Thunderbirds Tracy Island Playset - Matchbox 1992 | The Toy That Ruined Christmas! 

Excellent video Tony.

I was one of those hundreds of thousands of Dads who couldn't get hold of the real thing and had to resort to the Blue Peter version but using decent chicken wire, uprated papier-mâché and balsa wood made it surprisingly robust. I gave it a bit of sparkle though with some battery powered lighting. Our son had all the models though so he could play with it quite happily.

Guarantee it was the only time my Dad ever watched Blue Peter was when he recorded that episode so he could make Tracy Island for me. Is it just me or are the thing's our parents scratch-built for us always better than the shop-bought versions?

I was lucky enough to get this for Christmas that year, I was obsessed with Thunderbirds. My dad never lets me forget that he had to go into London to get it and on his way home on the tube someone offered him £100 to buy it off him!

In 1967 I was 10 yrs old, with my 2 other brothers watching our favorite on TV . The Thunder Birds are go! Must have given mum a few headaches. After the program, the 3 of us would be wizzing around the house. Flying over the furniture, swooping down and under the kitchen table, that mum was attempting to set for dinner. Short of bouncing of the walls, our flight paths would then lead us outside. We'd be out there on the lawn until hearing, "Come in, base to Thunderbird's, time for dinner". Such wonderful, wonderful times. Mum and Dad have passed now some 20 years ago. Great granddad of 2, 3 grown son's and 7 grand children. Thunder Birds helped create many wonderful memories. A solute to, the Defenders of the Community. . . Thunder Birds Are Go ! ! ! !

Out here in Australia Thunderbirds is almost always shown early in the morning. Years ago a job I used to work needed all teams in at 5am instead of 8am to start on a huge project. I'll never forget coming in at 4:30am and seeing several dozen of my coworkers on office chairs all crowded around the one TV meant for training videos dead silent and intently watching Thunderbirds.

Last month I was watching my Best friend's son, 9 yrs old, typically he's either playing video games, or on his phone. However on that day pluto was running a Super marination 24 hour special. At first he was a little bord & showed little interest. But within 30 minutes of watching he was hooked. Do you know that boy sat & watched every minute of every program untill it was bedtime. That really speaks to the honesty of old programs, they offer a entertainment value that most of today's programs just can't compare with.

I was never a Thunderbirds fan and I still wanted Tracy Island. Good playsets really make a difference to a toy collection. That Blue Peter episode was great as well.

Had this as a kid, was lost to the ages... hands down one of my favorite toys as a kid, and still a favorite show as an adult.

Great review. Even though I grew up in America, I watched hours of British TV. I remember seeing the Thunderbirds, but I don't remember what channel or when. It was a great show. It added to my desire to build most of my toys out of cardboard.

I got one, my Dad stayed out at 5am outside Toys R Us to get me one for Christmas, apparently people were offering him hundreds of pounds. I still have it with the box in my parents attic

This show clearly had long lasting influence. I grew up in the 90s in Canada and it aired all the time. I loved it. I also had this playset. Total nostalgia!

Thunderbird two emerging from it's hanger, in my opinion is one of the greatest reveals in tv history.! Always love T2....you ol' big greenie!

Damn this has hit me right in the nostalgia. I had the second sound-tech version and spent hours of my childhood with it.

I remember when the Thunderbirds were on Spanish TV, back in the late 70s. I must have been like, five years old (?) and every time they came on screen I ran to a different room in fear. There's something inherently unsettling about puppets moving on their own.

I was born in ‘72 in America and I remember this series. We had a movie theater that played this series during the summertime. Great series and brings back great memories.

I remember that Christmas. Me and my brother got one loved it for years. Makes me appreciate what my mum and dad did for us. Something so simple but it meant the world that day.

It's an incredible toy, honest to the series. I just hope RU-vid don't smack you down with a 'KIDS' video rating as I have had happen too many times. Honestly I steer clear of toys now it's just not worth the micro income once it gets a 'KIDS' video rating.

I spent so much time looking at the pictures of this playset in the catalogues when I was a kid. Great review Tony 👍

Grew up watching Thunderbirds every Saturday when I was a kid. Great show, unforgettable theme music.

I remember seeing Blue Peter making this. My dad ended up making it for me and the palm trees were made from my grandas pipe cleaners. I loved it and had a friedn who had the plastic one, but I didn't care as mine was just as cool.

I'm from St. Louis, Missouri, US, I was born in 1975, so the reruns of Thunderbirds in the late 70s and 80s were some of my favorite things to watch as a kid. My dad who was 13 when the show was new, got me into watching them when he saw that the show was being aired on one of the channels we had at the time.

I remember seeing that \blue Peter episode. Loved the series Thunderbird as a kid and we had the original diecast vehicles. All played with to death.

92 was a weird year. It felt as though everything old was new again. I seem to recall an ABBA revival around that time too. (Erasure made an album of covers which brought the songs back into the public consciousness and made it okay to admit to liking a group who had been written off as a bit kitsch and naff through most of the 80s.)

Im American and was born in 1970 .And i loved this show when i was a kid.and from time to time ill still watch it. Sep 18 2021 ...im 51 now and still enjoy thiis show.

Funnily enough, I'm an American Thunderbirds fan ever since the early 90s (thanks to some tapes my Dad got me!) and I've never before realized how blessed I was to get Tracy Island for Christmas (and the Rescue Pack). I still have them all today, nearly 30 years later!

Always wanted one of these as a kid, alas we couldn't afford such things back then. I remember seeing that Blue Peter episode too and wishing I had the skills to make it :D

I'm an American. I love THUNDERBIRDS, FIREBALL XL5 and all of the ANDERSON shows. That playset was absolutely amazing. I want one.

We had Thunderbirds running in Australia in the 90s. I begged my parents for Tracey Island but was told it was too large for our house. They still run Thunderbirds on free to air tv today here.

I totally remember watching this show when i was a kid growing up in Canada.

I watched the show late 80s or early 90s on German TV, I loved the show but I did not know that there was Thunderbird toys. Thanks tony now I want one 😅. Thank you and many greetings from Germany.

I watch this and I have a flashback to when I had surgery as a child, when I was coming from the anesthesie my parents had got me the entire matchbox thunderbirds collection!

I remember the summer of 1991 vividly - oddly, for me as a kid living in Belgium, my first encounter with the Thunderbirds wasn't on the BBC, but on Dutch television which had begun re-runs of the show about a month or two before the BBC did. I still remember the Blue Peter episode, sending in an envelope for the building plans for Tracy Island... and never receiving them, to my eternal disappointment. I still remember starting to build the island anyway - but never finishing it as I got a Tracy Island myself. It's 30 years later - I still have the Tracy Island in its original box; I still have the Matchbox Thunderbirds Rescue Pack (in immaculate condition, I have to add); I still have the individual packaged vehicles (still in their blister packaging); and I still have all of the figurines as well.

Remember getting this set for Christmas and absolutely loved it. My brother and I got the vehicles between us and would replicate episodes with them on the living room floor. But you're absolutely right, it was insane how in demand this set was. My mum told me that she'd put one on lay-away at the local toyshop for Christmas, and going to collect it there were parents following her down the street offering her hundreds for it. Absolute madness

Born 1989 and I was a Thunderbird fanatic. Still to this day. My mum made sure I had the Tracy Island and all of the attachments. I also had captain scarlet toys but didn't have Joe 90 and Stingray merchandise. But never the less I was satisfied with all I had through my childhood. She even recorded the episodes on VHS taping when the shows came on back then. Thanks to Gerry Anderson and his wife Sylvia Anderson I had a happy childhood. 💯👍🏾😇

I grew up watching the Thunderbirds reruns on YTV in Canada in the early 90's. When I got this for Christmas 1993, it was a seminal moment for me.

Funny enough they briefly aired Thunderbirds on G4TV in the US in the early 2000s. It was a cable network so not many people saw it, but that was my introduction to the show.

I’m from Australia. We had the show, and I actually remember at least 2 friends having the complete set of either the 1992 or the 2000 release. I had no idea they were so rare!

I'm a yank I first started watching this show in 1967. Loved it then and still do. Old kids never die, we just watch away!

Fantastic video. I was born in the mid-sixties and this was my favorite program when I was a 10 year old kid. Was so excited when I found Thunderbirds DVDs at FNAC 15 years ago, and obviously now on YT. Fond memories from a time when we looked at the future with optimism.

oh yes! I remember playing with that set :-D

Superb video as always Tony, and plenty I didn’t know in there, although I was well aware of thunderbirds growing up, I never really got on to them, but the playset really is worthy of the name, and I can see why it was in such demand. Thank you for sharing, awesome gifts of two great guys in Jody and Chris nice one lads 👍

Wooow I CANNOT BELIEVE ive stumbled across this video. There was one kid to this day i remember having this and it was forged in my head forever. The coolest toy i ever saw I’m so impressed you covered this sir. Thank you

i'm American, but my father introduced me to Thunderbirds when i was a small child. i always thought it was an attractive series and i wanted Thunderbird dolls of my own.

What a cool, classic playset. Simple, effective, and does everything you need to recreate the launching sequence from the show. I don't know why modern companies have such a hard time with stuff like this. Sure, every once in a while they come pretty close, but they really don't make them like this anymore.

I first learned this show was british when i looked up merchandise for it as a kid and saw everything was in POUNDS.

Hey thanks for a great video. Don't forget us Aussies - we were big on the Thunderbirds too. Should I dare to say that it is my favourite TV show of all time, well I am over 50 years old now, and have still been known to watch an episode or 3. I remember hearing about the short supply of Tracey Island, but wasn't part of that tearful situation. Cheers.

I had in 1992 and still have this and Saint Nicolas got me the Matchbox Superbox as well ! ! ! **The nostalgia **

Loved this series as a kid in the late 70's. My parents turned me on to it. Never knew it made a resurgence in the 1990's. This playset is awesome. I can remember many children in the US upset during the holidays because the toy stores being sold out of Cabbage Patch Kids.

Love the review. Had the Island and rescue pack as a kid and loved it. Because there was no TB5, I also used the round house as an alternative TB5 in my Thunderbirds story’s 😁

I'm from Australia, born in 2000s, but i still remember watching the show here and there on tv. I remember being excited seeing this playset at a dentist office once

I got this set in the 2000’s and still have it at my mum and dads. The sounds it makes now when you press the buttons are something out of a nightmare but I remember hours of cracking playtime. It was a really good part of my childhood.

Japanese loved the show. They made lot of great Thunderbirds toys and model kits. They love The Mole so much all the 80 liveaction shows has drill vehicles in them.

RIP to all the kids who's parents bought the playset, but didn't know you needed to buy the ships separately. You know it had to have happened!

I watched Thunderbirds as a British kid in the 70s but moved to Canada in 1991 and entirely missed the relaunch. I learned about Tracy Island right now on this show. Thanks for the review Tony; what a great toy 😊

I'm reminded of the Cabbage Patch dolls craze. People were ordering them, buying them for hundreds of dollars from scalpers, waiting in lines for hours to be at the store when it opened in the hopes that they would be able to get one, women punching the crap out of each other in the stores fighting over the dolls. It was absolute madness. It was the first true toy craze that I was aware of in the 80's. I did watch the Thunderbirds in syndication and loved it, but had no idea that there was a playset that went along with it. I was a little old for those toys at that time.

For context to this comment I was born in 2003. My mates aunt (Realize this sounds really dodgy😂) worked at Blue Peter at the time of the model they made (I can't remember what her job but I think it was prop making or something) Anyways he had one of the actual models they used on the show to explain how to make it (I believe they had made multiple models). Growing up I had the Soundtech Tracy Island but we'd have as much fun playing with his Blue Peter version at his house which was still relatively good even for a 10+ year old toy at the time. I don't think either of us appreciated at the time quite the significance of the model and weren't that careful with it! I have no clue what happened to his island but I'll be sure to ask him about it at some point I suspect his parents still have it. This video brought back a lot of memories I really aprecciate it Thank You!

I only had a passing interest in Anderson's TV shows, but that is one glorious playset (assuming you've got the vehicles to go with it)!

As an Aussie kid in the 60s, I would race home from school to catch Thunderbirds on TV. School let out at 3:30pm and Thunderbirds was on 4 - just enough time to run home, change, grab a Milo and settle in for International Rescue's latest exploit 😁

Australian fan here. Watched as a kid and yes, we had it air the full hour long episodes. Now when i had my first daughter, they had reruns on, 2 episodes at 1am in the morning. My eldest daughter who was turning one that year eventually started getting up at 1am just to watch it. That same year the remakes came out so..... we had to get my gran to bring back the plushy ones from the uk and when she came back my daughters eye's lit up when she saw them. I have a few tb minatures and a TB5 model i built and painted which lights up and rotates around...and thanks to a friend in Singapore, I got an original matchbox Thunderbird 1 happily sitting on my shelf next to two of the Big Chief studio creations of John and Gordon Tracy. (Yeah, I'm a big Thunderbirds nerd....🤣) the matchbox toys are incredible quality and still look fantastic

F.A.B. Tony! 🤣👍 I remember those Thunderbirds reruns from my time in Scotland. Great show and a great toy review!

I remember the Blue Peter special where they showed how to make your own Tracy Island. You'd have to have a PHD in engineering to actually make the thing though.

A childhood friend of mine had the playset with all the thunderbird ships as well. This must've been around 2003/04, and I remember playing with it all the time when I visited his house. Thunderbirds was extremely popular in the Netherlands during the late '90s and early 2000's. My dad grew up when the series first aired in the 60s and 70s, so he was happy to buy me Thunderbirds toys when it reemerged during my childhood.

My dad still had his original Thunderbird playset. After his passing it was passed down to me. Which I still have displayed in my game room

I was a child watching this on American television because we got ITC programs on the channels at that time. I loved this program so effing much, I was riveted. SCREW computer-generated graphics! Long live the memory of Gerry Anderson!

I remember watching Thunderbirds the very first time it aired in 1965. And every re-run since! What I didn't get first time round was the excellent production values on the model work, all overseen by the genius of Derek Meddings.

Thanks for posting. My friends and I have been trying to remember the name of this show. As a treat we got to watch it on Fridays in Kindergarten here in Florida in the early 80s. 😊

That was a blast from the past. I begged a teacher at school to give me her plant pot because it was THE ONLY ONE I could find that was the right shape for the building.

I finally sat down and watched Thunderbirds during quarantine and I fell in love with the attention and obsession to detail in the show. So much charisma and character in the clothing, sets and vehicle designs. I would've loved this playset as a kid, thanks for the close up look!

I was born in 1992 and i absolutely remember watching this show when i was a kid and playing with both this set and the big Thunderbird Two.

I am an ex RAF airframe fitter and was watching Thunderbirds boxset on the crew room TV when a group of aircadets entered the room. They very quickly went quiet when they spotted what I was watching. My controller arrived and informed me one of the cadets was concidering joining the RAF as airframe trade and that my next after flight service was on its finals to land. The cadet followed me as I collected the tools required where I explained the tool control system and why it was important then showed him basic marshalling and let him marshall the aircraft ( Shackelton AEW ). I then let him take control of the brakes when we towed the aircraft and in effect he did much of the after flight and before flight servicing. The lad was having a great time so took him to the hanger where we had an aircraft on majors almost totally stripped down and I answered a lot of questions about the job and military life in general. I was running out of ideas so told the lad that there was little left to do for a few hours so asked him "what would you like to do now?" answer " Can we go back to watch Thunderbirds ?" which was what happened untill the next aircraft landed.

Great video I loved the thunderbirds as a kid .

I've got both the Tracy Island & Vehicles in which I purchased traveling through the state of Arizona. My son & I occasionally play with them & put back in the boxes after we're done with our adventure.

I remember owning this... second hand; the T2 platform and half the tree were gone, but I had it, and many hours of fun with it.

Wow!! Beautiful. Wish I had that thunderbird island to put under glass for my 37 years of collecting. From the sledgemaster 3 times making professional powerlifting history in 2022

I remember watching all those shows, i.e., Supercar, Fireball XL5 and the Thunderbirds in the 1960s in the good old US of A. They were awesome shows. I remember how they would use a human hand in some shots for Mike Mercury in Supercar.😁

Caught this show a few times, my dad used to tell me how he'd watch the show in the 60s when he was stationed in Hawaii.

I remember this well! I won one on the local radio show...Signal radio..i phoned in for school of the week and nominated my teacher for teacher of the week. Great memories

Was born to in the late 80’s. And love the thunderbirds when was shown in the 90s. Was one of the kids who couldn’t get the island at Christmas…However, Me and my Grandad followed blue peter and made the islands. One of my happiest memories growing up.

I watched The Thunderbirds in Canada when I was just a wee snippet, early 60’s for sure. It was the greatest for kids at the time and I can still remember the episodes. Lady Penelope was my crush, never mind it was a “SuperMarionette”.

My brother still has his Tracy Island set from 1992 when he was about 5. We still also have a Tamiya model of Thunderbird 2 my uncle built and painted for him.

I was one of the lucky kids who got this island however in 1993. I had many of the episodes on VCR and used to have the island out and every time one of the thunderbirds took off I would mimic what was happening on the TV with the island set. Magic times. Always lost that bloody Thunderbird 4.

I remember this, my brother managed to get one and it made his christmas.. we still have a video of him opening it up~ once he had it he didn't want to open any other present. THUNDERBURR ARE GOO! we were so spoilt as kids. Still are.

I had one of these. I wasn't born until 1990 so by the time I wanted one they were a lot easier to get hold of. It's still my most memorable birthday present.

I have no idea why this came up on my feed, but I'm canadian and loved this show. My parents managed to get me the set for Christmas, and I still have it.

Glad I grew up in the early 90s. In the Netherlands the Thunderbirds was also very popular. I got some of the models, and most of my friends had some as well, including a few who got the island. And there was a cardboard model which you could get by buying dairy products. Awww.... sweet memories. Time to watch some episodes again. :)

Had it too! ...loved how the trees moved out of the way

This is incredible. I was born in 2001, was raised watching and loving thunderbirds and (though I didn't realise it at the time) was so lucky, as I got the soundtech Tracy Island with all the vehicles years after its release. I also own the die cast T1 T2 and T3, I have no idea where I got them from 😂😂

I'm American, but I recall watching the Thunderbirds in the 70's on either channel 9 or 11 in New York (Space 1999 aired on channel 9). Then, years later, it was broadcast on a cable tv network around 2005 or so on Saturday mornings. Now, you can watch it all you want, whenever you want. Good!!!

Thanks! Great video -- nostalgic vibes all around -- from the 60s TV shows to the mad toy rushes that happened in the 90s. I'm old enough to have watched all those shows as they got to the US in the 60s. I'm lucky enough to have the die-cast Thunderbirds vehicles, Fireball XL-5 and Super Car but never caught up with a die-cast Stingray!

I love the fact that Blue Peater made a paper mache version of it for those kids like me who didn't get one for Xmas, I however ended up with one 17 years later

I'm an American and yeah this show was a part of my childhood...it still holds up

I miss this. I had one when I was younger with all the vehicles. Wish I still had it.

Man I'd kill to see that thing in a 3 and 3/4 scale . Never knew this existed . Thanks Tony!

I've seen several episodes of the show back in the day but the station didn't aired the others and I have forgotten about it since then. I was not even aware about the toyline, too. I am sure to be craving for the playset if I ever seen it in the toystore but I never saw it.

I had a later model of this with the buttons designed to look like the control room of the show and all the vehicles that made sounds with buttons. Sold it in the end to make space, but this is one of the few toys I played with all the time.

I can't believe this toy came out all the way in 92! I love Thunderbirds even though it was before my time and I ended up watching it in classics-channel type reruns as well - I think it'd be cool to have this now, though I am surprised it's so small (the photos made me think it'd be a massive playset).

I first saw Thunderbirds on TV here in Australia on Channel 9 at 6 or 6:30am on Saturday mornings in the mid-80s. I bought this set along with almost all the other Matchbox Thunderbirds toys in the early 90s. Still have them unopened in a cupboard.

I remember getting my tracy island for xmas, still got mine now so many hours spent playing with it when I was younger

I remember very well how blue Peter showed you how to make your very own Tracy Island, Christmas was saved hozar!