‘Five… four… three… two… one… Thunderbirds are go!’
Sixty years on from the first episode being broadcast, the opening countdown to the iconic children’s television show can still get the pulse racing.
Now, a new exhibition at a museum in London packed with nostalgia is charting the history of Thunderbirds through hundreds of pieces of memorabilia.
The show and its puppets were created by Gerry Anderson, who was also behind Stingray, Captain Scarlet and Space: 1999 – which feature in the exhibition too.
Childhood memories will no doubt return for those visiting the Museum of Brands to view ‘Thunderbirds & Space: 1999 – a Celebration of Sci-fi Toys and Collectibles’.
And the good news for fans is that the memorabilia is still hugely collectable – with a Dinky Toys Thunderbird 2 going for £2,570 at auction in June, while a rare complete set of Fairylite Thunderbirds action figures sold for £2,100 in December 2024.
Thunderbirds, a science fiction show which was first broadcast in 1965, revolved around International Rescue, a secret emergency service run by the Tracy family.
Known for the catchphrase ‘Thunderbirds are go!’, the team were aided by London agent Lady Penelope, who was voiced by Gerry’s second wife Sylvia.
Mr Anderson’s son Jamie Anderson said: ‘Although these series have been shown repeatedly since their original broadcast, it’s quite often the toys, games and collectables associated with the shows that bring people the most joy.
The Thunderbirds Tracy Island toy by Matchbox was once top of Christmas lists across the UK
Thunderbird 1 was one of the aircraft used by International Rescue, piloted by Scott Tracy
This Thunderbirds intercom set released in the 1960s was one of many toys based on the show
Highlights of the exhibition at the Museum of Brands include an original Lady Penelope puppet
This vintage Waddington’s Thunderbirds board game is also on display in the new exhibition
A Thunderbird 2 toy is seen coming out of its base in a Japanese version of the model
A Supermarionation puppet of Scott Tracy, a character from the classic Gerry Anderson series
A vintage Thunderbirds pinball game, which is part of the exhibition at the Museum of Brands
A museum curator carefully cleans a model of Lady Penelope’s car before it goes on display
Thunderbirds annuals, toys and dolls are among the items visitors can see at the museum
Die-cast Dinky Toys vehicles from Thunderbirds and other shows, still with their packaging
A vintage toy model of Thunderbird 5, the space station from the classic children’s TV series
Vintage dolls of Thunderbirds characters Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward and her butler Parker
A vintage Lady Penelope annual from the 1960s is also on display at the Museum of Brands
A toy model of Thunderbird 2, which was piloted by Virgil Tracy in the television series
‘The tangible “take home” representations of Thunderbirds and Space: 1999 made the series’ stories, characters and craft come to life.
‘So to have so many special pieces of nostalgia in one place will, for many, be a powerful and visceral reminder of why these shows endure decades on from their creation.’
Mr Anderson began his TV career in the 1950s and established himself as one of its leading creative forces over a career spanning nearly six decades.
The producer helped pioneer a technique called Supermarionation, which enabled puppets’ speech to be synchronised with their mouth movements.
He had early successes with Fireball XL5 and Stingray, but it was Thunderbirds, filmed on the Slough Trading Estate in Berkshire, that made his name.
Millions of youngsters not only devoured the show but it also spawned a huge range of merchandise from board games to toy cars and dolls to sticker books.
But the most famous of all was ‘Tracy Island’, a model of the Tracy family’s base on an island in the Pacific Ocean which was once top of Christmas lists across the UK.
For those who could not afford the real thing, the version constructed on Blue Peter was perhaps the most famous creation that ever aired on the BBC children’s show.
A toy of Thunderbird 4 which was piloted by Gordon Tracy, International Rescue’s aquanaut
A model of the Thunderbird 3 rocket is among the memorabilia on display at the museum
A toy of Lady Penelope’s car, the iconic pink Rolls-Royce named FAB 1 in the television series
A vintage Thunderbirds ‘sticker fun book’ which features images of International Rescue
A museum cleans a model of Thunderbird 2 before it goes on display at the museum
A boxed model of Lady Penelope’s FAB 1 car which was driven by her chauffeur Parker
A model of Thunderbird 1 is cleaned by an expert before it goes on display at the museum
The board of a vintage Waddington’s Thunderbirds game from the 1960s has been put on show
Huge amounts of memorabilia relating to Lady Penelope is on display at the museum
Dinky models of Thunderbird 2 are on public view at the Museum of Brands exhibition
An annual from the TV series which was known for its catchphrase ‘Thunderbirds Are Go!’
Gerry Anderson poses with Thunderbirds puppets. The show’s creator died in December 2012
Tracy Island was also one of Blue Peter’s most famous creations, and presenter Anthea Turner is pictured here with her version of the model, which does not feature in the exhibition
The giant DIY playset generated 100,000 requests for full instructions when it first aired in 1992, using papier-mâché and toilet roll to create the detailed replica.
Presenter Anthea Turner later claimed to have been offered £100,000 for her original model – but she turned it down.
Other characters which feature in the exhibition are aquanaut Gordon Tracy, scientist Brains and Lady Penelope’s driver, Aloysius ‘Nosey’ Parker.
The trio were voiced by actor David Graham who died aged 99 in September 2024, having also played Grandpa Pig in children’s show Peppa Pig.
Mr Anderson died aged 83 in 2012 after battling dementia for two years, and Sylvia – who also worked on character development and costume design for Thunderbirds – passed away in 2016 aged 88.
Some 32 episodes of Thunderbirds were made across two series which first aired on ITV in 1965 and 1966 but were repeated for decades after for generations to enjoy.
Dinky toys from one of Gerry Anderson’s other shows, Joe 90, are also in the exhibition
The museum also features merchandise from Gerry Anderson’s TV show Space: 1999
An original Spectrum patrol car with ‘jet engine sound’ is among the items on display
A vintage annual from the children’s TV show Stingray is also on display at the museum
Toys from Gerry Anderson’s show UFO are also among the exhibits at the museum
Stingray toys with their original boxes can be viewed at the Museum of Brands in London
A model of Captain Scarlet is cleaned by an expert before it goes on display at the museum
Annuals from shows such as Joe 90, Stingray and Thunderbirds are on display
A vintage Captain Scarlet book is among the items in the collection on display in museum
A Lincoln International Stingray toy submarine is also on display at the Museum of Brands
Captain Scarlet memorabilia including annuals, toys and even Kellogg’s Variety cereal boxes
The TV series Space: 1999 is one of the main parts of the exhibition, along with Thunderbirds
A model of Captain Scarlet is on display at the Museum of Brands exhibition in West London
An annual based on Fireball XL5 which was another of Gerry Anderson’s television series
Dinky toy models of the Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle which featured in Captain Scarlet
A live-action film starring Bill Paxton and Ben Kingsley came out in 2004; while ITV aired a remake called Thunderbirds Are Go between 2015 and 2020.
The exhibition is being put on in partnership with Anderson Entertainment, the company founded by Mr Anderson which now licences his TV shows.
Thunderbirds superfan Malcolm Garrett was involved with putting on the display, with also features collectables from Stingray, Captain Scarlet, Supercar, Fireball XL5, UFO and Space 1999.
Exhibition co-curator Alice Kain said: ‘These weren’t just toys. For children of the 60s and 70s, these objects were the connectors to the Andersons’ futuristic worlds.
‘Each figure, board game and annual represents hours of imaginative play where ordinary bedrooms could be transformed into International Rescue headquarters or Moonbase Alpha.’
Some of the 400 items are on public display for the first time, with objects loaned from the Robert Opie nostalgia collection and several private collectors who have held them for decades.
Dolls, books and a ‘stun gun’ from Space: 1999 are among the items featuring in the exhibition
Cereal boxes and memorabilia from Gerry Anderson’s show UFO also feature in the exhibition
A Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons ‘special pocket album’ is on display at the museum
Stingray toys and puppets are also on show at the Museum of Brands in West London
A vintage annual features illustrations from Fireball XL5, Thunderbirds and Stingray
A vintage Space: 1999 board game described as an ‘absorbing game of space adventure’
Memorabilia based on Fireball XL5 which was another of Gerry Anderson’s television series
A ‘clock money box’ based on Gerry Anderson’s TV series Supercar which aired in the 1960s
Memorabilia from Captain Scarlet includes annuals, jigsaws and dolls linked to the TV show
A vintage pop-out book called Captain Scarlet ‘Make a Model of Cloudbase’ released in 1967
The playing board for the Space: 1999 board game, which was released by Omnia in 1974
The cover for a vinyl record from the television series Supercar, featuring a TV cast recording
A Dinky Toys Shado interceptor die-cast model, based on the vehicle from the TV series UFO
Highlights also include an original Lady Penelope puppet, die-cast Dinky Toys vehicles, still with their packaging and rare promotional items from confectionery tie-ins.
Original sets of cherished annuals, records and comics are also on display along with vintage jigsaws and board games that brought the shows into family homes.
Mr Garrett said: ‘My earliest memory of Gerry Anderson’s remarkable TV shows is watching Supercar when I was just five or six years old. My first toy was a red plastic Supercar with clear roof and yellow pullout wings, which I played with endlessly.
‘I was an avid follower of all things Anderson from then on, subscribing to TV21 comic when it was launched in 1965, just ahead of Thunderbirds first broadcast, and demanding my parents bought all the Dinky toys for me.
‘It was perhaps inevitable that much later I began to collect all those toys, annuals and books that I had either owned as a child, or wished I had. To be able to loan them now to this very special exhibition is something I couldn’t have dreamed of.’
‘Thunderbirds & Space: 1999 – a Celebration of Sci-fi Toys and Collectibles’ is on at the Museum of Brands in Notting Hill, West London, until February 28, 2026.
General admission tickets which include the exhibition are £11.50 for adults, £8.50 concessions and £6.50 children. The museum is open from Mondays to Saturdays.
