Within the next week or so I'm going to be posting photos of many many Anderson collectibles I am going to sell.
So far, I have been mainly using ebay, but I plan to expand the reach into Facebook Anderson groups and other resources.
Most are items from the 1990s, many in excellent or mint condition.
Primarily Supermarionation shows from Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and Joe 90. Some UFO but not a lot. Contact me if you are looking for anything specific.
Like some of you, I have amassed a significant Gerry Anderson collection over the years. After keeping it in plastic storage bins for decades, I know I can never really appreciate them and only display a few. As a result, I have decided to sell off the majority of my collection. This includes basically everything from the 1990s to today. It includes items from United Kingdom, USA and Japan. It covers all Supermarionation shows as well as UFO and Space 1999, possibly Terrahawks. I am currently in the process of photographing them and will be posting them for sale on ebay in the next couple of days. I will prepare a list of all the items in the first batch and post it here and share it on the Facebook page. Please contact me via the site or my email if you see something you want or are looking for something specific.
There are some vintage items as well. All of the non-vintage items are boxed and complete, but seal may be broken as I checked out the contents once and put it back. Many items are unopened. I'm mainly focused on shifting as much as possible as it takes up a lot of room, eg playsets for Captain Scarlet and Thunderbirds. I don't mind where it goes, but shipping will be extra and based on the method you choose. There are some familiar items and some oddball things as well, such as unlicensed properties. 25 years of collecting will do that, you know.
Below are some more samples, but bear in mind this is just the tip of the iceberg.
The Thunderbirds 1965 project on Kickstarter is doing very well. It has passed it's initial goal, met its second stretch task goal and now is within sight of the final goal. As you may know, the project is to film the visuals for the sound-only record EPs which were released in 1965. The first goal was to produce visuals for "The Abominable Snowman", the second is for "Introducing Thunderbirds" and the third and final goal is for "The Stately Homes Robberies".
Stephen La Riviere, the man behind the book/documentary "Filmed in Supermarionation" wants to create the visuals using the exact same techniques and sets as the original show. Its like getting 3 brand new episodes of classic Thunderbirds. Some original items are going to be used, this includes some puppets. The sets and most of the models will be lovingly recreated for the production.
There are some very good awards for people who fund the project, which of course includes a DVD or BluRay of the finished productions.
They are so close to meeting their goals, but only 3 days remain. If you can help in any way, I'm sure they will appreciate it, and you will feel good too. The second episode will be directed by none other than David Elliott, who directed some of the original episodes, so you know they are going to a totally authentic look.
Documentation producer Stephen La Riviere, the man behind the documentaries "Full Boost Vertical" and "Filmed in Supermarionation" is at it again. This time, its a project to produce filmed versions of the Thunderbird Century 21 EP stories from the 1960s. The basic idea is to retain the audio from the recordings, but film new Thunderbirds footage in the style of the original show. This means puppets and practical effects. Rather than try to fund it himself, or go to a distributor, he has taken the bold move to go directly to the fans and has created a Kickstarter project with the goal of funding the making of the first three EPs as mini-episodes.
From the kickstarter project page:
"To celebrate its 50th anniversary we want to make a new, classic style episode of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's legendary puppet series Thunderbirds using original audio-only stories recorded in the 1960s.
Technology has moved on in five decades, but our goal is to produce an unashamedly retro episode made with many of the same 'Supermarionation' techniques used to bring the puppets and models to life in the 1960s."
The project has the goal of reaching £ 75,000 ($115,000 USD) and is almost there. need an incentive to fund it? The only way you can get hold of the shows (for now) is to back the project on kickstarter. I fully expect this project to reach funding by August, if not the middle of July. Hopefully that will mean later episodes can be made from the later EPs.
Stephen even put together a short introductory video to explain the project.
Stephen La Riviere's fantastic "Filmed in Supermarionation" book is now available in lightweight form. In addition to being able to buy the paperback or hardback, it is now available electronically as a Kindle book. All the text is there, as well as a reasonable number of images from the books, but in order to keep the size to something reasonable, the Kindle version is not as lavishly illustrated. If you want it just for the images, get the book. If, however, you want to read the book and have it in a fairly light form, this is the way to go. The price is very reasonable, at $8.00 from the Amazon Kindle store.
If you are still not sure, Amazon will send you a sample chapter to the reading device of your choice. Try it risk free, as they say. Then buy it, its that good.
The new TV series "Thunderbirds are GO" was released on DVD in Australia. The 13 part series is spread out over 2 DVDs. The first has 7 episodes and the second has 6 episodes.
The only drawback is that it is region 4 encoded and has a PAL signal. However, I know some of us might have DVDs which can still show the videos. No word yet on releases in other countries or on a BluRay release.
The discs are 1.78:1 picture ratio and feature Dolby 2.0 sound.
The DVDs are currently available for $15.95 AUS each. Here are the links:
If you own a copy of the wonderful "Filmed in Supermarionation" book, you know its a well written book with lots of images. It is also quite heavy.
If you want a Kindle version, one is on its way. It will not have the hundreds of images in the book, but all the text and some images will be in there. After all, it is a kindle version, so you focus on the text.
The book is well worth getting if you are a fan of the Supermarionation era shows. Its also limited edition, so pick it up soon if its on your wish list.
I'll update when the kindle version gets released, but if you want the actual printed edition of the book, you can get it here: http://filmedinsupermarionation.com/
The new series of Thunderbirds will be named "Thunderbirds are Go!". In has also been announced that an advance purchase of the new show has been made by Nine Channel in Australia and is set to air in the spring of 2015.
The show will be a combination of live action and CGI special effects. In addition to screening in the spring in Australia, it will air shortly before that in the UK.
The revised version of the show will still feature the wonderful vehicles and the familiar names, and is being produced in New Zealand by ITV Studios and Pukeko Pictures with Weta Workshop, using CGI animation and live-action model sets, which will update the special effects while (hopefully) keeping the legacy of original series intact.
It appears that the show will not feature a live action cast however, as all the credits name the cast using voices.
The Thunderbirds Are Go! cast is led by Rosamund Pike (The World’s End, Gone Girl) as Lady Penelope and David Graham, who is reprising his role as chauffeur and International Rescue agent Parker. Brains will be voiced by Kayvan Novak (Fonejacker, Facejacker). Tracy brothers Alan and Scott are voiced by Rasmus Hardiker (Saxondale, Lead Balloon), while David Menkin will voice both Virgil and Gordon Tracy. The fifth Tracy brother, John, will be played by Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Love Actually, Game of Thrones).
The movies Thunderbirds are Go and Thunderbird 6 have just been released in high definition on a combo BluRay disc from Twilight Time Video. The release is limited to only 3000 copies and is expected to sell out fairly quickly. Luckily it is region free so should work anywhere with any player. What a concept.
The single disc release comes in a plastic case with colour artwork covers as well an 8 page colour booklet inside.