When Thunderbirds were go for Sunderland children in 1993

Standby for memories of Sunderland's most popular exhibition for years. It attracted hundred of kids.

The tramp of tiny feet filled Sunderland’s Northern Centre for Contemporary Art - because the Thunderbirds were in town.

All of them were there: One, Two, Three, Four and Five, not to mention Stingray, Supercar and the rest.

Tracy Island, Lady Penelope and more

The models were the work of model maker Martin Bower.

He specialised in fantastic spacecraft, imaginative laser guns and fantasy islands.

As a boy Martin was an avid watcher of television’s earliest puppet series - Supercar, Space Patrol and Fireball XL5.

He still had a model of Supercar he made back in those days when the Echo caught up with him in 1993.

He made models for air shows

He had an unusual source of building materials - master of British farce Brian Rix.

He said: “My grandfather was chief electrician at the Whitehall Theatre. Lots of balsa wood props like doors used to get broken up during the plays and he used to bring it home for me to use.

Martin left school and landed a job with Scale Models International making models of Harrier Jump Jets for airshows and the like.

At 19 he was self-employed and bombarded film producers for offers of work.

Tell us which of the Thunderbirds toys was your favourite.

The news headlines from 1993

All of this also happened in the Sunderland area in 1993.

Around 1,500 miners marched through Seaham to oppose the Government’s closure plans for 31 British pits.

Workers from Vane Tempest colliery, threatened with immediate closure by British Coal, were joined by marchers from the nine other pits on the hit list.

Banners from Staffordshire, Wales, Yorkshire, and the North West were paraded with North East banners.

Music student Stuart Willis got the headlines when it was revealed that he was a specialist in playing the theorbo.

The 14-stringed instrument was invented in the late 1500s and performed a piano-like role in music ensembles until going out of fashion more than 200 years ago.

Carrying the £3,000 giant lute-type instrument, which at 6ft stands taller than Stuart was a tough task.

Performing for a princess

Anonymata - a band of youngsters from the Barbara Priestman School - beat off 64 rivals to land the diamond prize in the Child of Achievement National School Bands competition.

Their reward was a televised appointment to play to the Princess of Wales at the Child of Achievement awards ceremony in London.

A painting picked up for 70 pence at a jumble sale in Sunderland was expected to fetch up to £1,800 at Sotheby’s.

It was called At a Country Gate’, and was an important work by turn-of-the-century artist Ernest Walbourn.

Share your memories of life on Wearside 30 years ago by emailing [email protected]