2003 Archive 
If you were to drive an automobile during the mid-2060s, as envisioned in the television series Thunderbirds, what type of vehicle would it be? Well, if you were the London agent of International Rescue then it would probably be a shocking pink Rolls Royce with the registration FAB1. If you represented International Rescue from some backwater along the hills of the eastern United States then you would probably choose a supercharged Model T Ford pickup as the roads in some areas tend to be impassible by all but the most hardy of vehicles.
If you were on an archeological expedition in the desert then you may pick a general purpose vehicle capable of towing a couple of trailer caravans. This sort of thing would be the recommended mode of transportation of fellow explorers, construction company representatives and arch criminals alike. On such a vehicle you may choose optional rear wheels or mechanical track, depending upon the terrain. If en-route to the Parola Sands to try out an experimental engine for example, then you would probably consider a red open-topped race car with a rear vertical stabilizer. If you lead a less glamorous, more conventional life than that of a member of International Rescue however, then you would very likely travel about in a vehicle all but identical to something which your father might have driven during the early 1960s.
If one looks closely at Century 21 productions set during the mid-2060s, one will find a surprisingly high percentage of automobiles which had been common on roadways of a hundred years earlier. Ford Thunderbirds and Chevrolet Stingrays seem to be almost everywhere for what ought to be obvious reasons to anyone with a serious interest in the productions of Gerry Anderson. Whether these vehicles are restored originals or faithful replicas I don't know but I can report that people of the 2060s seem to be extremely enthused with reliving the nostalgia of automobiles of a century earlier.
These background vehicle props, seen in Thunderbirds, generally fall into three categories:
Die cast cast metal toys as were manufactured by Matchbox, Dinky, and Corgi.
Model kits from such makers as AMT, Monogram, and others.
Scratch built models, usually where large-scale or custom designed vehicles were required.
By far, the most numerous of these three types were the small scale die cast metal variety.
Seen during the opening credits of every Thunderbirds episode, in the scene depicting Thunderbird 1 landing at London Airport, is the Matchbox model M-9 'Inter-State Double Freighter'. This distinctive vehicle appears in many Thunderbirds episodes, sometimes with both trailers attached, sometimes with only one trailer, sometimes as just the tractor. The original Cooper-Jarrett yellow arrow on the trailers is normally covered with a black arrow, sometimes with a number in the center and/or with 'BAOC' or 'Air Freight' lettering. The tractor is occasionally seen with a flashing red rooftop beacon.
Another often seen and occasionally disguised vehicle from the 'Major Pack' line of Matchbox toys is the model M-1 'B.P. Autotanker'. Examples of this sleek 8-wheeled yellow and green truck may be noticed in various Thunderbirds scenes that take place at London Airport, at the site of the bogus rescue attempt in 'The Impostors', and at other locations where it may sometimes be noticed painted red and customized to appear as a fire tender. One such barely visible example of this is on the left hand edge of the recent Pro-Set Thunderbirds picture card number 019. This same scene appears much enlarged and expanded in the 1968 Thunderbirds Annual where it was used to illustrate the story 'Four Hours To Eternity'.
In this same photograph, just behind Thunderbird 2, may be seen a Corgi model 219 'Plymouth Sports Suburban'. To the right of the customized 'B.P. Autotanker' we see the Matchbox model 63 'Fire Fighting Crash Tender' and farther left, beyond the edge of the Pro Set card, but visible in the 1968 Thunderbirds Annual, is the Matchbox model 29 'Fire Pumper'.
In 'Path of Destruction', at the base of the San Martino dam, appears the Matchbox 'Fire Pumper' and 'Inter-State Double Freighter'. There is also the Matchbox model 3 'Bedford Tipper Truck', model 11 'Jumbo Crane', model 70 'Grit Spreader', model 30 '8-Wheel Crane', and model 69 'Hatra Tractor Shovel'. This last item, a 1/100th scale example just over three inches long, was also released by Matchbox as model K-3 in 1/61st scale and six inches in length. This 'King Sized' example with rear mounted spare tire appears in 'The Impostors', driving along the deck of a World Navy aircraft carrier.
In order to supplement a Thunderbirds comic strip story by Frank Bellamy in TV Century 21 numbers 90 through 95, Roger Dicken produced several sculptures of Venusian monsters in plasticine clay which were photographed with Thunderbirds craft. On Somportex color card #33, one of these creatures appears posed with some Matchbox toys, namely model 6 '10-Wheel Quarry Truck', model 18 'Caterpillar Crawler Bulldozer' model 26 'Ready-Mix Concrete Truck', and the model 69 'Hatra Tractor Shovel'. This latter model may also be seen beside the Number 1 Lift Body Hangar at Glenn Field in the 'Thunderbirds Are Go!' feature film. Nearby, are parked several examples of Matchbox's model 35 'Snowtrac Tractor'. This vehicle also appears just outside the hangar door of the USAF RTL-2 rocket transporter jet in 'The Cham Cham'. Parked with it are the Matchbox model 70 'Ford Estate Car' and model 22 'Pontiac Grand Prix', among others.
After Thunderbird 2 crashes at Tracy Island in 'Terror in New York City', we are afforded the only opportunity to view automobiles at the headquarters of International Rescue. With scaffolding and repair equipment all around the damaged Thunderbird 2 in its hangar, we may see the Matchbox model 59 'Fire Chief Car' beside an as yet unidentified white station wagon which also appears at the rocket launch complex in 'Sunprobe' and at the base of the Empire State Building in 'Terror in New York City'. Beside this vehicle in the latter episode can be seen Matchbox's model 71 'Jeep Pick-Up Truck'.
In addition to vehicles already cited, at London Airport may be seen the Matchbox model 7 'Ford Anglia', model 43 'Hillman Minx'. model 65 'Jaguar 3.8 Sedan', model 55 'Police Car', and an example of the model 59 'Fire Chief Car' repainted in the classic black and white 'panda' police car paint scheme. Among these Matchbox models can be spotted Corgi's model 1120 'Midland Red Motorway Express Coach'. When at New York Central Airport, the Fireflash is greeted by additional Matchbox models such as the model 10 'Sugar Container Truck', model 20 'Taxi Cab', model 25 'B.P Tanker', model 37 'Coca Cola Truck', model 38 'Vauxhall Victor Estate Car', model 40 'Long Distance Bus' and others previously mentioned.
In the Thunderbirds episode 'Alias Mr. Hackenbacker', at the center of the crash site of Flight D-103, we can see rushing up to the exploding airliner a couple of Matchbox model 29 'Fire Pumpers' with rooftop ladders added, as well as the Matchbox model 14 'Ambulance'. During the crash of Zero X at Craigsville in 'Thunderbirds Are Go', we may clearly see the Matchbox model 34 'Volkswagen Camping Car' and model 60 'Morris Pick-Up Truck' as well as other previously cited and others which remain unidentified.
By now it ought to be obvious that the special effects people at Century 21 Studios used a considerable number of die cast toy vehicles in order to help them create their vision of the twenty first century. I have thus far only indicated only a few of the Matchbox and Corgi toys which I am familiar with but there were many more still which I have not yet been able to identify due to the lack of clarity of the videos and other reference materials in my possession. More on this subject will follow in the next installment.