This is my Corgi 271 James Bond Aston Martin DB5.
The 1/36 scale 271 was released in May 1978, and followed
Corgi’s previous Bond DB5 die-cast, the 1/43 scale C270. Although the C271 went
through a few packaging changes, it was the last of the James Bond Aston Martin
die-casts to be made in Great Britain by Corgi Mettoy.
While it could be argued that Corgi’s C270 is the best
version of the early James Bond DB5 Corgi models, improving on the original
award winning gold C261, a series of cost cutting measures at Corgi Mettoy
during the late seventies, which cut back on the features (tyreslashers &
revolving number plates) of the later
C270 models, meant a brand new retooled
James Bond Aston Martin DB5 at a larger 1/36 scale had be created - Enter the
new and not necessarily improved C271.
The larger C271 retained some of the same features as the
previous versions – retractable machine guns (which come through the radiator
grill, rather than the side lights) ; ejector seat (using a slightly different
spring system than the previous
versions) ; bullet screen (thinner and activated by the rear over -riders
rather than the twin exhausts) ; telescopic over riders.
My version, going by its window box and header card (showing
a photo of the previous C270 version apparently) which uses the Bond ‘007 logo incorporating Union Flag colours is dated 1979, so it would have been
presumably bought just after ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ appeared in cinemas and just prior to ‘Moonraker. Quite remarkable really,
in that the popular DB5 hadn’t appeared in a James Bond film since the 1965
film, Thunderball.
Corgi Mettoy went into receivership in 1983, and after a
management buy- out in 1984 the company became known as Corgi Toys Ltd. Corgi’s licensing agreement with Eon was
renegotiated, and the remaining stock of C271 models were re-packaged in a
generic blue window box re-numbered 271/1
More cost cutting meant the figures of Bond and his ejecting passenger were no longer painted,
This 1:36 scale model stayed into production until 1990 when
production moved from Swansea to China following Mattel Inc. buying the company
in 1989.
In 1991 Mattel produced their first James Bond Aston Martin
DB5 which is more or less the same as the model produced in Swansea. It’s dated 1992, and as I pointed out earlier,
it’s made in China. It’s numbered 94060
and has a red mirrored 007 badge on the left of the card plinth. A re-release
in 1992 placed the badge on the right.
Following this, Mattel produced a further two more 1:36 007
DB5 re- releases using the same model celebrating the anniversary of
Goldfinger. In1993 a gold plated edition
(96445) was made, but remarkably sold out before it hit the shops, and in 1994
the silver/grey 94060 was reissued in a different window box showing photos of
the features, and with a painted backdrop, but without the badge.
In August 1995 the Corgi management bought back its
independence from Mattel and formed Corgi Classics Limited. A new Bond film,
Goldeneye was about to hit the cinema, with a new Bond actor. Pierce Brosnan
was to become the next 007, and this time the film would feature the return of
the Aston Martin DB5…
My previous post on the Corgi 261 Gold 007 Aston Martin.
http://projectswordtoys.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/licence-to-play-007-and-corgi-261-aston.html
