Thunderbirds Interactive Tracy Island Playset

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Around three decades ago, the 8-bit Game Boy, POGS and Thunderbirds Tracy Island were must-haves for the festive season, reports Mirror Online. Their base was Tracy Island, a private island somewhere in the South Pacific, from which they operated a fleet of more-or-less plausible vehicles.

There was no sign of a Thunderbird 5 and it took quite a while for fans to get any version of this craft. They have made models of all the main characters, associated characters, models and scenes and have designed a range to celebrate the 50th anniversary. Fans could also get their hands on Captain Scarlet (including Astronaut variant), Captain Blue, Captain Black (including Spy variant), Captain Magenta, Colonel White, Lieutenant Green, Destiny Angel and Harmony Angel. There have also been annuals in the 1990s and more recently with the Thunderbirds film and new TV series.

Scott and Gordon came with a different gun each; Gordon had a Stun Gun whilst Scott carried a large Thunder Stun. One of the "Real World" live action establishing shots was reused from the Stingray episode Hostages of the Deep. Various locations on Praslin, including Anse Lazio beach and Vallée de Mai nature preserve, were also used.

For games fans of a certain age, the 8-bit Game Boy is a symbol of their childhood and many will remember the Game Link cable which allowed two Game Boys to be connected together for multiplayer fun - as well as the Tetris theme music from way too many hours spent playing it as a kid. All of the characters you could want to play with were released with only Tin-Tin, Kyrano and Grandma Tracy missing from the regular cast. This year represents the 3rd time Vivid Toy Group have launched Tracy Island as part of their Thundebirds toy range. The show followed Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo, brothers trained in ninjitsu who fight evil in New York City.

Matchbox upheld its stakes into the next 3 decades but in June 1982 filed for bankruptcy and went into receivership. As part of this operation, wall portraits of the Tracy brothers in their International Rescue uniforms are replaced with alternatives showing them in casual attire. Teletubbies became a huge hit with the younger generation, who were desperate to get their hands on a plush doll of characters Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa Laa and Po. Further transportation of materials and supplies is provided by a fleet of service vehicles, powered by rechargeable atomic batteries. There are various interactive buttons that can be pressed on Tracy Island and also on Thunderbirds 1 ,Thunderbirds 2 and Thunderbirds 3.

Die cast models that fitted nicely with The Tracy Island Play Set were also released individually in the now standard blister packaging. Additional accommodation was also planned and constructed to provide guest-quarters and leisure facilities. Following the sale of 300,000 upon initial release in Japan, several other versions of the Game Boy consoles were created.

In 1985 the first range was released with CHINA marked on the base, a symbol to indicate ‘made in China’. This one performed on the cute stakes, as its advanced features won the hearts of the family and once again identified toy and technology combination as winners. Spandex suits weren't just invented for stag dos - this American series featured teenagers who would morph into superheroes to battle bizarre baddies. In 1992, Tracy Island became a phenomenon in the UK, after Thunderbirds was re-run on BBC2 and generated massive interest in Thunderbird related toys. The toy - which could slow your voice down, play it back or speed it up - became one of the ‘must-have’ products that Christmas, when it was promoted alongside the VHS release of the film.