F.A.B.: Thunderbirds Are Go!!

"F.A.B."

The British Royal Post issued six stamps to mark the 50th anniversary of Gerry Anderson's Thunderbirds, at Claycots Primary School.

It's evocative and nostalgic recalling the rainy Saturday mornings when as a kid, I would tear my sheets away, rush down to the living room and turn on the TV to watch the marionette puppets, calling "International Rescue, International Rescue, come in..."

Here is a Youtube presentation of the unveiling of the commemorative stamps.

The stamps are split between 1st Class and 97p value and feature 6 of Anderson's most popular vehicles and characters: Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and Joe 90. The countdown begins with Thunderbird 5, International Rescue's orbiting space station keeping a watchful eye over the Tracy's rescue operations. Remember Scott, Virgil, Alan, Gordon and John Tracy.

What's great about these stamps? They're LENTICULAR!!...yes, you can see Thunderbird 1 blasting off by tilting the stamp on angle...F.A.B.

My favorite Thunderbird vehicle...Thunderbird 2 carries the value of 88p. It always played in my mind back then that TB2 was a cute, green, flying guppy fish in the air. TB 2 was piloted by Virgil Tracy. My second choice is TB 1, the flying hot-rod, hypersonic rocket flow nby Scott Tracy..

These memorabilia will be great for collectors and fans of the 1965-1966 series. A reboot was done in 2004, starring Bill Paxton, among others, albeit with lukewarm success...

I suppose it's time to call in a favor from my friends in the UK to bring some back on their next visit...

Thunderbirds are go!