As any die-hard collector will tell you, when it comes to valuable vintage toy cars, you must make sure you keep it in pristine condition inside the box.
For millions of children of all ages who since 1965 have at some point owned a toy version of James Bond’s classic gadget-laden Aston Martin DB5, it is a lesson usually learned the hard way.
Original mint examples of that 007 gadget-laden car from Corgi can sell for hundreds and even thousands of pounds, provided you’ve kept it in the box and not been tempted to play with it.
Additionally, that small blue figure with a gun from the passenger seat who gets propelled via an ejector seat through the flick-top roof – how many thousands were lost under sofa cushions and beyond may never be known…
Producers of the 007 movie have joined forces with Aston Martin and toy firm Corgi to produce a replica of a gadget-laden DB5, complete a life-size toy box
Well today, to mark the final one month countdown to the cinema release of the much delayed new Bond movie No Time To Die, starring Daniel Craig in what is expected to be his last outing in the 007 role, the movie’s producers have joined forces with Aston Martin and toy firm Corgi to produce the ultimate giant replica box of that much loved favourite 007 toy – complete with a working gadget-laden DB5 inside.
The giant life-size model box, which measures 5.66 metres long, 2.7 metres tall and 2.7 metres deep, replicates the original Corgi design and, along with the car, will be on display to the public at The Coaling Jetty, Battersea Power Station in London until 1 October.
With the pandemic causing the film’s postponement now easing, the stunt also coincides with the reveal of the action-packed global TV trailer against the backdrop of London’s Battersea Power Station featuring the Aston Martin DB5 – of which eight stunt replicas were produced for the movie.
The Aston Martin DB5 on show in the box is one of a limited number of DB5 ‘Goldfinger’ Continuation cars costing £3.3million each.
The giant life-size model box, which measures 5.66 metres long, 2.7 metres tall and 2.7 metres deep, replicates the original Corgi design and, along with the car, will be on display to the public at The Coaling Jetty, Battersea Power Station in London until 1 October.
The Aston Martin DB5 on show in the box is one of a limited number of DB5 ‘Goldfinger’ Continuation cars costing £3.3m each
They were built from scratch by Aston Martin using the original tooling and come complete with most of the working gadgets that fans will recognise from the classic James Bond film – including rotating number plates, a retractable bullet proof rear shield, battering ram bumpers, smoke and oil-slick options, and pop out machine guns.
Although there’s a nod to an ejector seat, a working version was not possible on of ‘health and safety’ grounds.
Just 25 DB5 Goldfinger Continuation cars are being produced, more than 55 years after the last new DB5 rolled off the line at Aston Martin’s then global manufacturing base in Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire.
All new cars are authentic reproductions of the DB5 seen on screen, available in one exterior Silver Birch colour specification (just like the original) – with only some ‘sympathetic modifications and enhancements to ensure the highest levels of quality and reliability’.
James Bond’s return to cinema screens marks the first time four different Aston Martin models have appeared in a 007 Bond film.
In addition to the DB5, the movie features a classic Aston Martin V8 alongside the DBS grand tourer and the original prototype version of the forthcoming £700,000 217mph Valhalla mid-engined hypercar which sprints from rest to 60mph in under three seconds.
Original mint examples of the 007 gadget-laden car from Corgi can sell for hundreds if not thousands of pounds
In this 2019 photo, actor Daniel Craig is partially seen, left, sitting inside one of the Aston Martin DB5s used on the set of the latest James Bond movie ‘No time to die’ in Matera, southern Italy
The original 1965 Corgi James Bond Aston Martin DB5 – which replicated the action features of the vehicle seen on-screen in ‘Goldfinger’ – proved an instant success and won UK ‘Toy of the Year’ and ‘Best Boys Toy’ titles at the National Association of Toy Retailers Awards in the same year.
More than 20million have been sold worldwide and it is still being produced to this day. Priced originally at around 10/- (50p), Corgi said the model has proven so popular over the years that it has had to be retooled numerous times.
Since its first outing in Goldfinger, the DB5 has appeared in a number of 007 movies with a variety of Bonds since Sean Connery, including Thunderball (1965), Goldeneye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), Casino Royale (2006), Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015) and the soon to be screened No Time To Die (in which the front machine guns are re-located to the behind the main headlights.
The grand unveiling was carried out by Aston Martin’s design chief Marek Reichman.
He was joined by special effects co-ordinator Chris Corbould OBE who is responsible for some of the most dazzling James Bond action scenes from the past 14 films.
The limited edition DB5 ‘Goldfinger’ Continuation cars come complete with most of the working gadgets that fans will recognise from the classic James Bond film – including rotating number plates, a retractable bullet proof rear shield, battering ram bumpers, smoke and oil-slick options, and pop out machine guns
Actor Sean Connery, the original James Bond, pictured on the set of Goldfinger with one of the fictional spy’s cars, a 1964 Aston Martin DB5
He was also heavily involved in the engineering of the eight DB5 stunt replicas produced for the movie, and the working gadgets on the DB5 Goldfinger Continuation cars.
Reichman said: ‘Aston Martin’s relationship with James Bond spreads decades and the DB5 is, without question, the most famous car in the world by virtue of its 50-plus year association.
‘Now, to work with Corgi – another quintessential British brand – and to see James Bond’s most cherished car sitting inside a to-scale toy box in central London is quite magnificent’.
Corbould said: ‘I can genuinely say it is a privilege to be here today to help unveil this incredible display for such an iconic car that truly holds a special place in Bond history’.
No Time To Die is the 25th official James Bond movie from Albert R. Broccoli’s EON Productions, Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios (MGM), and Universal Pictures International.
Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga it stars Daniel Craig in his fifth and expected last outing as Bond creator Ian Fleming’s British secret agent 007.
It has been written by Neal Purvis & Robert Wade (Spectre, Skyfall), Cary Joji Fukunaga, and Fleabag and Killing Eve’s Phoebe Waller- Bridge and will the film will be released globally from September 2021.
The plot has Bond leaving active service and enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. But his peace is short-lived when his old friend and CIA agent Felix Leiter arrives to ask for help.
The producers note: ‘The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.’
More details at: www.007.com
