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

Click to enlarge, then click again for optimum size

Well, I said 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 bulletproof 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 the hinges would be on a real car are different to the '68 release.  I find it annoying that a mass-produced toy for kids in the 1960s 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 over-riders 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 released, 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 paintwork.

Only then will it be truly worthy of being regarded as the classic 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.