It's Them - It's International Rescue! Why I Love the Corgi Thunderbirds Models

As a 90s kid who was introduced to Thunderbirds during the late 1990s and early 2000s, I was spoiled rotten for toyetic incarnations of the magnificent International Rescue machines. Seven-year-old me grew up on the sugar-rush giddiness of Thunderbirds totally unaware of the more widely recognised revival that had preceded this one from the early 1990s - and just how much of my revival was something of a rehash of an better remembered revival that had occurred barely a decade earlier.

But there were still an abundance of riches to be savoured that rivalled the early 90s treasures. The Soundtech Thunderbird toys and their Tracy Island playset; the Supersize Thunderbird craft (a Thunderbird 1 with genuine retractable landing gear was the stuff of dreams); the transforming Powertech Tracy Island playset - we were left wanting for nothing. Well, almost. As a 1990s Anderfan, we had the notorious Soundtech Thunderbird 5, which eventually found itself discontinued due to its electronic voice clips bearing a shockingly unfortunate resemblance to the 9/11 disaster. The younger me was less concerned with tense geo-political situations and far more pent up over how out-of-scale the satellite was in comparison to my other Thunderbird toys - and how you couldn't dock TB3 with TB5.

But as I grew older, drifted away from the worlds of Gerry Anderson, then blasted myself back into their orbit following Gerry's passing in 2012, my desires for tactile incarnations of these fabulous machines were less of a priority. Having written about the worlds of Anderson for the past decade, I've been content with having the die-cast Matchbox renditions of the first four Thunderbird machines as physical representatives of these beloved vehicles on my desk. Their not-quite-accurate colour schemes, aging mechanics, and chipped paintwork only added to their retro charm, and for these past few years, they've sufficed in serving as three-dimensional tokens of why the adventures of International Rescue have greatly entertained me for much of my life.

As an older fan, being so familiar with these fantastic machines oddly dulled the necessity of having up-to-date models of them. That is, until Thunderbirds' 60th anniversary got under way.

I've found myself acquiring all five of Corgi's limited edition die-cast Thunderbirds releases - the combined Thunderbird 1 & Thunderbird 3 set, the combined Thunderbird 2 & Thunderbird 4 set, the larger Thunderbird 4, FAB 1, and Thunderbird 5. Having all of these releases set up together has hit me with an unexpected wave of 'completeness' and, it must be said, a pang of uplifting joy as tangible as the models themselves, now that the full fleet is assembled. I'm looking at my desk and thinking: it's them - it's International Rescue.  

It's a curiously unexpected thrill to experience, and one that's only hit once I got these releases in hand. Half of these models aren't even new. Thunderbirds 1, 3, 2 and its accompanying smaller TB4 are reconditioned releases plucked from Corgi's 50th anniversary line of models, and all with moulding/engineering suspiciously close to the Matchbox releases of the 1990s. Now, however, they've been revitalised with more screen-accurate colour schemes and decals. Surely such a claim is the kiss of death for any line-up of collectable Thunderbirds models?

During production of the series, Thunderbirds utilised a wildly eclectic selection of filming models across multiple special effects stages, resulting in a notable lack of consistency with how the craft appear on screen. For my money, the launch sequence models are the definitive appearances of the Thunderbird machines. Thankfully, that seems to be the guiding method used on these releases. 

I adore the aesthetics of these releases - the colour schemes, the decals, the die-cast feel to them. Plucking these models out of the box for the first time, I felt instantly dismayed at what I thought were paint chippings. Fool that I was! These extra details were microscopic decals produced to match the weathered-down mechanical look of the vehicles on screen. This level of attention to detail, usually more likely reserved for the more premium styles of collectables (which aren't always affordable for ever Anderfan), is hugely appreciated. The striped black rings around the top of TB1, the silver legs of TB2, the fact that TB3 is orange and not red! It's these little details that make the models pop with authenticity.

Growing up with Thunderbirds, owning a FAB 1 wasn't a priority for my Thunderbirds collection. I regarded Lady Penelope's pink Rolls Royce as being entirely out of sync with the rest of the Thunderbird machines, despite its iconic status. Now somewhat older and with Corgi's FAB 1 lined up with the others, Penelope and Parker bring a touch of class and elegance to the line-up.

One of Corgi's most surprising reveals for their line of 60th anniversary models was a larger incarnation of Thunderbird 4 with spring-loaded missiles, similar to their Stingray model from 2024. I initially figured I wouldn't require this model since Thunderbird 2 comes with a smaller TB4. Scale may be an ever-present issue in any line-up of Thunderbird collectables (TB3 vastly outsizes TB1), but I do enjoy keeping some relative sense of scale, meaning that I initially figured that owning a smaller TB4 would suit my needs. Having this much larger TB4 in addition has totally swayed my opinion. This Thunderbird 4 boasts a sharper, more stylised design than the pleasingly squished proportions of the smaller model. Once again, detailing, decals, and screen accuracy in colours win me over; the detailed interior cabin in particular is exquisitely rendered.

The undoubtedly crowning event of this line-up is an all-new Thunderbird 5 model. International Rescue's communications satellite, able to intercept distress calls from anywhere in the world, is a rare and welcome sight in any line-up of Thunderbirds merchandise. TB5 has been stunningly captured in this release, all protruding antennae and endearingly awkward proportional design features. Corgi's release comes with a convenient display stand that allows Thunderbird 5 to neatly remain upright.

Isn't it strange how the simplest actions can provoke the most visceral reactions? The prospect of owning a Thunderbird 3 and Thunderbird 5 model that boasted docking capabilities has proved frustratingly elusive over the past 60 years. Now however, such heady fantasies have become reality. With its newly sculpted nosecone, Thunderbird 3 can connect with an easy firmness to Thunderbird 5 in classic docking style akin to the pair's appearances from the classic series. 

All of a sudden, owning a complete line-up of International Rescue's core machinery in stunningly rendered moulds and realistic colour schemes elicits that sense of 'completion' that I'm not entirely sure I realised I was missing out on. I've lived and breathed Thunderbirds for most of my life, from young fan to professional fan. That intensely close familiarity with Thunderbirds has lessened the novelty of owning models of the vehicles. I know these machines inside and out, so having contemporary die-cast versions surely wouldn't cause a minor swelling of euphoria - right...? 

The Corgi Thunderbirds models are a joyous celebration of the series' fantastically futuristic hardware. The grin-inducing satisfaction of owning all five Thunderbirds, plus FAB 1, plus a larger Thunderbird 4, is a hard sensation to keep locked up. The larger TB4 in particular has me hankering for a full line of pod vehicles in this style and scale. Having pod vehicles models small enough to fit inside of the Corgi TB2's pod makes enough sense, but this enlarged TB4 allows you to appreciate Derek Meddings' classically compact design that bit extra. While there's plenty more Thunderbirds vehicles which Corgi could produce in the future, this current selection is as close to a definitive line-up of International Rescue's fleet as I'll likely ever require.

Corgi's Thunderbirds are definitely go!

Discover our limited edition releases of Corgi's fantastic Thunderbirds die-cast collectables and complete your International Rescue fleet!

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