Century 21 Merchandising
 Imitation of the Spectrum Patrol Car from Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, a product licensed by Century 21 Toys. | |
| Industry | Merchandising |
|---|---|
Key people | Gerry Anderson |
| Products | Toys, comic books, audiobooks, |
Century 21 Merchandising and Century 21 Toys were merchandising companies associated with Gerry Anderson's Century 21 Productions. There was also a publishing line, Century 21 Publications which created the comic strips TV Century 21 and Lady Penelope and a music department, Century 21 Music which marketed audio books and soundtracks from the series. The various "Century 21" brands predate the renaming of AP Films to Century 21 Productions, which was rebranded soon after Thunderbirds was first broadcast in 1964 to fit with Anderson's other merchandising businesses.[1]
Most of the companies' activities were marketing products produced by "Century 21 Productions" - in particular Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and Joe 90,[2] although some of the various spin-off media were based on characters and machines from other media franchises often connected to Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment.
Century 21 Merchandising also acquired a line of plastic science fiction toys manufactured in Hong Kong, which they marketed under the name Project SWORD, which although not based on Anderson's creations did feature in two series of comic strips and text stories published by Century 21 Publications. The only Anderson craft made by the line was a model of Zero-X, the spacecraft which first appeared in the film Thunderbirds are GO.[3] A comic strip series based on the toys appeared in the comic Solo. After Solo folded, a second series of stories - text, illustrated by comics artists such as Ron Embleton and Don Lawrence - appeared in TV 21. There was also an annual for "Project SWORD" featuring text and comic strips.[3]
References
- ↑ Gerry Anderson: The Authorised Biography by Simon Archer and Stan Nicholls, p111; ISBN 0-09-978141-7
- ↑ Merchandising at Big Rat
- 1 2 Project Sword: The Forgotten Plastic Anderson Rockets of the Sixties