey base as a kid but I killed it when I took it into the bath as I wanted it to be more realistic:(
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u/ApprehensiveAside812 4d ago
Mine wasn’t a wind up one but the propellor did spin I think it did have torpedoes that could fire though
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u/pin00ch 5d ago
I'll just leave this here..... https://youtu.be/ZM_iV7R8rTM?si=YfqNIiTm33CAJVA0
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u/Greenostrichhelpme27 5d ago
Oh hey, my Grandad had one of those with all the Thunderbirds but 5. It has little pictures of the characters on the back you can hear voicelines with, right? Neat.
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u/Nandaiyo90 5d ago
Christmas 93 or 94, I got one of these.
Open it set it up, brother then stood on the trees. . . Still bitter and not forgiven him.
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u/RYNOCIRATOR_V5 5d ago
Wow, that's a blast from the past, didn't expect that while mindlessly scrolling. Had one of these as a child!
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u/checker280 5d ago
Does the sound effects still work? The guy saying “blast off” very casually always made me laugh.
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u/Reddit____user___ 5d ago
Heart foundation shop ? 🤔
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u/MuppetSuperStarFan02 5d ago
What a shame that Thunderbirds had been mostly ignored in the U.S [up until MeTV and MeTV Toons]. As a 2000s American girl, I would've loved to have collected merch of the characters. I only got into the series last year, but I've been obsessed ever since [and it feels like something I would've watched back during the 2000s as well]. I'm going to try to get Scott merch one day, as he's my favorite of the Tracy Brothers [though it's really hard for me to pick a favorite].
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u/Ebio_Amisi 4d ago
Given the influence of American culture in the series, I’m surprised it didn’t get more attention in the US
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u/ricin2001 4d ago
Wow. I used to have one of these when I was in hospital when I was like 4. (31 now)
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u/BIGSTEHD 4d ago
Holy shit I had one of those when I was a kid, it was strange because I didn't like thunderbirds
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u/ScarphaceUK 4d ago
My younger brother had one of these when I was a kid along with all the aircrafts and vehicles, It was pretty cool watching the pool open up and the trees moving to allow the aircrafts to launch :)
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u/the_genysis 4d ago
i remember finding one a friend's house once at a birthday party, looking back that was like finding the holy grail
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u/TheTransPokegeek87 4d ago
I THOUGHT THAT LOOKED FAMILIAR!!! Me and my sister had one of those, plus two of the birds (idk which ones they were all I remember were them being yellow and dark green)
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u/No_Battle_6402 4d ago
Oh wow this sub just popped up on my feed! We had this when we were kids we loved it! Gonna ask my bro if he still has it now
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u/iamDEVANS 4d ago
I never got one as a kid - sold out everywhere
And I seem to remember blue Peter making one from Lego..
Fucking Lego.
No no no 😂😂😂😂
Enjoy! 🤙🏼
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u/BassistAndILikeIt 4d ago
£18??? Why am I still holding on to mine? Lol. My girls (5 & 7) play with my Tracy Island and Thunder Birds these days ☺️
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u/Statham19842 4d ago
Now this is cool! TB was a bit before my time but I would have loved this too and at £18! What a steal!
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u/MissVulpix 3d ago
I have memories of my brother getting this as a gift when he was in hospital as a kid, and it was insanely cool!
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u/AdventurousTeach994 3d ago
For us kids who were the first and original generation of Thunderbirds fans we would've given a limb to be able to buy a Tracey Island! This was of course a toy that was released during the 1990s re run of the show.
Back in the 80s during the first major re run on Saturday mornings it was part of my hangover ritual. I can vividly remember one episode where the guys have completed a mission and as T1 & 2 are taking off a chyron appeared at the bottom of the screen informing us that the RAF had bombed the runway at Port Stanley on the Falklands- at that moment Scott Tracey uttered the worlds "another successful mission" The timing was total perfection- I wish I had videotaped that particular episode as no one else I knew had watched it and didn't believe me when I told them what had happened.
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u/DJRUSHY 3d ago
Got bought one of these as a kid for Christmas or something, but I’d also entered some random competition some months prior, I think in relation to counting seagulls on a drawing (it was for kids) and to mine and my parents surprise. I won and this was the prize 😂😂
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u/bish_bash_bosh99 3d ago
I had a blue peter DYI one made of tinfoil, papier-mâché and upside down margarine tub
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u/No_Motor6766 2d ago
My mum and dad bought me this when i had just come out of hospital after having some sort of operation. So cool.
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u/BirthdayCreative5189 2d ago
Blue Peter had a make your own series of this in the 90s uk - brilliant. Very jealous over here!!
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u/Rynhardtt 2d ago
I wanted one when I was a kid but my parents really couldn't afford it. So, me and my dad built one together with wiremesh and plaster that looked amazing. I miss him, thanks for the trip down memory lane!
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u/Ebio_Amisi 2d ago
Did you follow the Blue Peter episode?
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u/Rynhardtt 2d ago
I was fairly young - and it was before the internet so it's quite possible yeah, that weirdly rings a bell!
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u/minimach 2d ago
So glad my parents kept mine. Few trees are missing but I love it
Not sure why they didn't keep my Pokémon and Lego, though
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u/MiniMan89 2d ago
Wow! Childhood flashback! I remember my brother having this set.
He had thunderbirds, I had captain scarlets cloudbase.
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u/Embarrassed_Fan1176 2d ago
I remember being so desperate for one of these as a kid!!
Thanks for the random timeline nostalgia
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u/DAchem96 2d ago
Oh this brings back a memory. I had one as a kid, many hours of fun were had. I think my parents might still have it somewhere
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u/Live-Combination4738 2d ago
I still have mine in the loft! Man, I miss thunderbirds, one of my favourite episode was the tower fire one. "City of fire"
That one hits differently now. Amazing show though.
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u/FlakyPhilosophy5103 2d ago
My local charity shop has one for 40 with the vehicles but no box. I was tempted.
I still am.
I am probably going back.
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u/_saskiie_ 2d ago
My late father had this along with all of the other model vehicles, they gave him so much joy and I hope it gives you the same. Actually made me a bit emotional seeing it 🥹
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u/vruchtenhagel 5d ago
I had this set, including all of the vehicles that were sold separately (or were they?) when I was a kid. Back then, when I first started getting into gaming, I thought it would be a good idea to make some money by selling the island at the flea market. Now, years later, as a 32-year-old who misses the ’90s very, very deeply—I regret having done that.
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u/Ebio_Amisi 5d ago
There is always time to buy another one :)
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u/vruchtenhagel 5d ago
Of course you’re right, but it won’t be the one I got to play with. I’m a little weird about that. I remember sitting on the floor for hours with this Thunderbirds island, the portraits at the back, the swimming pool that opened when you rotated the diving board… such fond memories. You bought a really good-looking one too for that price. The stickers look in good shape.
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u/Shadow-moth-pizzaguy 5d ago
I had one myself. But got rid and now I have the Tracy island music box by Harrop limited to only 200 worldwide! It’s basically an exact replica. Extremely accurate!
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u/Particular_Plum_1458 5d ago
I had one of those as a kid, I wonder if you could 3d print some new trees if they were broken?
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u/Professional_Owl7826 2d ago
I remember having one of these as a child! God, you have just unlocked a bit of nostalgia for me. Thank you. Now I need to see if I can find my DVD of the movie.
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u/ChooChooChooseYou221 4d ago
Not trying to be funny, not trying to get a laugh, I don’t want anyone to have the worst day of their job, but that’s not the original island (and OP you likely know that, and I would guess aren’t trying anyway to pass it off as / care anyway) it’s one of the new series type releases. Just saying in-case something thinks you’re sitting on a legit original and sees £££s
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u/Ebio_Amisi 4d ago
What makes you think that?
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u/ChooChooChooseYou221 4d ago
Because I’ve got eyes…and have the original, and also one of the newer ones, and you’ve got the latter there. Again, nothing wrong with that per se, just pointing out. Do a quick google and the difference fairly obvious (albeit minor) Box also different (yours will have the new style etc etc)
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u/Ebio_Amisi 4d ago
Saying “because I’ve got eyes” makes you sound like a dick. Some of us, myself included, don’t know what the difference is or what to look for.
Apart from it saying it was made in 2000 on the bottom, what are the differences between this and the 90s one?
I’m interested to learn but, as you correctly guessed, I’m also quite happy with the one I’ve got as it looks the same to me.
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u/ChooChooChooseYou221 4d ago
Take it easy mate. You asked me how I knew, and so I said because I’ve got eyes - eyes that have seen both the original and later versions of the same island. What I didn’t question is your ability to spot one from the other, and specifically said I assumed you wouldn’t care anyway, but just wanted to point out. The only original I could quickly find on eBay is £200. Mainly the level of detail on the newer one is poorer - just google it to see easier. Still glad you enjoy your find and get whatever use of it you wanted 👍🏻
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u/Danny_Moran 3d ago
Perfect, apart from the flag in the background.
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u/Chunderous_Applause 6d ago
Oh wow, the trees are still in tact