 Thunderbirds was filmed at APF 's studios on the <unk> Trading Estate between 1964 and 1966 . In preparation , the number of full @-@ time crew was expanded to 100 . <unk> began in September 1964 after five months of pre @-@ production . Due to the new series ' technical complexity , this was a period longer than for any of APF 's earlier productions . To speed up the filming , episodes were shot in pairs , at a rate of one per month , on separate soundstages and by separate crews ( designated " A " and " B " ) . By 1964 , APF was the UK 's largest commercial user of colour film , consuming more than three million feet ( 570 miles or 910 kilometres ) of stock per year . 
