A VISIT TO BOND IN MOTION

Just got back from The Smoke where I visited the Bond in Motion exhibition at the London Film Museum.

As their flyer states, it’s a ‘double-o-heaven’ for 007 fans, and I spent several very enjoyable hours looking at some of the cars, models, story boards and props that have featured in the official James Bond films over the years.

Here are a few photos I took of just some of the items on show, starting with my favourite Bond car – the Aston Martin DB5.

Although there’s apparently been nine different DB5’s used during the filming of James  Bond films over the years, the car on show is the one featured in Goldeneye, and sports the number plate BMT 214A, considered Bond’s private plate. Bond’s ‘company car’ DB5, as any Bond fan will tell you was originally numbered BMT 216A, and of course first seen in Goldfinger, and later in Skyfall and SPECTRE.

photo: Danjaq/EON Productions

photo: ITV Studios

Interestingly enough that numberplate attached to a ‘Dubonnet Red’ DB5 turns up an early Roger Moore Saint episode, The Noble Sportsman.  According to information found on the James Bond Vehicle Library, Belgium fan, Luc Vancampenhout reckons that BMT216A was the first Aston Martin DB5 ever built and after appearing in The Saint, was loaned to Pinewood Studios, re -sprayed ‘Silver Birch’ and became the gadget car from Goldfinger and Thunderball. In 1997, this car was actually stolen from a guarded compound at Boca Airport and never seen again.

The gadget laden Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, along with the villain Zao’s lethal Jaguar XKR, from Die Another Day, are both on display.  Here’s the Vanquish showing a full complement of weaponry. (Excluding the dodgy CGI!)

The exhibition boasted many of the cars from SPECTRE, which naturally included the beautifully designed Aston Martin DB10.  This one on display is one of the stunt cars that took part in the chase through Rome.

According to the Bond in Motion brochure the DB10 was created and manufactured especially for this Bond film, and only 10 have been built.

The car that chases Bond through the streets of Rome is the Jaguar C-X75. According to the brochure the car on display has the continuity damage consistent with the storyline.

The Ford Mach 1 Mustang from Diamonds Are Forever is another favourite of mine.  Well known for the famous ‘up on two wheels’ stunt, driver Joie Chitwood did it at the first attempt.  The car on show is the powerful early production Mach 1 ‘Fastback’ with a 429 Cobra Jet Ram engine.

The Lotus Esprit SI from’ The Spy Who Loved Me’, is another popular Bond car with me, or should that be submersible? Nicknamed ‘Wet Nellie’, the one thing that puzzles me is how does that fish get inside while it’s underwater?

The original ‘ Little Nellie’ heavily armed autogyro from ’You Only Live Twice’, a variant of the Wallis WA -116 Agile developed by RAF Wing Commander Ken Wallis, and named after the popular British music hall star Nellie Wallace, who during her  time was described as ’The Essence Of Eccentricity’. I suppose that pretty much sums up ‘Little Nellie’ with her two machine guns, flamethrowers, aerial mines, rockets and heat seeking missiles.

A small display of vintage and not so vintage merchandise is tucked away in the corner by the side of the coffee shop.

There are copies of Bond’s passports, driving licences (one showing an endorsement for speeding), Universal Exports business card, and his old Walther PPK complete with silencer.

There are several surviving miniatures on display, including a few superbly detailed models from Moonraker, including this Marines Shuttle.

And finally, for now this 1/3 scale model of the Aston Martin DB5 from Skyfall, used for the attack on Bond’s family estate.

Of course, this is just a taster of what's on show, and even if you just have a passing interest in the Bond films this is quite definitely for your eyes only!

James Bond will return