Thunderbirds remains a definitive example of how a children's television series can launch a colossally successful merchandise empire. A.P. Films' previous Supermarionation productions from the early 1960s had laid the toy-friendly foundations with which Thunderbirds would blast off to astronomical heights with its own far-reaching tie-in opportunities. From comics to annuals, records and dolls and beyond, Thunderbirds' brief lifespan on TV is countered by its long-lasting success in merchandising. Cannily, having five hero craft on toy shelves was certainly a step up from the single starring vehicle of previous series, while the popularity of Lady Penelope succeeded in making the character work as her own franchise within the larger Thunderbirds' behemoth. 

Thunderbirds marked a long-lasting association between A.P. Films/Century 21 Merchandise and Dinky Toys, who'd go onto produce a variety of Anderson hero vehicles for Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90, The Secret Service, UFO, and Space: 1999. A sales brochure for 2005's New Captain Scarlet loudly proclaims that the die-cast manufacturer's line-up of Captain Scarlet vehicles vastly outsold its earlier Thunderbirds toys.

Curiously, one of Dinky's efforts in producing a tie-in toy for Thunderbirds remains one of the oddest example of Thunderbirds merchandise ever - a Thunderbird 2... coloured in metallic blue?!

Thunderbird 2 is... Blue?

Rather than immediately produce a fleet of all five core Thunderbird craft, which we may be more familiar with as the go-to approach from toy manufacturers when bringing Thunderbirds to the toy shops, Dinky approached their releases differently. A pair of die-cast incarnations of two of Thunderbirds' most iconic vehicles were produced; a FAB 1 in 1966 and a combined Thunderbird 2/Thunderbird 4 set in 1967, numbered 100 and 101 in Dinky's ongoing line-up of releases, respectively.

This gorgeously painted Thunderbird 2 boasted spring-loaded landing legs and a detachable pod containing a smaller TB4. This approach to manufacturing International Rescue's iconic heavy duty transporter, and packaging it with a scale-appropriate Thunderbird 4, would be carried over by Matchbox in the early 1990s, Vivid Imaginations in the late 90s/early 2000s, and most recently, Corgi. Why bother reinvent the atomic-powered wheel?

While Dinky would go onto produce SPVs, SHADO Interceptors, and Eagle Transporters, FAB 1 and TB2 proved to be some of their most successful releases. FAB 1 was available until 1976, while TB2 remained available in the shops possibly up until 1979. A surprisingly lengthily period of relevance for both toys, likely bolstered by Thunderbirds' regional reruns across the ITV network up until the early 1970s. Or perhaps simply because they were quality toys! Keith Shackleton, head of merchandising for A. P. Films, recalled FAB 1 being one of Dinky's best-selling toys, selling at least two million units. 

Inexplicably, Dinky would go onto present their Thunderbird 2 die-cast in a bizarrely inaccurate fashion. In 1973, Dinky reissued the toy, not in its traditional green, but in a darkly coated shade of green-blue. The presence of a blue Thunderbird 2 toy has been one of the most notorious products in the world of Thunderbirds. However, did you know that Dinky did, in fact, produce two versions of a blue Thunderbird 2 die-cast toy?

The first of these was the reissued 101 release from 1973. The following year, another Thunderbird 2 die-cast appeared, now entirely redesigned at a larger scale, and resprayed in a stronger powder blue with different packaging. This was Dinky's 106 release, an entirely separate toy from the earlier TB2. Such a curious move evidently didn't dent the toy's success, as it remained on shelves until the late 1970s. The preceding 103, 104 and 105 releases were Dinky's take on Captain Scarlet's ground-based vehicles - the SPV, SSC, and MSV. But why did Dinky risk sabotaging one of their most successful toys by deliberately releasing it in the wrong colour - twice?

Security Hazard?

60 years since its release, precisely why Dinky chose to release Thunderbird 2 in the wrong colour hasn't yielded a definitive answer. The closest answer comes from Gerry Anderson himself, which he recounted in his 2002 authorised biography. He recalls visiting Dinky's Liverpool factory and was shocked to see Thunderbird 2 emerging from the production line - in the wrong colour! Dinky's response to Gerry's desire to know why this was happening was that market research had informed the company that children were reluctant to buy green toys.

Admittedly, there are a few holes in this logic. Dinky appeared to have been perfectly satisfied with the performance of their green TB2 for six years prior to the first blue toy's release in 1973. The idea of a blue Thunderbird 2 clearly wasn't on the agenda for Matchbox or Vivid Imaginations during Thunderbirds' rebirth in popularity throughout the 1990s and 2000s. More tellingly, the early 1970s did see Dinky release green toys - a green SHADO Interceptor and a green Eagle Transporter! 

A separate and more popular theory among fans is that Dinky coated their 1970s TB2 in varying shades of blue because that was the particular colour which they had large quantities of during that particular period. In a throwaway mindset, it was then simply decided to coat TB2 in whatever colour the company therefore had plenty of. Another feasible explanation taps into the age-old theory of strict gender segregation with toys was a factor in determining the logic of this miscoloured Thunderbird 2 - blue for the boys, pink for the girls. 

Whatever the true reason for Dinky's decision to lather Thunderbird 2 in an amusingly incorrect colour scheme, its subsequent impact continues to confuse and delight fans in equal measure. All three of Dinky's unique takes on Thunderbird 2 remain sought after collectors items, regularly fetching high prices for those in excellent condition. Evidently, Dinky's surreal manufacturing decisions didn't hamper the lengthily appeal of their definitive die-cast take of what many consider to be International Rescue's greatest ever machine.

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