Specimen 0011 · Later toys & playsets (2000–2019)
Vivid Imaginations 40th-anniversary talking craft (2005)
Thunderbird sets for the 40th anniversary with buttons that play recorded phrases from the original programmes.
About this item
The V&A holds two of these 2005 sets — “Thunderbird 3 and 5” and “Thunderbird 3 and Wrist Communicator” — both made in China and distributed by Vivid Imaginations, with buttons that play recorded phrases from the original series. The packaging carries the Granada Ventures licensor logo.
How to identify it
Look for the 40th-anniversary packaging and the Granada Ventures logo.
Later toys & playsets (2000–2019)
On the same shelf
- Vivid Imaginations Tracy Island (2000) The electronic Tracy Island that repeated the 1992 frenzy when the BBC showed the series again in 2000. Vintage
- Bandai toys for the Thunderbirds film (2004) Tie-in toys for Jonathan Frakes’ live-action Thunderbirds film of 2004. Vintage
- Thunderbirds Are Go toy range (2015 onwards) Vehicles, playsets and figures for the 2015–2020 series, first from Vivid and later distributed in the UK by Bandai. Recent