F.A.B., Virgil!

Remember back in July, in reference to my stint as Special Guest at this year's San Diego Comic-Con, I asked, "So how does a free trip end up costing $2,700?"

The answer -- in part -- has arrived! I'm torn between announcing "Thunderbirds are Go!" and "The Eagle has Landded!" :)

When Americans interview me, I usually say I got into science fiction through Star Trek and 2001: A Space Odyssey -- but that's only part of answer. My real first exposure to science fiction was through the Supermarionation programs of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, the best known of which is Thunderbirds.

And a company named Iconic Replicas in the UK has a license currently to produce large-scale limited-edition replicas of Thunderbird 1, Thunderbird 2 (my favourite!), and Thunderbird 3 (Carolyn's favourite).

Thunderbirds 1 and 3 come with partial replicas of their hangars, and with Plexiglas display cases -- but Carolyn and I have decided to display them without those. They're living in the room we used to call the sun room but is now known as Tracy Island!



Each of the Thunderbirds is limited to 800 pieces, and comes with a hand-signed Gerry Anderson certificate of authenticity.







I was admiring all three Thunderbirds at Comic-Con -- pricey though they were! -- when the U.S. distributor offered me a great deal if I took all three.

But I wanted more, and asked him what he'd charge me if I also took one of their Eagle Transporters from the Andersons' live-action series Space: 1999 -- a replica limited to 1,500 pieces.

He conferred with the UK representative and came back with a sweet price for them all, and the deal was done.





The Eagle also comes with a signed Gerry Anderson certificate, and Plexiglas case, but at the moment it's living free on a coffee table in our living room.

(No, I didn't spend all of that $2,700 I racked up at Comic-Con on these; there were several other goodies, too -- including one more yet to come from Iconic Replicas ...)

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site