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Claveworks — Fireball XL5
Published: 2010-02-10 01:46:02 +0000 UTC; Views: 16082; Favourites: 107; Downloads: 0
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Description
Fireball XL5 was a World Space Patrol vehicle of the 21st century. It patrolled Sector 25 to maintain the security of Earth from aliens.The ship was launched by boosters from Space City, and was inter-planet capable. Exploration of planets could be carried out using the detachable front of the vehicle, called 'Fireball Junior'
Fireball XL5 is commanded by Colonel Steve Zodiac, with a crew of four including a robot and a pet Lazoon.
The series was designed by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, it preceded Thunderbirds and was first broadcast in the UK in 1962.
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Comments: 58
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Has anyone else noticed that a Fireball vehicle is seen in action in the Disney movie Tomorrowland?
She is seeing the commercial/invitation and she has just arrived at the spaceport. You see a tail-sitter rocket takeoff then she runs to the railing in time to see a Fireball vehicle (silver-gray with blue trim) run the track and do the ski-jump takeoff. I thought it was so cool seeing a Fireball in action again.
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They also mentioned XL2, XL7, and XL30 in the show, and IIRC they were the same vehicle as XL5. I don't remember if the color scheme was different or if they just swapped the number (or if they even showed the other ship). I know they showed other XL5 type ships in other color schemes in the comic, as well as other XL vessels.
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This show is so cool, I grew with Thunderbirds and shows like this. This show had a catchy ending theme song too!
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I watched it when it was first run on NBC Saturday mornings.
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Can You Do The ThunderBird 3 Version Of FireBall XL5 Bill?
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Ah, my first interplanetary love... Hello, sweetheart.
Brilliant work!
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I used to get up at six a.m. Saturday mornings to get my Fireball fix. It was one of my first rituals 
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I remember Thunderbirds and Stingray, but not Fireball oddly enough... but we had no TV in those days (my parent's choice) so I would walk down to grandmother's house to watch... I also remember Robin Hood and F Troop? I think... but like you said - foggy... lol...
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I had a toy of this when I was a kid.
It was around 20 inches long.
Fireball Junior was detachable, and it had figures of the characters.
(plastic army man size and style).
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Thanks! I have Stingray too...
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Great topic!! I just picked up the "UFO" boxset from deepdiscount.com the other week and I've already got the Thunderbirds box set. Gerry and Sylvia Anderson rock!
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I also want to do an Eagle from Space 1999 at some point...
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Oh, I can't wait to see that one!
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Some of the framework proved tiresome, but it's coming on well now....
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This 60`s design looks cool even by today`s standards. And I wasn`t even born back then. Great job.
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Thanks! And I agree about the design..
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I guess it does reflect what people knew about streamline and high speed requirements back then
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Oh definitely! I like all the old puppet-show designs, like Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet etc. They were futuristic and also hopeful in a simple way...
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Pictured like this, it kinda reminds me of the F2Y Sea Dart . Mainly because of the stabilizer, I guess.
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Yes I see that - the Sea Dart also looks like a toy that someone dreamed up lol
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I think it IS a bit of a toy that someone invented after seven pints. Too bad it underperformed so badly though... imagine the possibilities of a fighter that can operate from nearly anywhere...
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Yeah... jet fighters as sea-planes..?
hmm.. I can see how things went wrong...
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Yeah... Wiki says it's a pre-area rule design, so it handled bad at high speeds. Then again it didn't have the power to get there in the first place. And it's common knowledge that planes with skids didn't have the best landing characteristics...
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Terrifying to land a fighter on the sea I would imagine - the only jet sea-planes I have seen that looked workable are those Beriev flying boats and the Seamaster P-6M, which were huge in comparison.... but the whole idea is flawed really..
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The P-6M looks pretty solid indeed!
I don't think the idea is flawed though, I guess there aren't many people willing to invest such amounts of money just to make it work. While the concept of manned aircraft (that are still vulnerable on the ground) is not obsolete at all...
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Yeah, I get what you're saying, but I have this idea in my head that flying boats are all like the old Imperial Airways monsters lol...
Underground hangers are the way forward.
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Equipped with steam catapults. Just like an underground launching base
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It's a thing I envisioned somewhere between 10 and 15 years ago... but I bet someone already thought of it. German engineers in 1944-1945 and the creators of the Thunderbirds are likely candidates.
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