FIREBALL XL5 from the 1962 TV Series ‘FIREBALL XL5’ created by Gerry Anderson
I will admit that this show was before my time. I dont recall this being shown on tv when I was a kid - whereas Thunderbirds and to a lesser extent Stingray, Captain Scarlet and Joe 90 were. Maybe because this was made in Black & White. I became aware of it via the terrific Cy Payne LP ‘Childrens TV Themes’. And old TV 21 annuals which were acquired from local school fetes and jumble sales.
This ship is magnificent and was designed by Reg Hill - one of the unsung heroes of the Anderson set up. It was conveyed on screen by Derek Meddings’ visual efects utilising an ‘18”’ and a ‘6ft’ miniature’.
This ship is huge - 408 feet long, so a scale model in 1/288th would be 17 inches long. A really nice size kit. And the detachable Fireball Jnr would be aporox 3.5” long.
The kit woud be molded n the popular silver plastic of the time.
There was a kit made by Airfix for a Kitmaster giveaway for Lyons’s Maid Zoom iced lollies. This kit is ultra rare today, but looking at photographs, it looks like a very nice model.
Designed by Reg Hill
Watch the video ‘What If… Fantasy Model Kits ‘#14’:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4I93Uc1mHw&t=628s
Lyons Maid Zoom commercial, starring Steve Zodiac