how many people tuned in to Thunderbirds on a regular basis in anticipation of what surprise would come out of Thunderbird 2's pod?
Thunderbird 2
was the only
International Rescue
craft to appear in all episodes of Thunderbirds and just about every episode featured some wonderful machine which emerged from the giant transporter's pod.
Thunderbird 1
through
Thunderbird 5
may have received 'star' billing but more often than not it was a pod vehicle that accomplished the actual rescue! The pod vehicles were sophisticated rescue machines. For the most part, each machine was designed to accomplish a specific type of rescue. Beyond this specific built-in purpose, each machine was of limited versatility. Thus, International Rescue's large stable of pod vehicles.
A strange air-cushioned hovering vehicle which has a mechanism on the back that produces a blast of air sufficient to cushion the fall of a person from great height. In essence, this machine acts like a contemporary 'fireman's net'.
The Hover Bed miniature was about 10" long and used two small props first seen on a puppet set as oil rig machinery in the Stingray episode
Sea of Oil
as the high pressure air blast mechanism.
This blue double-tracked vehicle has a large silver parabolic antenna mounted on the back capable of transmitting a powerful radio signal. It was used to transmit an emergency control signal into deep space which fired
Thunderbird 3's
steering rockets.
This was a one off 1/24 scale roughly 20" wooden model which not only incorporated the
standard toy tank tracks
used in several other Thunderbirds miniatures but was also reworked into several other vehicles seen in various episodes (like the explosive truck seen in
End of the Road).
It was even reworked into some kind of fire truck pod vehicle as seen briefly in a parking area below Tracy Island in
Security Hazard.
A small tracked vehicle with a mortar in the front capable of shooting specially packaged rescue equipment to otherwise inaccessible persons. Used to shoot jet-packs to two technicians trapped at the top of an imperiled TV transmitter tower.
The Elevator Cars are powerful six axle trucks with large spring loaded platforms on top. These vehicles were designed to safely land aircraft which have malfunctioning landing gear. In practice, a stricken aircraft can land on top of an array of Elevator Cars speeding down a runway and be brought safely to a stop.
Two different sized Elevator Car studio miniatures were constructed for use in Thunderbirds. At least two, representing a manned master unit and a radio controlled drone, were constructed in the standard 'pod vehicle scale' of 1/24 (about 19" long) for use in close ups and scenes of the vehicles emerging from the large scale Thunderbird 2 pod set. Please note that this was the standard model automobile scale in use in the USA at that time. Three smaller scale models were build for use in scenes with a
Fireflash
nuclear powered airliner miniature.
Remember the smoking brakes and exploding tires? Titanium Tetrachloride, a really corrosive and toxic chemical which smokes spontaneously in contact with the air was used to produce the brake smoking effect. The tires were blown out using electrical explosive detonator squibs.
Check out that
scene
showing the radio controlled Elevator Car going crazy and crashing into a hastily put together model airliner during the first Fireflash landing attempt! This started off as an accident that looked so cool in rushes that it was decided to build a little scene around it. What happened was that a front control wire broke during filming on the rolling road and the miniature pod vehicle was dramatically thrown across the stage as seen on film!
A one-off tracked vehicle which has three powerful suction cups mounted on adjustable arms. It is used to support structures which have been weakened by damage and are in danger of falling.
This is a reworking of the Drilling and Crushing Excavator miniature described below. Looks like standard dart-gun black rubber suction cups were used on this model!
International Rescue owns one
Mole
which is used to burrow beneath the earth to perform subterranean rescues. The Mole is a two component machine. The actual Mole is a manned yellow cylinder with a big revolving drill bit located at the front. This device is carried into position by a blue colored tracked trolley. This trolley is remotely controlled and featured a ramp which elevates the Mole into the proper angle for drilling into the ground.
It would seem that only one 1/24 scale Mole model was made but this was reworked several times during production since it took a lot of abuse on set. It was about 22" long. Take note of the Airfix Girder Bridge, Revell 'Everything is Go!' Atlas missile, and other plastic kit parts incorporated into the trolley.
A bright yellow mini sub carried into action for the most part in Thunderbird 2's pod #4 though also capable of independent launch as seen in Terror in New York City.
Several different versions of
Thunderbird 4
were constructed for filming in
Thunderbirds.
They varied to a great degree in overall contour, ranging in size from 3 to 13 to 20". All of these miniatures were made from fiberglass and had small plasticine figures of Gordon Tracy in the cockpit and working lights incorporated into the forward trough. Large scale sections were built of the nose (to film rescue tools in operation) and cockpit areas.
A tracked mobile high energy laser beam unit capable of cutting through thick metal. A high pressure air device mounted near the cutter is capable of blasting back wreckage.
One of the few pod vehicles constructed as a full puppet sized prop! The smaller 1/24 scale one that emerges from the Thunderbird 2 pod was about 10" long and it incorporated the same toy track assembly used in the Monobrake.
A rework of the Rescue Pack vehicle described above.
The Recovery Vehicles are tracked yellow/orange craft which can tow distressed vehicles out of danger by means of two magnetic projectiles anchored to a strong cable and winch system. Like the Elevator Cars, the Recovery Vehicles come in manned and remote controlled versions.
Two Recovery Vehicle studio miniatures were constructed in the standard pod vehicle scale (1/24). These two miniatures were approximately 17" long and used the characteristic undercarriage of some unknown battery operated toy or model tank which was also incorporated into several other ground vehicles used in Thunderbirds. [Note: since this page was written the riddle has been
solved.]
The studio also constructed larger nose and cannon sections for use in close up action scenes. The projectile cannons of the Recovery Vehicle miniatures were elevated from beneath the set and liberal quantities of Titanium Tetrachloride was applied to produce the smoke effects so noticeable in this episode.
International Rescue owns one
Mole
which is used to burrow beneath the earth to perform subterranean rescues. The Mole is a two component machine. The actual Mole is a manned yellow cylinder with a big revolving drill bit located at the front. This device is carried into position by a blue colored tracked trolley. This trolley is remotely controlled and featured a ramp which elevates the Mole into the proper angle for drilling into the ground.
It would seem that only one 1/24 scale Mole model was made but this was reworked several times during production since it took a lot of abuse on set. It was about 22" long. Take note of the Airfix Girder Bridge, Revell 'Everything is Go!' Atlas missile, and other plastic kit parts incorporated into the trolley.
The Drilling and Crushing Excavator is a tracked vehicle which resembles the Restraining Unit except that it has a powerful rotary excavator device mounted on an adjustable rig at the front. This vehicle is used to rapidly clear away large volumes of earth and rock from disaster sites. This machine is capable of crushing excavated rock into a sand-like substance which is routed through ductwork and ejected behind the vehicle.
Another 1/24 scale miniature (about 14" long) which was constructed mainly out of wood on top of the standard Thunderbirds toy track assembly. Check out the Airfix SRN1 hovercraft structure parts prominently mounted on each side of the drill housing!
A tracked, heat resistant, yellow firefighting vehicle, the
Firefly's
most distinctive characteristics are the nitroglycerin cannon and plow blade mounted on it's nose. The cannon is used to launch nitroglycerin shells which literally 'blow out' fires by momentarily depriving the fire of oxygen. The plow blade is used to clear blazing wreckage. The Firefly also has a rotating chemical fire suppressant turret mounted at the back.
The Firefly was probably made up from fiberglass castings on top of the standard Thunderbirds track set. The studio miniature was about 15" long.
Some kind of low-slung utility vehicle with a retractable crane(?) or something like that mounted along its transverse axis. Used in The Perils of Penelope to check out a monorail train tunnel.
Looks like this one was made out of wood in 1/24 scale and was about 16" long. The toy caterpillar tracks used to make this miniature were different than those used to make the Recovery Vehicles, Jet Mole, Drilling and Crushing Excavator, etc.
A tracked heat resistant yellow firefighting vehicle, the
Firefly's
most distinctive characteristics are the nitroglycerin cannon and plow blade mounted on it's nose. The cannon is used to launch nitroglycerin shells which literally 'blow out' fires by momentarily depriving the fire of oxygen. The plow blade is used to clear blazing wreckage. The Firefly also has a rotating chemical fire suppressant turret mounted at the back.
The Firefly was probably made up from fiberglass castings on top of the standard Thunderbirds track set. The studio miniature was about 15" long.
As can be gathered from this listing, both the Firefly and the Mole can be seen emerging from two different pods. It may be assumed that not too close an eye was kept on such continuity details during production.
However, putting either machine in another Pod would give rise to serious story difficulties since in the episode Pit of Peril both the recovery vehicles and the Mole can be seen coming out of pod #5 and the Firefly and the Mole are established as being both in pod #5 in the City of Fire episode. Had they been in different Pods, Virgil would have had to leave the site to get another one!
Incidentally, the word 'pod' stands for 'purpose on delivery'
[or so I was told].
![Restraining Unit [Domo]](../../../pix/tbirds/podvehicles/domo.jpg)
