Thunderbirds - KAYO KYRANO!

Thunderbirds Are Go - 3.75" Series 01 - Kayo Kyrano - Vivid Toy Group 2016

After the success of the rebooted Captain Scarlet franchise, 2006's The New Captain Scarlet, work began on a reimagining of another great Gerry Anderson property, Thunderbirds. And nine years later, the CGI-animated series Thunderbirds Are Go premiered and ran for three seasons. The original Thunderbirds series debuted in 1965 and was very popular. It inspired films, an anime series, comics, and radio. The 2015 reboot, Thunderbirds Are Go, continued the unfortunate trend of swapping the puppets for CGI models, but at least this series retained a very puppet-like quality to the character design. Kyro Kyrano is a reimagining of Tintin Kyrano, a character from the 1965 series (played by Vanessa Hudgens in the 2004 live-action film). The new version plays a much more prominent role as a co-pilot and head of security - as opposed to a simple love interest character. I bought this toy in Toys R Us sever years ago but never got around to reviewing her until now. Let's check out Kayo below!

New Captain Scarlet - DESTINY ANGEL!

Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet - Destiny Angel - Bandai 2006

Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons was a 1960's science fiction television show by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. The show featured their signature electronic marionette puppets and scale vehicle models. It was actually their 8th show in this "Supermarionation" style, but it stands out as one of fan favorites (along with Terrahawks, Thunderbirds, and Stingray). And like any successful product of yesteryear, Captain Scarlet got the reboot treatment in the early oughts. In 2005, New Captain Scarlet premiered on ITV in the UK and lasted for two seasons and 26 episodes. The big departure from the Gerry Anderson universe is that this series ditched the puppets for CGI animation. It wasn't a bad show, but a huge part of the property's appeal (for me at least) was those unique puppets. There's a new Destiny Angel figure coming from Big Chief Studios later this year and it inspired me to finally review this older toy. She's very well made and very playable. I only wish she was 1:18 scale like all the other Anderson figures.

The Women of SPACE PRECINCT 2040!

Officer Took & Officer Castle - Space Precinct 2040 - Vivid Imaginations 1994

Gerry Anderson was the puppeteering genius behind the classic sci-fi series' Thunderbirds, Stingray, and Terrahawks (to name a few).  Space Precinct 2040 was one of his last big endeavors but was unfortunately plagued with problems.  The show began airing in 1994 and was cancelled after its first season.  Space Precinct was created for both US and UK distribution but was unable to find a tone to satisfy both markets.  It seems that there was a lot of sub-par work, exaggerations about funding, and inappropriate timeslots adding to its early demise.  There was even a documentary about the behind-the-scenes antics produced last year titled Space Precinct Legacy.  It's really a shame because underneath all the drama, there was a cool premise for a show that could have been a hit.  The series focuses on an NYPD Officer Patrick Brogan who is sent (along with a handful of other human officers) to serve as an officer on the far away crime-riddled planet of Altor.  They serve with other alien officers and solve crimes committed by aliens and humans alike.  Simple, weird, and Entertaining.  Think NYPD Blue meets Farscape.

The Women of TERRAHAWKS!

Captain Mary Falconer, Captain Kate Kestrel, and Zelda - BanDai 1983
 
Gerry Anderson had made quite a name for himself in the science fiction arena with his early hits including Thunderbirds (1965), Stingray (1964), and Captain Scarlet (1967).  When Terrahawks debuted in 1983, it had been 10 years since he had produced a 100% puppetry show.  His previous specialty of Supermarionation was out of budget for this new production and so he dubbed his new process of using latex puppets instead of marionettes, Supermacromation.  While originally thought of as a step backward in the Anderson technique, the latex puppets with no strings allowed for much smoother motions.  The storyline of Terrahawks is a typical adventure of a specialized Earth force fighting an encroaching menace.  In this case it is the alien android Zelda and her hoards of invaders from the planet Guk.  The Terrahawks are a team of five Earth pilots (and an array of R2D2-type robots) that pilot various bird-themed ships.  This series was also known for including a lot more humor than previous Anderson properties.  Let's check out these figures below!

Stingray's MARINA!

Your Favorite Telepathic Undersea Princess from Matchbox 1992
 
Stingray was the fourth Supermarionation series from Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and aired from 1964-1965.  It followed the adventures of the (very stylized) submarine, Stingray, and her crew.  Marina is the daughter of Emperor Aphony, ruler of the peaceful undersea kingdom of Pacifica, but when she first encounters the crew of the Stingray, she is the slave of the tyrannical King Titan of Titanica.  As cool of a character as Marina is, she is a little bit of supermarionation cop-out.  Her undersea race is mute and only speaks through telepathy.  You don't realize how much you appreciate a puppet's mouth movements until they're nonexistent.  This figure is pretty great and adds to the 1990's resurgence of supermarionation popularity.  I only wish Matchbox would have continued this trend and produced more figures.  I actually really enjoy the small scales, 3-5 points of articulation, and retro packaging.  There are so many more properties I would have loved to see done in this style, but that is just a pipe dream now.  Let's check out Marina in detail below!

Thunderbirds LADY PENELOPE!

The Pinkest Secret Agent Ever - Thunderbirds' Lady Penelope - Matchbox 1994
 
Gerry Anderson's 1965 Supermarionation series Thunderbirds is a classic sci-fi adventure romp.  It aired on cable channels regularly all throughout my childhood in the 80's and 90's.  I found the style of it difficult to enjoy at first, but I eventually caved in and became a fan.  Thunderbirds centers around an ex-astronaut, Jeff Tracy and his five sons who pilot the Thunderbird and work for a secret organization known as International Rescue.  Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward also works for International Rescue as their London agent.  She is a beautiful socialite spy who is constantly chasing bad guys in her fancy pink Rolls Royce (which is all decked out in 007-type gadgetry).  Thunderbirds inspired lots of other projects, including an Anime series, live action TV and film, and is apparently being revived into a new series right now by Gerry Anderson himself.  Matchbox did an awesome job bringing some of these great 60's characters to the toy shelves almost 30 years later.  I will be reviewing more in the coming months.  Let's check out Lady Penelope!

The Ladies of CAPTAIN SCARLET!

Destiny Angel and Harmony Angel from Vivid Imaginations 1993

Captain Scarlet and Mysterons is a classic British Supermarionation series produced by Gerry Anderson in 1967.  Younger generations are familiar with Supermarionation as the retro-looking puppetwork in movies like Team America: World Police and MTV's Super Adventure Team series.  However, the genre was a well-established sci-fi/adventure artform all throughout the 1960s.  Thunderbirds, Stingray, and Terrahawks were all very popular in their time and featured a similar stylized "puppet" look.  Captain Scarlet, however, featured very humanlike puppets with correct proportions and almost mannequin-like visages.  The series focused on the conflicts between the extra-terrestrial Mysterons and the international defense team Spectrum.  Spectrum's headquarters were an airborne ship called Cloudbase, and protecting Cloudbase were five female pilots (the Angels): Destiny, Harmony, Melody, Rhapsody, and Symphony.  Unfortunately only Destiny and Harmony got the toy treatment.