I know what you mean. The machine in 'At The Earth's Core' is quite similar. It us a different model. The miniature of the Mole was about 2 feet long, the model built for the Doug McClure / Peter Cushing extravaganza was about 10 feet long... I did a fake 'What If' model kit box of the Iron Mole from 'At the Earth's Core'. Which is featured in this video. At approx 2:47 th-cam.com/video/NX5B1TUUOA0/w-d-xo.htmlsi=S0FkAGJh-woqdeOd
Especially due to your detailed exposition of the vehicles track systems and their origins, you have proven that even a 60 year-old Thunderbirds fan can still learn new information.
I have seen all of the episodes so many times. But it is being shown again, on Talking Pictures TV. And it's a thrill to tune in and not know what.episode it will be. Just like when I was 10 years old. I still see new stuff in every episode. And I am constantly impressed at how good the show looks. Everyone involved went above and beyond.
I saw Thunderbirds when I was about 10 or 11, and although I loved the show, I didn't understand how much detail had gone into making the models. Many years later, the shows were repeated on BBC2 (I think). I recall being completely astonished in one episode to see some wonderful craft working hard, and blowing wisps of black smoke forcibly out of the engine's "exhaust". Absolutely realistic and totally convincing. Incredible attention to detail.
yes. I agree. everything looked like it really worked. OK, it might look like a model... but it was being driven by a puppet afterall. It all looked convincing. Incredible.
Came across this one by accident and boy. I was not disappointed with it. Lots of useful information about the tracked vehicles from the TV shows that the Anderson team put out there. Thanks
yes - this all took extraordinary design skills. they used available parts where it made sense to. but it wasn't the tail wagging the dog. If they needed to build something from scratch they did.
These models are incredible! Not only are they fun to watch, the attention to detail and weathering set the standard for all subsequent Science Fiction TV shows' and Movies' special effects. Of course, when Gerry and Sylvia Anderson put these programs together, they weren't thinking that they were making any actual 'history' per se; so much of what was "taken for granted" at the time had been long forgotten - but not anymore! Thank you for doing all the background research and documentation for this interesting video!
Thanks for taking the time to comment. Yes, these shows are truly remarkable. A lot of the stuff the team was doing was better than most feature films. Remarkable.
It was nice to see a page from my old website at 2:34 and also some of my photos from back then, I also wrote the article which appeared in Model Collector magazine. Some time after the piece had appeared in the magazine, the team who were working with Mike Trim on the Thunderbirds (2004) film got in touch via the magazine to ask if they could borrow one of the models to take measurements from for vehicles which were to have appeared in the film, as they had little else to go on and it was very disappointing when some months later it was announced later that none of the work they had done would ever be used. The fact that parts of the Vigor model had been used in the original Thunderbirds series also came as a big surprise to the man who used to run the company that had made the model. They had stopped making the tractor some time before the original TV series was aired, but he was very pleased to learn one of his toys had played a small part in it.
Loved the Thunderbird series ! The vehicles were always my favorite. Always wondered what they used for them ! Great video and finally know one of there secrets!
A lot of the stuff was scratch built - often around the Vickers Vigor tractor - the Firefly, Gray and Houseman tractor body - and then detailed and fleshed out with kit parts.
Another great episode. I recall seeing an article in a British magazine on the toy Vickers Vigor tractor and its use in Thunderbirds - this would have been either Model Collector, or Diecast Collector, probably back in the 1990s, or perhaps early 2000s.
Thank You. That article might have been the origin of the thing I saw on the Internet. I don;t recall exactly when it was... but I think sometime after 1998.
The Vickers " Vigor " tractor was at the time the most powerful tracked tractor in the UK and produced by Vickers Armstrong engineering, from 1951-59, ( they also produced tanks for the British Army and still do.) it was expected to be part of the huge motorway construction programme of the 1960s but suffered from transmission problems and was eventually dropped in favour of the Cat D8 fitted with cable or hydraulic bulldozer blades ..
Thanks for this. Back in the 70's I was converting Airfix T32 tanks into 'moon rovers' inspired by the Andersons, they had me at Fireball XL5 (although I did prefer Space Patrol in many ways)
There used to be this terrific website called 'eagletransporter forum' that had all sorts of very detailed accounts from people scrat hvlbuilding s i-fi models. Lots of Gerry Anderson stuff as the name would suggest. Somebody did an 'Eddie tractor' and identified virtually every kit part that was used on the large scale 'hero' model. They built a beautiful, authentic studio-scale model. Probably better than the one built for the show.
This is simply wonderful information. I always thought the caterpillar tracked vehicles were some of the most realistic. Now we know how they built the models.
I had always figured that becausd so many of the vehicles had that same 4 wheel arrangement (that we now know to be Vickers Vigor tractor) that it was likely some sort of model kit or toy for some reason it did not occur to me that they could have built one set of running gear, made that model, shot that epsiode and then cannibalised it for another episode. In hindsighst you do so several vehicles in the same frame so maybe I recalled this and just 'knew' they were all individual models. The sound effects that went along with these vehicles was fab too. Totally convincing.
Thanks for this video, as a vintage toy collector it's very interesting to see what toys they used to make the miniatures. I'm impressed that they managed to make mechanisms from toys look so good on screen. Any idea what they used to make the Laser Tanks in the Infernal Machine episode of Space:1999?
Have seen it said they used Tamiya's 1/25 scale Chieftain kit. In the 1970s and 80s as well as their line of 1/35 scale kits, and the several 1/48 kits, they had quite a selection of 1/25 motorized kits with working suspensions and quite a bit of interior detail, Except on the T-34/85. I had the 2 motor Tiger 1, the Centurion, and am still mad at Tamiya for not giving the T-34 a working suspension, it would have been so cool to build the Christie suspension and then observe it working.
Matteline, me lad, you present the best Documentaries that easily stand alongside Jamie Anderson's ones. 👍👍 10⭐ to all. 6:40 Oh boy the TIGER TANK I had as a kid was used in Thunderbirds? _swoons_
Thank You for the kind words. I recently acquired a Tiger Joe tank... its not pristine, but its mostly all there. Although I have seen many pictures of it and knew its size there is nothing like seeing it in real life. Its huge! And then lugging it home under your arm!
Fascinating video and excellent research! Thank you for working this all out. I'm particularl pleased to learn the origins of Crablogger, my favourite Thunderbirds vehicle.
The Crablogger is amazing. I am currently trying to hunt down the origin of the massive wheels on the front section. The 'wheel hub' is from a commercially available toy truck, but possibly the massive tyres were scratch built. As Scott racy might say; 'this is a tough one'.
The Crablogger, for me, is the gold standard in machine design, practicality as in 'It could *really* be an actual machine in real life' and for pure design sense, 'Path of Destruction" to this day sends shivers of child-like awe down my spine. It's a Sci-Fi legend to me, a 61 y.o kid.
As a very young boy I had the tractor toys and that's back when toys were done right. These days try to find a tracked small toy and 9 times out of 10 it uses wheels under static tracks. And your correct the model work in UFO was incredible. Considering your ability to deep dive the Thunderbirds Vault maybe you can investigate the custom miniature pyro used in all these series. What was generating the black smoke?. I'm sure you will reveal all. It's a dark science that no one has ever been able to fully explain.
I know when the team lead by Stephen LaRiviere did the three short Thunderbirds 65 films based on the TV21 mini-albums they worked hard to get the fire and smoke effects to look right. the thrust when Thunderbird 1 for example comes into land in 'The Abominable Snowman' was created specially for them by a pyro expert. Evidently a lot of the chemicals they used in the 1960s are no longer available and/or legal anymore.
@@Matteline The periodic table is the same, but what's always the case with clever pyro people is it's all secret squirrel. Sadly custom miniature pyro is a dinosaur artform not that i'm an expert on the field 😌 I'm just some wally expert on TH-cam
Derek Meddings and his team had special 'cool burning' pyro charges made for them by Schermuly, a company that made (and I hope they're still going) hand held flares and flareguns for the military, and emergency services.
The black smoke is created using naphthalene, (it used to be found in mothballs). Mixed with fuel, it gives of a dense, black, and as we now know today, highly toxic, smoke.
I had a few of the toys used, Tiger Joe, baby dozer, I also had the large version of the same dozer and a truck that was used a lot in captain scarlet called Johnny Express.
Once again, well done for bringing this all together and for the excellent visuals - however, you've now made these donor items even more expensive than they were previously!!!)
A lot of people have done independent research on this stuff. I have done a video on the Airfix Girder bridge model kit that was used for a lot of the 'kit-bashed' detailing. th-cam.com/video/__90Sm0gfYM/w-d-xo.html
The Mole was my fave special operations vehicle. Thats a good point, perhaps the Andersons missed a trick not having a couple of hardworked maintenance characters, to provide a foil for Brains, but may have posed a security risk?
There at 7:08, wonder what company's Sherman hull that is right below the "Keep Away" stencil. Probably 1/72 scale. Airfix? Matchbox? Italeri? Fujimi? Other? Even though I had several of them I don't have any better recall of who all offered 1/72 and 1/76 tank kits back then.
Excellent ! Thanks for posting. I’ve always been fascinated as to what kit parts the special effects team used to adorn the various vehicles and buildings in the Gerry Anderson shows.
I think i know the Scalextric barriers you are talking about. They came in red and white and were about 1 incha tall and came in aporc 8 inche lengths. If you are talking about the stack of 'red tube things' on rear section of the Crablogger, I'm sorry but they are not Scalextric barriers. The model is much bigger than that, I think these things are more like 2 or 3 inches tall and about 18 inches in length.
@@Matteline soz . ts onthe side of the next model along ,still yellow tho.. :-) they were bout 8inch long and supposedto look like armco . i could betotally wrong ,wouldnt be first time by a long chalk, but soon assaw it that sprung to mind.. anyhow,thanks for yrtime and effort making these vids,engrossing and nostalgic in equal parts.. regards from manchester england
yep. That's the same vehicle I was referring to. The Crablogger is in two sections - the front part with the wheels and the giant arms - and the rear part with the two sets of caterpular tracks. The model was about 7 feet long in total. Each section being about 3 feet long. I know what you mean though but it is about 3 times the size. Also those scalextric pieces has 3 ridges and this has 4. At 6:55 there is a B&W behind the scenes still of this model and an EFX technician (Brain Smithies I think) prior to it being modififed into the Crablogger. But you can see how big it is.
Makes me wonder what happened to all the old filming models. Doubtless that many have since been lost, but surely some of them must have survived the years.
Thanks for commenting. I think many of the models were either destroyed during filming (the Crablogger!) or were later cannibalsied for parts and.or turned into new models. But by all accounts many were simply thrown into skips when the Anderson studio was closed down, heartbraeaking.
That was on my mind for years, but all the tanks i Iknew of had a much more complex wheel arrangement. I was euphoric when I found out what ths was! And then it is just weird that that it is based on a real thing - smaller in real life than The Mole and the other vehicles, but still. pretty cool.
The Tiger Joe vehicles also were used in UFO for moon defence tanks in one episode, never really mentioned or explained in the story except as something attacking Ufo's could blow up. Still have my Tiger Joe toy tank despite an offer from an Anderson fan to sell it, a favourite toy.
The Haynes Thunderbirds Technical Manual has a cutaway of the Monobrake. It seems to be designed to slow down and stop runaway momorail trains. It drives up to the monorail, and extends running gear to fit on the rail, which lifts it off the floor. It is propelled along the rail by a small turbojet engine, enabling it to catch up to the runaway. It then clamps on to the train, and slows it down with electromagnetic brakes and, if needed, I guess, reverse (ducted?) thrust from the turbojet. It's basically a brakevan for monorails. It had to go slowly in 'The Perils Of Penelope' to build up tension.
Thanks for the comment. I've seen the Haynes technical manual, and it is a decent proposal. I too feel that bitwise intended to be used as some sort of brake van. But I can't see it shooting along a track with the Jet engine. (I can imagine this in TV21 comic, but not in the actual show). Given that Dr Godbar can control the train from a control room suggests the train is powered by some sort of external power. I imagine the Monobrake has a similar functionality. The telescopic arm can in some way attach to the track. And maybe divert the power flow, cutting off the power to the train. Like something interrupting an electrical circuit. I am just speculating. There is also something about it being so low to the ground that such it looks like a mono-train could pass overhead without hitting the Monobrake. Hmmmm. Yeh, they're driving slowly because they are searching and exploring.
I had the big "Tiger Joe" tank toy as a kid in the 1960s. The remote control was styled after the Army walkytalky radio. It shot big plastic shells from it's spring action gun, and included a bag of white powder to simulate "smoke". Mom confiscated the powder, knowing I'd make a big mess!
Great video. It took a lot of skill to turn those toys into realistic looking future machines, A lot of painting and exceptional weathering after the cannibalization was done. Thanks for sharing this information. I remember the Tiger Joe commercials on TV in Canada. Even saw them at the Supermarkets (the only places that sold the Topper toys). Always wanted one, but the price was far beyond my parents budget.
Yes the vision toi see these 'toys' as credible futuristic vehicles and the skill to make the models and then have them drive around with all the special effects (they were fitted with little motors to blow dust out behind them mong other things) and have them be believable was truly brilliant.
Indeed. I would love to know more. They did a great job of creating sounds that perfectly mat he'd the machines. Here is a short video that sheds one light. www.macearchive.org/films/atv-today-24031965-stingray-sound-effects
Great vid again on wonderfull vehicles,always thought it was a great shame gerry considered he had missed out on doing live TV just to do puppet shows when in reality he bought so much joy and adventure to millions every week over the years.
It always bugged me that the tracks didn't sag right on the top run. I noticed though that on the UFO vehicles the model makers added a little projection to push the top run of the track down, making it more realistic.
Bravo... Excellent work Holmes! Only yesterday I bought a CAT earth-mover from a French charity shop. Not sure yet how to either winkle this beautifully detailed tracked vehicle into a short-film as is, or to go go full 'Anderson' and give it a twist? Best wishes from me and all the mice in the workshop. ⚒️🐁 🐭
Excellent video. 1 correction the Tiger Joe turret was not used for the control deck on the road making machine, it is to small, but it was used as the forward gun. it is cut in half, and is facing backwards. once again great video.
I made this video a while ago, and I had to ruminate on this for a little bit trying to understand the comment. I think you are referring to the Image of "the Internet' - It is from a very funny British TV show from the early 2000s called 'The IT Crowd'.
I had a tiger joe tank and if it’s right that the back of the crablogger was build on two chassis end to end then entire model must have been eight or nine feet long.
Yeh. The Craglblogger is a massive model. It definitely is made using Tiger Joe tracks. f you google for Thunderbirds, vfx crablogger, Derek Meddings etc. you can see it with some of the crew next to it.
My understanding is that they were pulled alongo on wires. They might have been motorised too. Sometimes there was a slot, or gap in the terrain so that a small post attached to the belly of the vehicle would follow the slot and the vehicle would go on the appropriate path.
@@Matteline Ok, right, yes RC has come a long way since the 60s very basic then and most hard wired with battery controllers, so getting these models to run smoothy and slowly would have been a great challenge in itself..so a wire pulled by a winch mechanism would be the best way...
Absolutely. it all just 'works'. nothing draws attentions to itself as cheap or a compromise. the designers fully embraced the idea and really worked on making it look right. The core shapes that they designed and built looked good and they then just embellished the models with the kit parts and weathering to make it look believable. On the other end of the model-making spectrum they were getting beautiful hand carved wooden models made by a specialist company.
ha ha. as a kid i remember doing a painting of the Tracy boys cleaning Thunderbird 2. it start outs a s quite a nice green, but by the end the whole page was a brown and purple and green mush or water colour mess......
...thats about how much they go for. If I had the cash I would defimitely get my hands on one! I was lucky enough to get hold of a Tiger Joe Tank at a local fete. It is not fully working but in good enough shape.
I wonder why today's pavement laying machines aren't fitted with artillery? It seems you would save a huge amount of money not needing so many orange cones
The Mole was one of my favourites.
The mole from Thunderbirds was also used in the movie "At the Earth's Core" with Doug McClure, Peter Cushing and Caroline Munro (1976).
I know what you mean. The machine in 'At The Earth's Core' is quite similar. It us a different model. The miniature of the Mole was about 2 feet long, the model built for the Doug McClure / Peter Cushing extravaganza was about 10 feet long... I did a fake 'What If' model kit box of the Iron Mole from 'At the Earth's Core'. Which is featured in this video. At approx 2:47
th-cam.com/video/NX5B1TUUOA0/w-d-xo.htmlsi=S0FkAGJh-woqdeOd
Especially due to your detailed exposition of the vehicles track systems and their origins, you have proven that even a 60 year-old Thunderbirds fan can still learn new information.
I have seen all of the episodes so many times. But it is being shown again, on Talking Pictures TV. And it's a thrill to tune in and not know what.episode it will be. Just like when I was 10 years old. I still see new stuff in every episode. And I am constantly impressed at how good the show looks. Everyone involved went above and beyond.
I saw Thunderbirds when I was about 10 or 11, and although I loved the show, I didn't understand how much detail had gone into making the models.
Many years later, the shows were repeated on BBC2 (I think). I recall being completely astonished in one episode to see some wonderful craft working hard, and blowing wisps of black smoke forcibly out of the engine's "exhaust". Absolutely realistic and totally convincing. Incredible attention to detail.
yes. I agree. everything looked like it really worked. OK, it might look like a model... but it was being driven by a puppet afterall. It all looked convincing. Incredible.
Brilliant, always loved anything Gerry Anderson and team produced. Still do, I'm now in my 60's.
Came across this one by accident and boy. I was not disappointed with it. Lots of useful information about the tracked vehicles from the TV shows that the Anderson team put out there. Thanks
Not just adapting, but making the fantasy parts!
Skill off the scale!
yes - this all took extraordinary design skills. they used available parts where it made sense to. but it wasn't the tail wagging the dog. If they needed to build something from scratch they did.
These models are incredible! Not only are they fun to watch, the attention to detail and weathering set the standard for all subsequent Science Fiction TV shows' and Movies' special effects. Of course, when Gerry and Sylvia Anderson put these programs together, they weren't thinking that they were making any actual 'history' per se; so much of what was "taken for granted" at the time had been long forgotten - but not anymore! Thank you for doing all the background research and documentation for this interesting video!
Thanks for taking the time to comment. Yes, these shows are truly remarkable. A lot of the stuff the team was doing was better than most feature films. Remarkable.
It was nice to see a page from my old website at 2:34 and also some of my photos from back then, I also wrote the article which appeared in Model Collector magazine. Some time after the piece had appeared in the magazine, the team who were working with Mike Trim on the Thunderbirds (2004) film got in touch via the magazine to ask if they could borrow one of the models to take measurements from for vehicles which were to have appeared in the film, as they had little else to go on and it was very disappointing when some months later it was announced later that none of the work they had done would ever be used. The fact that parts of the Vigor model had been used in the original Thunderbirds series also came as a big surprise to the man who used to run the company that had made the model. They had stopped making the tractor some time before the original TV series was aired, but he was very pleased to learn one of his toys had played a small part in it.
Loved the Thunderbird series ! The vehicles were always my favorite. Always wondered what they used for them ! Great video and finally know one of there secrets!
A lot of the stuff was scratch built - often around the Vickers Vigor tractor - the Firefly, Gray and Houseman tractor body - and then detailed and fleshed out with kit parts.
Fascinating facts, you got to love the improvisation they used on these models to give such realism to them 👍
Absolutely. They put every penny up on the screen. And more! Everything plane and vehicle looks so good, and is realised so well.
Another great episode. I recall seeing an article in a British magazine on the toy Vickers Vigor tractor and its use in Thunderbirds - this would have been either Model Collector, or Diecast Collector, probably back in the 1990s, or perhaps early 2000s.
Thank You. That article might have been the origin of the thing I saw on the Internet. I don;t recall exactly when it was... but I think sometime after 1998.
The Vickers " Vigor " tractor was at the time the most powerful tracked tractor in the UK and produced by Vickers Armstrong engineering, from 1951-59, ( they also produced tanks for the British Army and still do.) it was expected to be part of the huge motorway construction programme of the 1960s but suffered from transmission problems and was eventually dropped in favour of the Cat D8 fitted with cable or hydraulic bulldozer blades ..
Thanks for this. Back in the 70's I was converting Airfix T32 tanks into 'moon rovers' inspired by the Andersons, they had me at Fireball XL5 (although I did prefer Space Patrol in many ways)
Thanks. Especially for the entirely necessary clips of Gabrielle Drake. I don't suppose you've any idea what kit they built her from do you?
TERRIFIC! THANK YOU for all the fascinating info!
Thanks for uploading,! For years I've wanted a scratch built Model of Eddie's Explosive tractor! It's of my Many Favourite
Thunderbirds vehicles!
There used to be this terrific website called 'eagletransporter forum' that had all sorts of very detailed accounts from people scrat hvlbuilding s i-fi models. Lots of Gerry Anderson stuff as the name would suggest. Somebody did an 'Eddie tractor' and identified virtually every kit part that was used on the large scale 'hero' model. They built a beautiful, authentic studio-scale model. Probably better than the one built for the show.
@@Matteline thanks for your reply, I'd love someone to build me,an 'Eddie's Tractor 'but I don't think my pockets are deep enough!
This is simply wonderful information. I always thought the caterpillar tracked vehicles were some of the most realistic. Now we know how they built the models.
Yay! 6:41 you’ve confirmed my belief that the wheels and track off the toy tank I had were used!! Fabulous!!
Glad to be of service :)
What a great video! I’d just assumed all the tracked models were completely scratch built - thanks for sharing 🙏
I had always figured that becausd so many of the vehicles had that same 4 wheel arrangement (that we now know to be Vickers Vigor tractor) that it was likely some sort of model kit or toy for some reason it did not occur to me that they could have built one set of running gear, made that model, shot that epsiode and then cannibalised it for another episode. In hindsighst you do so several vehicles in the same frame so maybe I recalled this and just 'knew' they were all individual models. The sound effects that went along with these vehicles was fab too. Totally convincing.
Thanks for this video, as a vintage toy collector it's very interesting to see what toys they used to make the miniatures. I'm impressed that they managed to make mechanisms from toys look so good on screen. Any idea what they used to make the Laser Tanks in the Infernal Machine episode of Space:1999?
Have seen it said they used Tamiya's 1/25 scale Chieftain kit. In the 1970s and 80s as well as their line of 1/35 scale kits, and the several 1/48 kits, they had quite a selection of 1/25 motorized kits with working suspensions and quite a bit of interior detail, Except on the T-34/85. I had the 2 motor Tiger 1, the Centurion, and am still mad at Tamiya for not giving the T-34 a working suspension, it would have been so cool to build the Christie suspension and then observe it working.
Perfect and informative video of the vehicles used in my favourite TV programme when I was a kid!
Matteline, me lad, you present the best Documentaries that easily stand alongside Jamie Anderson's ones. 👍👍 10⭐ to all.
6:40 Oh boy the TIGER TANK I had as a kid was used in Thunderbirds? _swoons_
Thank You for the kind words. I recently acquired a Tiger Joe tank... its not pristine, but its mostly all there. Although I have seen many pictures of it and knew its size there is nothing like seeing it in real life. Its huge! And then lugging it home under your arm!
Fascinating video and excellent research! Thank you for working this all out. I'm particularl pleased to learn the origins of Crablogger, my favourite Thunderbirds vehicle.
The Crablogger is amazing. I am currently trying to hunt down the origin of the massive wheels on the front section. The 'wheel hub' is from a commercially available toy truck, but possibly the massive tyres were scratch built. As Scott racy might say; 'this is a tough one'.
The Crablogger, for me, is the gold standard in machine design, practicality as in 'It could *really* be an actual machine in real life' and for pure design sense, 'Path of Destruction" to this day sends shivers of child-like awe down my spine. It's a Sci-Fi legend to me, a 61 y.o kid.
As a very young boy I had the tractor toys and that's back when toys were done right. These days try to find a tracked small toy and 9 times out of 10 it uses wheels under static tracks. And your correct the model work in UFO was incredible. Considering your ability to deep dive the Thunderbirds Vault maybe you can investigate the custom miniature pyro used in all these series. What was generating the black smoke?. I'm sure you will reveal all. It's a dark science that no one has ever been able to fully explain.
I know when the team lead by Stephen LaRiviere did the three short Thunderbirds 65 films based on the TV21 mini-albums they worked hard to get the fire and smoke effects to look right. the thrust when Thunderbird 1 for example comes into land in 'The Abominable Snowman' was created specially for them by a pyro expert. Evidently a lot of the chemicals they used in the 1960s are no longer available and/or legal anymore.
@@Matteline The periodic table is the same, but what's always the case with clever pyro people is it's all secret squirrel. Sadly custom miniature pyro is a dinosaur artform not that i'm an expert on the field 😌 I'm just some wally expert on TH-cam
Derek Meddings and his team had special 'cool burning' pyro charges made for them by Schermuly, a company that made (and I hope they're still going) hand held flares and flareguns for the military, and emergency services.
The black smoke is created using naphthalene, (it used to be found in mothballs).
Mixed with fuel, it gives of a dense, black, and as we now know today, highly toxic, smoke.
@@Matteline It might be worth covering the "Jetex" solid fuel motor used to create the dust trails created by the vehicles.
Fascinating, thank you.
Great vid! Thank you.
It's no coincidence The Mole and the Shado Mobile were my two favourites from Century 21's studios.
I had a few of the toys used, Tiger Joe, baby dozer, I also had the large version of the same dozer and a truck that was used a lot in captain scarlet called Johnny Express.
Good Show, Thanks.
Once again, well done for bringing this all together and for the excellent visuals - however, you've now made these donor items even more expensive than they were previously!!!)
A lot of people have done independent research on this stuff. I have done a video on the Airfix Girder bridge model kit that was used for a lot of the 'kit-bashed' detailing.
th-cam.com/video/__90Sm0gfYM/w-d-xo.html
The Mole was my fave special operations vehicle. Thats a good point, perhaps the Andersons missed a trick not having a couple of hardworked maintenance characters, to provide a foil for Brains, but may have posed a security risk?
Very interesting, thank you.
Thanks so much! just fascinating and and sooooooo cool, great work and inspiration... Brilliant !
Thank You. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
There at 7:08, wonder what company's Sherman hull that is right below the "Keep Away" stencil. Probably 1/72 scale. Airfix? Matchbox? Italeri? Fujimi? Other? Even though I had several of them I don't have any better recall of who all offered 1/72 and 1/76 tank kits back then.
Excellent ! Thanks for posting. I’ve always been fascinated as to what kit parts the special effects team used to adorn the various vehicles and buildings in the Gerry Anderson shows.
..and this just some of the more frequently used kits :)
Excellent. I’ve been wondering about this for decades!
Great "pod-cast"!
ha ha
spotted scalextric barrier on yellow crab one .yayyy :-) great channel ,one of those that you didnt know you needed to watch til you did..
I think i know the Scalextric barriers you are talking about. They came in red and white and were about 1 incha tall and came in aporc 8 inche lengths. If you are talking about the stack of 'red tube things' on rear section of the Crablogger, I'm sorry but they are not Scalextric barriers. The model is much bigger than that, I think these things are more like 2 or 3 inches tall and about 18 inches in length.
@@Matteline soz . ts onthe side of the next model along ,still yellow tho.. :-) they were bout 8inch long and supposedto look like armco . i could betotally wrong ,wouldnt be first time by a long chalk, but soon assaw it that sprung to mind.. anyhow,thanks for yrtime and effort making these vids,engrossing and nostalgic in equal parts.. regards from manchester england
7 min 13 secs.. the strip along sidethat looks like 4 logs :-)
@@diquadhumungersaur492 ...what's the approx timecode on the vid where yous ee them?
yep. That's the same vehicle I was referring to. The Crablogger is in two sections - the front part with the wheels and the giant arms - and the rear part with the two sets of caterpular tracks. The model was about 7 feet long in total. Each section being about 3 feet long. I know what you mean though but it is about 3 times the size. Also those scalextric pieces has 3 ridges and this has 4. At 6:55 there is a B&W behind the scenes still of this model and an EFX technician (Brain Smithies I think) prior to it being modififed into the Crablogger. But you can see how big it is.
Excellent
Makes me wonder what happened to all the old filming models. Doubtless that many have since been lost, but surely some of them must have survived the years.
Thanks for commenting. I think many of the models were either destroyed during filming (the Crablogger!) or were later cannibalsied for parts and.or turned into new models.
But by all accounts many were simply thrown into skips when the Anderson studio was closed down, heartbraeaking.
Ah thanks for clarifying the tractor. I had thought they had come from a kit for a Panzer 38(t) or perhaps Hertzer, with similar road wheels.
That was on my mind for years, but all the tanks i Iknew of had a much more complex wheel arrangement. I was euphoric when I found out what ths was! And then it is just weird that that it is based on a real thing - smaller in real life than The Mole and the other vehicles, but still. pretty cool.
The Tiger Joe vehicles also were used in UFO for moon defence tanks in one episode, never really mentioned or explained in the story except as something attacking Ufo's could blow up. Still have my Tiger Joe toy tank despite an offer from an Anderson fan to sell it, a favourite toy.
I recently acquired a Tiger Joe Tank. It is not in tip top condition (some pieces missing) but I picked it up a local fate for £15. I love it!!!
The Haynes Thunderbirds Technical Manual has a cutaway of the Monobrake. It seems to be designed to slow down and stop runaway momorail trains. It drives up to the monorail, and extends running gear to fit on the rail, which lifts it off the floor. It is propelled along the rail by a small turbojet engine, enabling it to catch up to the runaway. It then clamps on to the train, and slows it down with electromagnetic brakes and, if needed, I guess, reverse (ducted?) thrust from the turbojet. It's basically a brakevan for monorails. It had to go slowly in 'The Perils Of Penelope' to build up tension.
Thanks for the comment. I've seen the Haynes technical manual, and it is a decent proposal. I too feel that bitwise intended to be used as some sort of brake van. But I can't see it shooting along a track with the Jet engine. (I can imagine this in TV21 comic, but not in the actual show). Given that Dr Godbar can control the train from a control room suggests the train is powered by some sort of external power. I imagine the Monobrake has a similar functionality. The telescopic arm can in some way attach to the track. And maybe divert the power flow, cutting off the power to the train. Like something interrupting an electrical circuit. I am just speculating. There is also something about it being so low to the ground that such it looks like a mono-train could pass overhead without hitting the Monobrake. Hmmmm.
Yeh, they're driving slowly because they are searching and exploring.
2:09 I'm amazed you got permission to photograph the actual Internet. They had big problems last time they loaned that to someone.
...such an impressive piece of technology.
I had the big "Tiger Joe" tank toy as a kid in the 1960s. The remote control was styled after the Army walkytalky radio. It shot big plastic shells from it's spring action gun, and included a bag of white powder to simulate "smoke". Mom confiscated the powder, knowing I'd make a big mess!
Had a tiger joe tank too and omg I forgot about the powder and yes I never got to use it either (what’s the betting it was toxic anyway lol)
Great video. It took a lot of skill to turn those toys into realistic looking future machines, A lot of painting and exceptional weathering after the cannibalization was done. Thanks for sharing this information. I remember the Tiger Joe commercials on TV in Canada. Even saw them at the Supermarkets (the only places that sold the Topper toys). Always wanted one, but the price was far beyond my parents budget.
Yes the vision toi see these 'toys' as credible futuristic vehicles and the skill to make the models and then have them drive around with all the special effects (they were fitted with little motors to blow dust out behind them mong other things) and have them be believable was truly brilliant.
All these videos about which kits were used to make the models in the show now make me wonder about how all the sound effects were done as well
Indeed. I would love to know more. They did a great job of creating sounds that perfectly mat he'd the machines. Here is a short video that sheds one light.
www.macearchive.org/films/atv-today-24031965-stingray-sound-effects
@@Matteline OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING THAY
Great vid again on wonderfull vehicles,always thought it was a great shame gerry considered he had missed out on doing live TV just to do puppet shows when in reality he bought so much joy and adventure to millions every week over the years.
Absolutely. These shows are gold.
That was 9:36 worth of information - thanks
A great video - informative and fun.
It always bugged me that the tracks didn't sag right on the top run. I noticed though that on the UFO vehicles the model makers added a little projection to push the top run of the track down, making it more realistic.
so cool
Thanks for watching :)
Bravo... Excellent work Holmes!
Only yesterday I bought a CAT earth-mover from a French charity shop.
Not sure yet how to either winkle this beautifully detailed tracked vehicle into a short-film as is, or to go go full 'Anderson' and give it a twist?
Best wishes from me and all the mice in the workshop. ⚒️🐁 🐭
Please post your resiuts either way !
Great video...👍
Thanks. I love this TV Show!
Enjoyed!
Found you from your latest video but I watched a few , very pleased to find the internet joke in there
Excellent video. 1 correction the Tiger Joe turret was not used for the control deck on the road making machine, it is to small, but it was used as the forward gun. it is cut in half, and is facing backwards. once again great video.
Thanks for commenting. Yeh, someone else spotted that mistake too :)
I think the G A team must had a job lot of these models !
I still remember when I first saw the Thunderbirds, I was watching Team America: World Police. 😁😆😂🤣
Thank You :)
Interesting
Having been in the RAF I wondered where the support and mantenance crews were.
Where did you get the internet from?
I made this video a while ago, and I had to ruminate on this for a little bit trying to understand the comment. I think you are referring to the Image of "the Internet' - It is from a very funny British TV show from the early 2000s called 'The IT Crowd'.
I had a tiger joe tank and if it’s right that the back of the crablogger was build on two chassis end to end then entire model must have been eight or nine feet long.
Yeh. The Craglblogger is a massive model. It definitely is made using Tiger Joe tracks. f you google for Thunderbirds, vfx crablogger, Derek Meddings etc. you can see it with some of the crew next to it.
Were they RC controlled or pulled be strings..?
My understanding is that they were pulled alongo on wires. They might have been motorised too. Sometimes there was a slot, or gap in the terrain so that a small post attached to the belly of the vehicle would follow the slot and the vehicle would go on the appropriate path.
@@Matteline Ok, right, yes RC has come a long way since the 60s very basic then and most hard wired with battery controllers, so getting these models to run smoothy and slowly would have been a great challenge in itself..so a wire pulled by a winch mechanism would be the best way...
The thing that stands ou, though, is not the items themselves so much as the creative talent behind their usage.
Absolutely. it all just 'works'. nothing draws attentions to itself as cheap or a compromise. the designers fully embraced the idea and really worked on making it look right. The core shapes that they designed and built looked good and they then just embellished the models with the kit parts and weathering to make it look believable. On the other end of the model-making spectrum they were getting beautiful hand carved wooden models made by a specialist company.
Vickers Vigor - after all these years....
International rescue should have employed some Eastern European vehicle valets to clean the vehicles.
ha ha. as a kid i remember doing a painting of the Tracy boys cleaning Thunderbird 2. it start outs a s quite a nice green, but by the end the whole page was a brown and purple and green mush or water colour mess......
Just found a Vickers igor toy for sale in the uk...... auction estimate 3 to 5 hundred pounds !!
...thats about how much they go for. If I had the cash I would defimitely get my hands on one!
I was lucky enough to get hold of a Tiger Joe Tank at a local fete. It is not fully working but in good enough shape.
I wonder why today's pavement laying machines aren't fitted with artillery?
It seems you would save a huge amount of money not needing so many orange cones
Fascinating!