Tracy Island, somewhere in the Pacific
And it is exactly this system of moving walls, chutes and settees that has given rise to much speculation: how do all these facilities fit in the villa itself, how do they connect to the all important lounge and how do they relate to each other and the various launch bays. As a dedicated Supermarionation scholar, I have tried several times in the past to come up with a plausible arrangement only to get stuck each time. And then – thanks again to the persistent collecting efforts of Theo de Klerk – I discovered a little known cutaway drawing (little known to me at least) in the 1967 British Thunderbirds annual as well as a number of well thought–out illustrations in one of the more obscure Japanese Supermarionation books, the 1996 Twin Star Thunderbirds Final.
As you can see below, the cutaway drawing does a remarkably good job at fitting all the launch accoutrements in the available space without violating what is seen on the screen (though I have my doubts about the rather superfluous spiral in Thunderbird 2's chute) and the artist even took into account the problem of getting rid of the exhaust fumes the Thunderbird 1 and 3 rocket engines would produce on launch.
Then there is of course the villa proper, housing the all important lounge, with its many special features the very nexus of the organisation. As a result of that pivotal role, most of the scenes on the island are situated in the lounge and so it lends itself well for an attempt at more extensive documentation. Enter the Japanese fan contingent. As you probably know, Japan has always had a huge Supermarionation fanbase and, as a consequence, the country is a fertile source of specialist publications, chockful of pictures rarely seen elsewhere. One of those, the 1996 Japanese Thunderbirds Final book, published the two illustrations reproduced at left, an artist's impression of the Tracy Island lounge and a floorplan of the Tracy villa, based on a similar map seen in the Day Of Disaster episode. (the floorplan drawing's caption to see the original.) They depict what may be considered as accurate a representation of the situation as can be gleaned from the series' many scenes set in the lounge. Canon, in other words. Or at least a very well thought-out extension of it.
Obviously, this is all conjecture on the part of the authors of the Japanese book. Nowhere is it corrobrated in any episode that Jeff's bedroom is indeed where it is on this map, the authors simply sought out episode still frames that fit the situation [and I added my own speculation for the hall area]. But the connected illustration shows a plausible explanation. Using a map that originiates from one of the episodes.
That leaves the many other tantalizing glimpses of the villa's interior that are offered by the television episodes such as Brains' lab, the library, adjacent to the lounge, and even the kitchen features in a suprising five episodes. One of the most interesting clues is no doubt the communicator panel on Jeff's desk that appears in Operation Crashdive where he uses it to summon Scott, Virgil and Gordon to the lounge from what is presumably the 'games room'. A few of the labels such as 'pool' and 'laboratory' are familiar but it hints at many other rooms in the house that are never seen on TV. What to think of items like 'dining', 'music' or even 'cinema'?
As can be seen on the floorplan above, there is no way these 'extra' rooms can be fitted in. However, the designer of the villa took this into account since, according to an outside shot from The Impostors, the building has three floors. It should be obvious then that these rooms are located on the floor below the lounge. And that does fit in with what we get to see on screen: in at least one episode [ Cry Wolf] there is the suggestion that the two floors are connected by an elevator leading to the kitchen, located behind Penny's 'talking portrait' which puts the kitchen below the lounge. Assuming that the dining room is located next to the kitchen for convenience, that places it to the right since the whole house is basically built around Thunderbird 1's storage bay.
