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Andercon, Anderson Entertainment’s first Gerry Anderson convention, next year

By John Freeman on September 14, 2013

Andercon, Anderson Entertainment’s first Gerry Anderson convention, will take place next April in London – and with its Kickstarter campaign for Gemini Force One up and running, new Thunderbirds merchandise, a new show and the 50th anniversary of Thunderbirds on the way, interest in the creator’s work is enjoying something of resurgence.

Anderson Entertainment say the event promises to deliver an “Exclusively Anderson” experience, celebrating the life and legacy of British television’s most celebrated Science Fiction producer, and creator of telefantasy classics including Thunderbirds, Space:1999, Joe 90, Captain Scarlet, UFO and Stingray.

AnderCon 2014 will be taking place on the weekend of Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th April, 2014, at the Park Inn Hotel, Heathrow Airport, London.

There will be guest appearances from many of the stars of some of his most celebrated shows across the weekend, including Zienia Merton, Prentis Hancock, Anton Phillips and Pam Rose from Space: 1999, David Quilter and Richard James from Space Precinct, David Graham, Matt Zimmerman and Shane Rimmer from Thunderbirds, Liz Morgan from the original Captain Scarlet and Jeremy Hitchen and Denise Bryer from Terrahawks.

Art by Derek Meddings that will be on display at Andercon 2014

The event also aims to bring to life the creativity and ingenuity of those early studio days through displays of production drawings together with recreations of actual sets used in the filming of classic shows such as Thunderbirds and Stingray, including; Brains Laboratory, an explosive Refinery, the Rolling Road beloved of many an action sequence, and Stingray’s “underwater” tank, complete with fish, alongside some of the surviving full sized vehicles that appeared in Anderson’s productions.

Production personnel attending currently includes Mike Trim, Steve Begg, Kevin Davies, Crispin Merrell, Terry Adlam, Des Saunders, Phil Ford, and from the very beginning, Gerry’s original business partner at AP Films, Arthur Provis.

In addition to props and models used in the actual filming of Anderson’s shows, there will be an impressive display of reproduction props and models courtesy of fan collectors and prop builders. The restored Straker’s Car from UFO will also be unveiled at the event.

• More information on the event can be found on the event’s website – www.andercon.co.uk with additional guests and event attractions to be announced in the coming months

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.