CORGI'S ASTON MARTIN D.B.5 - THE SPECTRE OF THE 'ORIGINAL' STILL LOOMS LARGE...

Click to enlarge, click again for optimum size

Well, I told you I'd show it when I dug it out, and I finally

managed to find it.  What we have here is the original second

edition CORGI TOYS ASTON MARTIN D.B.5, alongside

the 50th GOLDFINGER Anniversary edition which I

featured on the blog a few months back (in March).

As you all know, the first Corgi JAMES BOND car was

issued in 1965 and was actually a D.B.4 gold coloured model.

In 1968, Corgi issued a newly tooled version in a slightly larger

scale, with extra features and the correct silver birch finish.  As

you can see, apart from the Aston Martin insignia on the front

of the car, the original has a better paint job and the bullet-

proof shield extends further from its slot.

On the more recent 007 car, the spoked wheels are

merely a moulded impression, whereas on the '68 model,

they're actually spoked.  Note also that the air vent doesn't run

the entire length of the bonnet, which doesn't follow the curve of

the windshield to the same extent.  Further, the line of the doors

where they would open on the real car are different to the '68

release.  I find it annoying that a mass-produced toy for kids

in the '60s is made to a higher standard than a limited

 edition model for (mainly) adult collectors today.

Want to see them bigger?  You know the drill...

However, it could've been worse.  Take look at the

mid-'90s model above.  The door outlines were unfinished,

the top line of the bonnet was asymmetrical, the overriders and

machine guns didn't appear to be extended even when they were,

the passenger barely cleared the roof when ejected (same as the

more recent release), the bulletproof shield was too low, the box

was uneven, didn't close properly, and its display window was

affixed with sellotape.  Everything about this version was

sub-standard, and I'm amazed that Corgi ever allowed

 it to be issued, so abysmally poor was it.

What Corgi needs to do if they ever reissue the car

in future (which they will), is to make the eject mechanism

stronger, ensure that the passenger doesn't jam between the

seat and the 'dashboard' (which it tends to do on both the '90s

and modern versions), give it proper spoked wheels, make the

bulletproof shield extend further, and - most important of

all - give it a richer, fuller finish on the paint work.

Only then will it be worthy to be regarded as the

collectors' item it undoubtedly once was.  Over 50 years

after the release of the original, and what we have today is

a second-rate stand-in, not the magnificent diecast toy that

children of the '60s enjoyed, and which their grown-up

selves still so fondly recall.

Posted in: Cartoons