And later that year, the toy was the most sought after product for Christmas, with kids keen to get their hands on futuristic spaceman Buzz Lightyear. Anthea Turner joined Vivid Toy Group to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Thunderbirds this week by unveiling the original Blue Peter Tracy Island model alongside the new Interactive Tracy Island.

Haywood, Ian (1994). "Fathers and Sons: Locating the Absent Mother in 1960s Children's Television Series". Critical Survey. Berghahn Books. 6 (2): 201. eISSN 1752-2293. ISSN 0011-1570. In a publicity exercise, Ford Motor Company, which built the re-imagined FAB 1 for the live-action film, commissioned a Thunderbirds-themed live event and interactive experience for the 2004 British International Motor Show. The 7,400-square-metre (80,000sqft) stand was designed as a replica of Tracy Island, complete with a beach, a lake, an aircraft hangar and an overhead model of Thunderbird 2. Titled " Thunderbirds Powered By Ford", it was one of the largest exhibits ever built by construction company Imagination and proved to be a success, attracting 250,000 to 300,000 visitors and winning a certificate of "High Commendation" at the 2004 Marketing Brand Design Awards. [36]

By Christmas the following year, the toy on every present wish list was a plastic Tracy Island. They were sold out everywhere. “There were rumours that the manager of one famous toy store had even had mothers offering to sleep with him to get one,” says Jamie Anderson, Gerry’s son. [Gerry died in 2012.] “I don’t know if he took the offer up.” This time however I decided it was time to be more efficient. I took the top of another cold coffee cup and stabbed the see through plastic bit out of it with a pair of scissors...not very well.

For the 2004 live-action film, the main shooting location for the island exteriors was North Island in the Seychelles. Co-producer Mark Huffam described Tracy Island as "the most idyllic[...] imaginable, with crystal-clear waters, tropical jungle and mountainous peaks", adding that it was "fantastic" that North Island provided "all these essential elements". Various locations on Praslin, including Anse Lazio beach and Vallée de Mai nature preserve, were also used. [7] Edwardes, Charlotte (22 October 2000). " Thunderbirds Are Gone in Clamour for Classic Toys". telegraph.co.uk. Telegraph Media Group. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014 . Retrieved 16 February 2020. In stepped Blue Peter to save the day with its usual solution: make your own. Thirty years ago today, on January 7, in a 13-minute live segment, the presenter Anthea Turner showed eager viewers how to make Tracy Island using nothing more than cardboard, tin foil, papier mâché, lavatory roll, pipe cleaners, crepe paper, yogurt pots, paint and sandpaper. The Tracy villa, a paragon of midcentury American chic inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright, was made from the lid of a cream cheese pot, straws and one-and-a-half Swan Vesta boxes. Although that description makes it sound like the Thunderbirds vehicles are included with the set they are in fact sold separately. BBC (2018). Here's One I Made Earlier: Classic Blue Peter Makes. London, UK: Kyle Books. p.44. ISBN 978-0-85783-629-8.

In 2015, to coincide with the debut of the remake Thunderbirds Are Go, Vivid released a new version of the toy incorporating smart technology. [4] [31] Reception [ edit ] The base of the house is a piece of cardboard from the pizza box from earlier, the main part of the house is a big match box and the roof is the lid from the cheese spread tub that made up part of the control tower.

Derek Meddings, special effects supervisor on the puppet series, described his excitement at designing Tracy Island as "one of those feelings you get when you're a kid, imagining that you're Robinson Crusoe living on a lovely island." [6] Anthea said: “It’s amazing that 50 years on Thunderbirds still has the power to engage with children and adults alike, it’s rich history remastered to a 21st century audience has only strengthened its appeal and place as an iconic British brand.” Caesar, Ed (3 December 2005). "Mad About The Toy: What's This Year's Christmas Craze?". independent.co.uk. Archived from the original on 11 December 2010 . Retrieved 26 February 2020.The centrepiece of the island is the Tracy Villa, the home of the island's residents. Various features of the original series' villa – such as the outside staircase descending to water, the large windows, and the prominent stone chimney – suggest that its design was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater house. The buildings on the re-imagined island were deliberately given a " retro-futuristic" appearance, described by production designer John Beard as "based in the '60s and '70s, which is similar to what we were doing for Brazil." [8] Further inspiration was drawn from the work of Oscar Niemeyer and others. [8] The interiors set at Pinewood Studios was built in what Beard described as a "kind of double-'S' shape". He added that "because we're not building the top, it means we can hang the building from the top ceiling in the studio, which we couldn't have done outside." [9] Toys and Blue Peter [ edit ] Fordy, Tom (19 December 2015). "10 Toys Dads Should Buy 'For Their Kids' This Christmas". telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 21 December 2015 . Retrieved 26 February 2020. The first task was making sure Thunderbird 2's hangar didn't collapse under the weight of my shoddy papier mache work. The easiest way to do this was to make the door for it. Re-launch of Thunderbirds Television Show Sparks Fresh Demand for Toys". BBC Online. 22 December 2000. Archived from the original on 29 April 2005 . Retrieved 16 February 2020.

A shopper gets her hands on Tracy Island after an early visit to Toys R Us. Bizarrely this photo isn't from 1992 - it is from 2000 when Thunderbirds was repeated again and the same thing happened with toy issues (Image: Birmingham Post and Mail)

BBC reports suggested that stores sold out of the Buzz Lightyear doll within 20 minutes of opening on Christmas Eve 1996. Over 50 Years of Toy of the Year". BBC News Online. 11 November 2016. Archived from the original on 27 September 2018 . Retrieved 2 February 2020. White, Jim (26 September 2005). "Wilson talked of technology – and along came Thunderbirds". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 April 2014 . Retrieved 14 September 2023. Bowdin, Glenn A. J.; Allen, Johnny; O'Toole, William; Harris, Robert; McDonnell, Ian (2011) [2008]. Events Management. Events Management Series (3rded.). Elsevier. pp.414–415. ISBN 978-1-856178-18-1.