The pictures below show the battery operated Thunderbird 1 in detail.

The toy is 11 1/2" long in real life.

Wingspan 8".

1: Top view.

The "Thunderbird" & "1" are transfers. The "Thunderbird" transfer is prone to drying out & flaking off.

The blue band is painted.

The base is attached to the main fuselage by a piece of sellotape - allowing it to be detached for access to the light bulb. If it is glued it's been tampered with. The 4 chrome parts on the base merely clip in.

2: Underside view.

This version does not have the screws in the wing housing to hold the 2 parts of the fuselage together - merely 2 moulded plastic pins. I suspect they were susceptible to breaking & were replaced by sturdier metal screws.

The direction of the front wheel can be changed by hand, allowing the toy to move in a circular motion.

3: Right hand view.

4:Left hand side view.

5: End view.

6: End view - lights on.

There is only one small bulb that illuminates the lights in the tail piece, needless to say they are not very bright.

7: Wheel housing base - text is: NO TB-1. Regd design no 918621(This piece of text is omitted on some versions). Made in Hong Kong.

8: Battery box open

The bronze/metal contacts are prone to corrosion if left unused & in contact with batteries. The lugs & clasps are fragile and are easily broken.

9: Battery box closed

Moving the white lever controls the movement of the toy - forwards or backwards. This depends on the way the batteries have been inserted.

10: Nose cone mechanism.

This show the inner part of the 2 part nose cone.

Depressing the nose cone causes the black plastic rod to move inwards. The wings then pop out aided by 2 small springs.

11: The TB1 in all its glory with wings out.