Gerry Anderson Build

[Mossie]

Theres been a lot of talk about Thunderbirds recentley, & a GB has been mentioned a couple of times, so I thought 'why not?'

Basically, kit bash something that would look at home in one of Gerry Andersons shows.  Thunderbirds, Stingray, Captain Scarlet, Space 1999, Joe 90, Thunderhawks, UFO etc, all would be elligible (even The Adventures of Twizzle if you really want to!).  It could be one of the 'stars' of a show like a new Thunderbird, upgrade to the  Angel Interceptors or Eagle derivative, one of the minor stars, like Fireflash, or the Hoods all terrain vehicle, or even one of the incidental vehicles like the Helijets or World Navy Aircraft.

Pretty much the only rules would be it would have the right look for the show you chose & no oob off-the-shelf-kits Gerry Anderson kits although no reason you couldn't modify these.

I guess if this GB is accepted by the Mods, it'll have to be either late this year or even early next year, but lots of time to get your ideas together!

Who's interesed then???

Simon.

[Gary]

I'd love to but with the Anderson kits I have, how would I improve them?

[Spey_Phantom]

in the words of a thunderbirds fan

Gerry Anderson GB is GO  B)  

[jcf]

As to modifying existing kits, in 'the future was fab:The Art of Mike Bair' he mentions the following in a note about the MiG 242 from 'Joe 90':
"As the Art Department had gone through the expense of having a good quality cockpit for the Angel Interceptor made, they wanted to get their money's worth by using it in as many ways as possible. This was the first of many times I found myself trying to incorporate the distinctive Angel shape into my designs."

Cheers, Jon

[The Rat]

I've often wanted to see Thunderbird 2 in RCAF Transport Command colours, lightning stripe and all!    

[chadders]

The rule of thumb when it comes to doing a "Gerry Anderson" on a plane seems to me to be:

If it's swept back, sweep it forward
Why have one fuselage when two is better!

Ok, I think I must have watched wayyyyyyyy too much Gerry Anderson stuff!!!!!!
   I started this on Sunday, but I think you can see where I got the idea from   .




Mark

[Mossie]

I'd love to but with the Anderson kits I have, how would I improve them?

Gary, there'd be no real limit on modification, do what you feel.  It just needs to be able to fit into the show of choice.  Upgrade it with extra equipment, make improvements on aspects your not keen on (I always thought stingray could have been sleeker), or change the colour scheme (see below) or anything else that seems right.  You could swap shows, i.e., put Thunderbird 3 in Captain Scarlet or even Space Precinct, this often happened with the models as they were expensive & time consuming to build.

I've often wanted to see Thunderbird 2 in RCAF Transport Command colours, lightning stripe and all! 

Rat, I think as long as you can work out a backstory to how it would fit into an episode of Thunderbirds (& the same goes for other shows) then doing a simple paint job change should be okay.  It needs to fit into the Gerry Anderson world though, most countries named were fictional although some real ones were named or insinuated.

What you've got to think about is how T2 would get into RCAF hands?  International Rescue were very secretive & Brains built the Thunderbird designs exclusively for them, although he was known to consult on projects.  Did they steel the plans?  Did Brains do some contract work?  Were the plans sold after T2 was retired?  Although it's known that Jeff Tracey was an astronaut, it's never stated (IIRC) he was a US astronaut?  The accents are dodgy enough he could have been canadian (Canadians in space, theres an idea)!  Did he direct Brains to lean heavily on a Canadian design?

Am I going too far guys?  My intention was to keep things in the Gerry Anderson Universe, rather than rolling it out into the 'real world'.

[The Rat]

My intention was to keep things in the Gerry Anderson Universe, rather than rolling it out into the 'real world'.

Okay, missed that bit (I'm always a bit slow after getting up, I get better toward bedtime   )

OR... There could be two categories, one for the Thunderbird universe and one for the designs in service with real nations. And to be frank I wasn't really thinking of getting in on the GB anyway, just tossing an idea out for anyone who wants to run with it.

As far as Canadians go, I read on the Wiki entry that there was only one American voice actor on the show, the rest were British, Australians, and, (drum roll) Canadians!    

[The Rat]

All right Chadders, that's enough of this 'fooling around on the internet' business, you've got work to do. We want to see that finished ASAP.

Come on lad, hop to it!

(wipes drool from keyboard...)    

[chadders]

Its 1:10 in the morning!!!!!! I only came on because I couldn't sleep and I was waiting for the kettle to boil so I could have a cup of tea!!
   More will be done tomorrow though. I've hacked up a couple of wings that I'm going to attach as verticle stabilisers, but mount them at an angle et al the F/A-18, but I used the original kit parts as a guide so that I got the approximate size right

[Mossie]

That's just the kind of thing Mark, twin Gnats, great inspiration!  Looks lovely so far!  Are you intending to finish as a Gerry Anderson type aircraft or something else?  Glenn did something similar a short while ago, although it had a triple hull, have a look here:
http://www.whatifmodelers.com/forum//index...c=13502&hl=gnat

Lots of material here for anyone interested, including details on the modifying of the Starfighter & Draken for use in the shows, model schematics
http://www.tvcentury21.com/content/section/5/41/
http://www.tvcentury21.com/content/section/4/31/

[Mossie]

Arrrgh, why does everyone on this forum type fater than me?!?!?

OR... There could be two categories, one for the Thunderbird universe and one for the designs in service with real nations. And to be frank I wasn't really thinking of getting in on the GB anyway, just tossing an idea out for anyone who wants to run with it.

Good idea!  Rat, I've got admit, I'd love to see T2 in RCAF Rescue markings if you do choose to get involved.

Another member of Insomniacs R Us Chadders? Can't wait to see that twin Gnat finished, Rat's right, I want to see it done when I wake up in the morning!  

[chadders]

I don't know how to finish it at the moment. I have however found some Spectrum roundals in my decal bank, so I could go Captain Scarlet.  
   Before I get to that stage I need to make up my mind about what to do with the canopies. The Gnat canopies look a bit pants, so I may have to go on the hunt for something a little more snazzy

[Mike Wren]

count me in for this one

must stock up on Mole chassis...    

[Mossie]

Looks like theres a decent amount of interest already!

For inspiration & an unashamed trip down memory lane, here's the titles from several of Gerry Andersons shows courtesy of YouTube:

Supercar
Fireball XL5
Stingray
Stingray Aqua Marina Song  (The song from an episode, couldn't find the closing titles)
Thunderbirds
Captain Scarlet Opening Titles
Captain Scarlet End Credits
Joe 90
UFO
Space 1999
Terrahawks Opening Titles
Terrahawks 'Noughts & Crosses' End Credits
Space Precinct

Enjoy!