Thunderbird Tracy Island

...phase for most kids wanting Thunderbird stuff probably started with the release of the Tracy Island and vehicle set.
Much like Buzz Lightyear, which came a little while after, every child wanted one, and shops didn’t have enough in stock.
Then one afternoon, something strange happened, it was on Blue Peter, one of the most wholesome shows for kids on t.v- as if! It was back when Anthea Turner was on the show. They actually had ...
...the last time we see ThunderBird stuff on the shelves, what with the movie coming next year.

For those of you who don’t know Tracy Island is the hidden base of IR- International Rescue, made up of members of the Tracy family, and their close friends.
IR deal with emergencies that other emergency services just aren’t equipped to do.
They use a variety of machines to do this, 5 of which are known as the ThunderBirds ... more

Manufactured by Vivid Imaginations
Prices- Anywhere between £25-£75 (that does include vehicle set too though)
Requires 2 x AA batteries (not included)
Not suitable for children under the age of three years

When I was younger I was a real science fiction fan, you know things like Star Trek and Star Wars.
I guess it was shows like Thunderbirds that started me off.
The phase for most kids wanting Thunderbird stuff probably started with the release of the Tracy Island and vehicle set.
Much like Buzz Lightyear, which came a little while after, every child wanted one, and shops didn’t have enough in stock.
Then one afternoon, something strange happened, it was on Blue Peter, one of the most wholesome shows for kids on t.v- as if! It was back when Anthea Turner was on the show. They actually had made a Tracy Island. The had cashed in on the fad, and it paid off. They say it was the most requested make on the show ever. I guess parents found it easier to make one than to find one, whether or not it was cheaper I can’t really say, because you always see them making things on shows like Art Attack, and you know you could buy something similar at half the price and the time.
I was lucky really, I had both- a made one and a shop brought 1 :)
Well recently, like so many other classics, they have decided to re-launch the set, revamped for the 21st Century. As usual, it looks shoddy compared to the originals, and I don’t think it will last half as long as my old one did.
mine wasn’t the 1st time they’ve brought them out, and I doubt this will be the last time we see ThunderBird stuff on the shelves, what with the movie coming next year.

For those of you who don’t know Tracy Island is the hidden base of IR- International Rescue, made up of members of the Tracy family, and their close friends.
IR deal with emergencies that other emergency services just aren’t equipped to do.
They use a variety of machines to do this, 5 of which are known as the ThunderBirds (well six if you’ve seen the film that was on channel 5 a while ago).

Aswell as SoundTech Tracy Island, you couldn’t do without the set of vehicles (it would be pretty dull otherwise).
These are also SoundTech, and to me that means they are pretty rubbish compared to the ones I had. I had Matchbox set, they were metal, which I suppose is more dangerous really for young kids, but I still have them somewhere. They’ve last all this time, which is more than I can say for some of my plastic ones. I suppose they have laws now any way against toys like that thought, plus to put the sound stuff it I guess it has to be made from plastic.
It has the Round House, where you can put TB3 in, the revolving swimming pool, which comes open to reveal TB1 and the Control Centre, which underneath, conceals an opening into the TB2 cave, with moving palm tress and raising run way. At the back there is an opening in case putting TB2 in the front is too hard for the child, due to the fact the front hole is smallish (well it was for me). In the back there are buttons that you press to make the sounds. It’s called the SoundTech Tracy Island, due to the fact it plays 12 of the most famous Thunderbirds phrases including;

• Alright boys. Thunderbirds are go!
• International Rescue. We're on our way!
• I only hope we're not too late father!
• Stand by for blast off!
• The ThunderBird theme tune
Mine only had 4 though :(

Now I’ve heard the bad point of the product is that if you purchase the island, it doesn’t come with the vehicles inside the box, you have to purchase them individually, and that is not a simple task. Every one tries to buy TB2, as you get 2 extra vehicles with it.
One of the things I found bad was that I ended up losing all the tops of the palm trees. When TB2 was on the pad one time it even broke the tree.
The Round House and the Pool part are not on fully, and keep falling off if you pick it up.

ThunderBird 1- (or the little silver and blue one), the only problem i fould with this was flying it with the wings open, and the fact it had no landiing strut. It feautres 3 phrases and is usually part of a set with TB3 and FAB1.

ThunderBird 2- (or the big green one), this was most kids favourite I think, as it has a removable pod that you put ThunderBird 4 in, and now the Mole, can you believe it, I always had to make do with 2 ThunderBird 4s, one of which I found. The legs might be a little dangerous, because they are thin, and can be broken off pretty easily if a child wants too. One thing I never could figure out about TB2-how could it fly with such little wings, being so big aswell. It makes 5 original phrases.
This was personally my favourite, but it was also the heaviest. A kid shouldn’t really play with ones like I had, because if they hit their head or another kids they could do some damage (I never did, just cautioning).
ThunderBird 3- (or the red space ship), there wasn’t much you could use this for, due to the fact there was never a ThunderBird 5 toy available, although, recently, I could have sworn I saw one. It features three phrases. This TB1 and FAB1 usuallly come in a set.
ThunderBird4- (the little yellow one), if you buy Thunderbird2, you get this with it any way. I would keep it from small children, as it could be a choking hazard. this has no sounds.
ThunderBird5- (the space station), I have seen one finally. You can use it to dock TB3 with. I had never seen one before, and they’re pretty hard to come by, so if your out for the set and you see one, grab it quickly. It feature 3 phrases, and will cost around £5.
The Mole- This comes with TB2, and like TB4 presents a choking hazard. shame i didn’t have on though :(
FAB1- Lady Penelope’s Rolls Royce. Now I would have said this is a bit feminine for a boy’s toy, but I guess girls can play with it too. It is a unisex toy really.
The vehicles aren’t really to scale, I mean TB4, the Mole and FAB1 should all really be smaller compared to TB2. Other than that, they are hours of fun.
It is possible to get all of them together. The entire set costs around £24.99

Aswell as the SoundTech Tracy Island, there is also the PowerTech Tracy Island.
Now I think this is also pretty good. The vehicles are smaller, but Tracy Island actually opens up and you can play with the inside or the Island, like changing the pod of TB2, move TB1 into launch position under the pool and launch TB4 from it’s cove. It comes with 4 vehicles, 3 pods and features 17 different phrases & sound effects. It does seem a little advanced though even though it says it’s for 3+ years. The parts look smaller and a little more fiddly. I wish I’d have had one though, but then 2 was enough already really.
This requires 3 x AAA batteries, and will set you back around £30.

This was my first toy opinion. Thank you for reading and I hope it gave you a little more insight on the product. 

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