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| TB1 copyright relevant and respective owner. Seller's photo |
Above, a JR21 Thunderbird 1 which I recently won in an eBay auction for a few paltry pounds. I had two of them when I was a kid (at different times), the first being a blue one with grey wings and base, and the second being the same as the one in the pic.
Anyway, I got straight to work on it when it arrived, touching-up the lettering and affixing spare tail fins from a Matchbox electronic TB1 from the '90s. (Pretty much the same size, though the nose-cone is slightly longer.) They were silver, but I painted them a mid-grey, to better complement the rest of the colour scheme.
Then I acquired a repro box (which cost around the same as the toy itself), though I've not yet decided whether I'm going to keep it or not as it's not quite up to the standard I expected. (The image quality is fine, but the end flaps could be cut with more precision.) Anyway, thought you might like to see the result, so that's it below.
Don't look too hard for faults and imperfections 'cos I'm still fine-tuning parts of it. Did you have this toy as a kid, anyone? If so, record your reminisces in our neglected comments section.
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| My photo. Honest, exact same toy in both pics |
8 comments:
Kid - I only had a Dinky Thunderbird 2, with 'legs' that extended, and removable middle section. Thunderbird 1's wing sweep seems similar to the Lightning's:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/133909440@N06/53325113595
Phillip
Took a look, yes, the wings do have a similar sweep, don't they, except they don't pull into the body like TB1. The Dinky TB2 is on the blog somewhere, as is the JR21 version.
Great restoration work, as always, Kid. I used to have a friction motor Thunderbird 1, but do not remember the box at all. Presumably I had the same model, if it is from the same line that did the largish plastic Thunderbird 2 with the grey Mole in the pod?
Keep blogging your various restorations - love 'em!
That's the very one you're looking at, B - friction-drive. There's a photo of me on the blog somewhere, holding one of my original TB1s and its box, not long newly acquired in the '60s. I think that was the first one I had, but not 100% sure. There was also a TB2, some of which had a grey Mole, though more usually it was a green (or red) jeep/land-rover. I've an idea that the one with the Mole was by Molto, but was the same as the JR21 version - same box art and everything. My JR21 TB2 is also on the blog somewhere.
Another superb job, Kid. Sadly I don't have the patience or skill to do anything of that nature. DIY is out of my expertise. I never had any Thunderbirds toys when I was young. A kid I went to school with had everything. Thunderbirds, Space 1999, DC and Marvel mego toys including any vehicles, Action Man, Stretch Armstrong, Six Million Dollar Man and the extended range from that (Oscar Goldman, Maskatron although I did have Maskatron), James Bond DB5, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Evel Knievel, Fighting Furies (Captain Hook, Captain Peg Leg and the Ghost of Captain Kidd). They didn't strike me as being a particularly rich family so I often wondered how they afforded all those toys.
He didn't seem to have to wait for birthdays or Christmas either. I had Action Man, the Lone Ranger and Silver and the Denys Fisher Doctor Who toys. I still have the Doctor Who toys. I am pleased to say, however, I am having an Evel Knievel for Christmas this year, something I always wanted. Not the original but the American reissue from California Creations. Although relatively cheap on their website, the postage to UK is absolutely ridiculous but I was pleased to find it on another US website, although slightly dearer the postage is free. I did have to pay about a tenner in tax. It arrived in a week or two. If any Crivvies are interested, it's below for about £50 at the moment (plus tax). Apologies for digressing, Kid. A lot of the toys you post are the first time I have seen them, so very interesting for me to learn about new things (even if they are old!).
https://www.vat19.com/item/evel-knievel-stunt-cycle
Thanks for the compliment, M, but one of the reasons I utilised tail fins from a later TB1 was because I just didn't have the patience to scratch-build them, which I'm capable of, but just couldn't wait to see it looking complete again. I remember seeing the Evel Knievel toy as a teenager, but it didn't really grab me, though I considered getting one when I saw it reissued a good number of years back. (Maybe one day.) I had a friend like yours who always seemed to be getting new toys, but it turned out he was a shoplifter. And no need to apologise - if all Crivvies stayed 'on-topic', the comments would be far less interesting.
My God. I havent seen one of those in over 50 years.. I once had one of those.
And I haven't owned one of those in over 50 years, LH. Doesn't time fly?!
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