Thunderbird 5

This was not a favourite Thunderbird until I built the replica. It is a great way to really appreciate the design.

The entire structure was wood. To keep weight down, I used thin MDF and braced it from inside.

The ring was a pipe with multiple cut which was bent then glued to form a ring.

The cover for the ring is a ribbed aluminium tube used in car ducting. I worked with the guy that built the original so had pretty good info.

It was hard getting proportions correct from watching TV and images, so a bit of guess work and proportioning from known kit parts.

Building what I can only guess are window shades. These were strips of plastic.

All the parts painted and ready to assemble. There were several variations of Thunderbird 5 throughout the series and films. This model was my version of the bits I liked.

Assembling the docking port.

Fitting the kit parts.