
Pods are used for large vehicles (notably TB-5) and are carried at the rear of the vehicle between the engines, with TB-2 landing vertically when carrying a pod.

It stores the smaller interchangeable vehicles inside its cargo bay, rather than with hangar pods.
ORIGINAL THUNDERBIRD 2 SERIES
There is a strong suggestion in the series that Star Crusher is not human and may be some kind of alien. Unlike the original series, Thunderbirds 2086 also has an ongoing story arc revolving around a breakaway independence group known as the Shadow Axis, led by the mysterious Star Crusher.

The animated series otherwise has notable similarities to the original, with most episodes revolving around a natural or man-made disaster that the Thunderbirds team must investigate and help resolve.

In the English version, "Thunderbirds" refers to the team, while in the original series, it merely refers to their vehicles. Although the English version is called Thunderbirds 2086, the Tracy family, who ran International Rescue in the original series, is not mentioned. Unlike the original Thunderbirds, in which the International Rescue organization was small-scale and family-run, Thunderbirds 2086 depicts it as a vast organization with numerous branches controlled by the Federation, the series' equivalent of the United Nations. In the Japanese version, the two entities are the same. The series takes place in 2086 and chronicles the adventures of a rescue team called the "Thunderbirds" ("TechnoBoyager" in the Japanese version, a portmanteau of "technology" and "voyager" with the last part coming out as "boyager" due to V's and B's being switched around in the Japanese language), who work for the International Rescue Organization (IRO).
ORIGINAL THUNDERBIRD 2 TV
A total of 24 episodes were produced, but only 18 were broadcast on Fuji TV in 1982.

The series includes music and sound effects from Thunderbirds and Anderson's other series: Stingray, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, Joe 90, UFO, and Space: 1999. The English dub was produced by ITC Entertainment, the original production company for Thunderbirds, although it is not officially recognized as canon because Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson were not involved. Thunderbirds 2086 is the English dubbed version of the Japanese anime series Scientific Rescue Team Technoboyger ( 科学救助隊テクノボイジャー, Kagaku Kyūjo Tai Tekunoboijā), loosely inspired by the original Gerry Anderson Supermarionation series Thunderbirds.
