Welcome to "There!"

There are lots of things I get angry about, but few that fill me with rage. If I haven't lived through the day-to-day, moment-by-moment shitshow that being black or female or LGBT in the USA, I can only try to imagine the hundreds of thousands of microaggressions folks endure. But imagination within me isn't connected to the parts of the brain that generate a rage response.

It also means that sometimes I'll miss something that outrages another entirely, because I lack the immersive experience.

Not everyone who thinks of themselves as genderqueer, trans, ambisexual or however else they describe it for themselves look any different than Joe or Jane Cisperson. They don’t put their gender identity on display because of their own personal reasons from comfort to safety to none of my business. Nor yours.

So I grew up loving Gerry Anderson’s “Thunderbirds” and especially Thunderbird 2. It wasn’t the fastest, it didn’t shoot stuff, it just carried things around. But, wow, was it cool.

So recently I had a chance to buy some Thunderbirds toys and here’s what I got.

First off, a vinyl replica of T2. suitable for sharing with my 5-year old twins.

Next up is a sequence of photos for the marvelously engineered Corgi Toys Thunderbird 2. First, the craft at rest.

It is a sturdy metal toy with a few plastic parts. Such as that gray stud you see on the ramjet assembly (along with a match one on the opposite side). Press them and...

...the telescoping landing legs deploy . Next, if you toggle the gray plastic switch just afore the tail structure...

...You release the transport pod. We’ll remove Thunderbird 2′s lifting body out of the way for a better shot of the pod...

Here we see the forward hatch opened; good work by the folks at Corgi on having you open it by hand, rather than having it just flop open when the pod drops. Turning slightly...

...We can see the nose of a craft inside the pod poking out. Fans of the show already recognize it as...

...Thunderbird 4, the aquatic rescue craft, that is brought to the scene by T2.

The replication of the craft from the show is remarkable, but equally impressive is the engineering and construction of the toys (not shown in the photos are the working rollers on the bottom of T2; so it will roll effortlessly from its hidden hangar on Tracy Island. But I digress.) All of the pieces are sturdily constructed and operate smoothly. This includes even the packaging.

While I didn’t photograph the individual parts, as someone who has had to rip, tear and shred his way through children’s toy packages, this is a marvel of design and execution. For one thing, I took this picture last. The end flaps are not taped down; when you open them up (on either side) the interior cardboard that the toys rest upon folds down to provide a convenient tab so you can easily slide the toys out of the box. The molded plastic covering for the tous within the box is in two pieces which easily separate (no staples, tape, glue or twist ties) and if you are considerate of the packaging, you can re-use it.

My daughter K just told co-parent Robin in a sad, disappointed voice:

“Robin. You are seriously fucked up.”