Yugin Thunderbirds Tracy Island Toys Review
Thunderbirds Are Go! (Do they ever stop?)
Japanese company, Yugin, has just launched (October 2006)
an innovative new range of Thunderbirds models. And we do mean launched, as you can see in the photo above.
There are four dioramas in this new series, each depicting Thunderbird craft with a Tracy Island, or section thereof, as a display stand.
Although small, (we've photographed them on a CD to give an idea of size) these models are exquisitely detailed and finished.
A nice touch is that the assembled Tracy Island model forms the shape of the International Rescue emblem.
These Yugin models capture the spirit and excitement of the kind of artwork that used to be characteristic of Japanese Thunderbirds kit boxes,
specifically those produced by Imai. More often than not the artwork featured not only the model in the box, but also other
Thunderbirds in the background.
The outer packaging for each of these Yugin models is identical, in keeping with other Japanese candy/capsule toys.
However, each box contains a "replica" kit box depicting the model inside(see above photo).
Above, you can see the contents of the Thunderbird 2 box, including the Japanese instruction sheet.
No glue is required for the assembly, which doesn't take long - but be careful, some of the parts are very fragile.
We would not recommend these models for small children, but adult Thunderbird fans will love them.
Yugin Thunderbird 1 with Thunderbird 5.
The Thunderbird One model is about 1 3/4 inches long and the wings are set in the vertical launch position.
Detail is sharp, especially the nose cone. A plume of "smoke" connects TB1 to its swimming pool silo on Tracy Island.
The "smoke" can be removed from the diorama - see inset above.
A tiny TB5 model is included, but looks a little out of place. Doubtless it's there so that the completed
Tracy Island diorama depicts all five Thunderbirds.
Yugin have thoughtfully supplied a small piece of island to plug the hole where the TB5 stand goes if you prefer not to display it.
Given the tiny size of the TB5 the detail is amazing.
The one third of Tracy Island supplied with TB1 incorporates the Tracy house, swimming pool and launch silo interior.
Yugin Thunderbird 2
This very nice model of Thunderbird Two is about 2 3/4 inches long. Presumably due to the model's weight, an additional stand
is supplied to provide extra support along with the "smoke".
A nice feature of this diorama is that optional parts allow for this section of Tracy Island to be configured for launch,
or camouflage ie, palm trees/ramp up or down.
Details on the island include TB2's launch bay, with pods.
Yugin Thunderbird 3 with Thunderbird 4
The Yugin TB3 is about 1 3/4 inches long and the TB4 is about 3/4 of an inch long.
A column of "smoke" connects TB3 to it's Roundhouse launch silo, and there is a small patch of sea for TB4.
The smoke can be removed to display the island in a more tranquil state.
This section of Tracy Island includes TB3's launch silo.
You may have spotted that there seems to be a lot of smoke coming out of TB3's access port - maybe the sofa caught fire...
This model comes in two flavours - it can include either a TB3 or TB4 "replica" box and instructions.
Inside Tracy Island
Here you can see the interior detail of the three sections of the Yugin Tracy Island. There is an astonishing amount of detail to be seen considering the small scale. Whoever designed these models, they were obviously enthusiasts who knew their subject well.
Yugin Thunderbird 5
Unlike the above three models, this Thunderbird 5 model includes a complete Tracy Island diorama in one box.
The TB5 is about 1 3/4 inches long. Also included are miniatures of all four of the other Thunderbird craft.
Note we removed the word "Classic" from the supplied lettering - just because somebody made another Thunderbirds movie,
I don't see why the name of the 60s TV show should be retrospectively altered.
The Yugin Tracy Island series are exquisite miniatures that vividly recreate the excitement of the Thunderbird machines going into action
- and they don't take up a lot of space.
The miniature reproduction artwork boxes are the icing on the cake.
Models and packaging exhibit a high degree of quality.
We have a few of these Yugin Thunderbirds models for sale