Thunderbird 3 Lands on VRChat Lunar Plant for 60th Anniversary
The collaboration places a 1960s vision of the future inside a modern corporate metaverse project, blending a classic puppet drama with a real plant engineering company's lunar community concept.
Key Facts
- Thunderbird 3's 3D model appeared in the VRChat world Lumarnity on August 12, 2026.
- The model was created by V Inc. for the 60th anniversary of Thunderbirds' Japanese broadcast.
- The Lumarnity world is operated by JGC Global and is accessible on PCVR and PC desktop mode, but not Meta Quest standalone.
- The 60th anniversary initiatives include a new key visual, plastic models, and a September 30 screening and talk show for Thunderbirds Day.
- Lumarnity received the Best Industry Metaverse / Real Space Metaverse Award at the JAPAN Metaverse Awards 2025.
Reporting from 2 sources: KAI-YOU, PANORA.
To mark 60 years since the Japanese broadcast of the special effects puppet drama Thunderbirds, a 3D model of Thunderbird 3 has been placed in the VRChat world Lumarnity, an official lunar smart community operated by JGC Global. The model, created by V Inc., appeared on August 12, 2026. Thunderbird 3 is the rocket used for space rescue operations and supplying Thunderbird 5. In the world, visitors can view the giant rocket up close, take commemorative photos with their avatars, and press a button labeled THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO! to launch it into space. The installation is limited-time, according to an in-world panel. The world is accessible on PCVR and PC desktop mode, but not on Meta Quest standalone. The 60th anniversary initiative by Tohokushinsha includes key visuals, new products, digital expansion, and a September 30 screening and talk show for Thunderbirds Day. Lumarnity, released in October 2023, has received the Best Industry Metaverse / Real Space Metaverse Award at the JAPAN Metaverse Awards 2025.
Thunderbird 3 now stands on the lunar surface of Lumarnity, a VRChat world created by JGC Global, an overseas plant and facility EPC company. The world, released in October 2023, recreates a lunar base and port centered on a propellant production plant. It also features 3D models such as a lunar rover using Bridgestone tires and lunar construction machinery from Komatsu. The world received the Best Industry Metaverse / Real Space Metaverse Award at the JAPAN Metaverse Awards 2025.
V Inc., which produced the Thunderbird 3 model, is a VRChat partner company with projects for Sony Group, Square Enix, and Itochu. The model is part of Tohokushinsha's broader 60th anniversary plans, which include a new Japanese key visual, commemorative plastic models, shrine seals, and a September 30 event. The Thunderbird series, originally broadcast in the UK from 1965 to 1966, began in Japan in 1966. The installation is temporary, and the world is not accessible on Meta Quest standalone.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.