Thunderbirds models

Super machines

Marc J. Frattasio

Sidewinder

sidewinder
The Sidewinder was a U.S. Army walking vehicle featured in Pit of Peril. It looks like this model was made of wood with various kit parts and other bits stuck on for detail. The claws appear to have been made out of metal alligator clips. The articulated arms appear to have been made out of disposable plastic drinking cups. The legs look like they were made out of telescoping metal rods and tubing. This was a huge model!

Gray & Houseman road builder

road builder
The Gray & Houseman Construction Company road builder was featured in End of the Road. This large model was made out of wood with various kit parts and other bits added on for detail. Its four tracked underbody units came from the old Remco 'Tiger Joe' battery operated tank toy. This model was repainted yellow and reused in Atlantic Inferno. Note the helijet over the road builder which was made from two 1/32 scale Hawk Huskie helicopter kits joined back to back. This road builder was a huge model! The 'Gray' in 'Gray and Houseman' stood for Barry Gray, the man who composed all the music used in the Anderson's Supermarionation TV programs and cinema films.

Yellow road builder

road builder
This yellow road building machine was reworked from the End of the Road machine described above. Note the Remco battery operated 'Tiger Joe' tank tracks and clouds of Fuller's Earth dust.

Crab logger

city of fire cars
Here is the huge Crablogger mobile logging machine featured in Path of Destruction. This enormous model was built primarily of wood and was detailed with numerous plastic kit parts and other bits. The model vehicle had two articulated sections. The front section rode on a large number of plastic wheels from some kind of toy. The tracked back section, which rode on four Remco 'Tiger Joe' toy tanks, was actually reworked from the yellow Atlantic Inferno road builder described above.
This page published originally at the Supermarionation sfx WebSite
text ©1996 Marc J. Frattasio; not for reproduction for profit without his express permission