I’ll let you into a little secret. My real first name isn’t actually Penny. If you look in my passport you’ll find that I’m actually a Penelope. Not the most common of names, but one that has a few famous owners. One of the most notable of which being Lady Penelope from Thunderbirds. Back at junior school the playground taunts were usually around being called Lady Penelope and other children teasing a boy in my class with the surname Parker about whether or not he was my chauffeur. I’d never really seen Thunderbirds at the time so had absolutely no idea what they were on about.
Fast forward 30+ years and actually I’d quite happily be called Lady Penelope. I figure that if you’ve had an unusual name all your life you should at least be able to have a bit of fun in some way from it. But alas it appears that it’s impossible for a woman in the UK to become a Lady in her own right unless I go and purchase the title. My other options are to find a Lord or a Sir to marry. Anyone want to volunteer?
Thunderbirds themselves may be over 50 years old now, but thanks to the television series Thunderbirds Are Go children of today are probably more familiar with them than I was as a child. Master C was therefore thrilled when he was sent a new Thunderbirds are go Scott Tracy costume from Pretend to Bee. This is one of three outfits from the officially licensed Thunderbirds Are Go range that Pretend to Bee and is fantastic for aspiring Thunderbirds pilots like Master C.
Each costume is a five part set including the main costume itself, a utility belt, two gauntlets and also a sound chip in the utility belt that when pressed gives you the authentic “5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Thunderbirds are go!” countdown.
The costume itself is really well made, with the commonly found velcro tabs up the back to hold it closed, but also a small zip section at the neck which not only makes it look more authentic, but also makes it a bit roomier around the neck. Maser C was sent one aged 5-6 to review and I have to admit that it wasn’t actually as roomy as I had expected it too be considering he only turned 5 last week. I’d certainly suggest looking to go up a size if you have a child who is big for their age.
The gauntlets were a nice touch, but if I’m honest he only really wore them when I asked him to pose for a photo for me. After that they were discarded into his toy box. This was possibly because they only had one set of velcro tabs to fasten them meaning that they couldn’t be adjusted to be smaller which Master C really needed.
The inclusion of the sound chip in it was fantastic. Master C loved being able to activate the countdown on it – although trying to do so when his sister had just been told that I was going to count down from 5 by which point I wanted her to be ready to get into the bath wasn’t his best idea. It did make me laugh but his sister was unimpressed.
30 September 2017 sees the first annual Thunderbirds Day – a day for fans of Thunderbirds across the world to celebrate all things Thunderbirds. It was on 30 September 1965 that the original series first aired here in the UK and it’s a clear message about how successful the series was that it’s still on air over 50 years later. So whilst Master C is busy pretending to be Scott Tracy I’ll be spending the day researching how I can buy myself a Ladyship and fulfil that lifelong ambition of becoming Lady Penelope.
Disclaimer: We were sent a Scott Tracy Thunderbirds Are Go dressing up set from Pretend to Bee for the purposes of this review. All opinions remain my own.
Love the photos, he looks so happy in the outfit. As to being a Lady – a friend had a cat called Lady and when being called for her appointment at the vets the receptionist said “Lady Gilbert please” ., which caused some strange looks from those waiting and amused my friend.
Always loved Thunderbirds. I bit a girl on the nose at playschool because she wouldn’t let me have Thunderbird 4.
Loved the blog. Dx