In May of 1978, CORGI TOYS issued their third version of JAMES BOND's ASTON MARTIN D.B.5, this time in 1:36 scale. As you can see, the two zeros of the 007 logo on the base are very roughly finished and, frankly, amateurish in appearance. That apart, it was a very nice looking car, and is still on sale today at regular intervals.
When production shifted abroad, the 'Made In Gt. Britain' line was removed and, with the reintroduction of the Corgi dog, the logo was moved to where the country of manufacture used to be. There may have been a version with the '78 Corgi logo still at the top, but with no country of manufacture at all; however, I can't be bothered going through every Aston Martin I've got to check, so we'll forget about that possibility for now.
Back in the mid-'90s, I brought the two inferior zeros to the attention of the then-managing director, CHRIS GUEST, suggesting they should either be re-done or removed. I guess it was cheaper to remove them, because the next issue of the car looked as you can see in the pic below.
I also pointed out that, as the D.B.5 was the car with which the company was most associated, a little more care should be taken with its production. At that time, the gap around the roof hatch was very uneven, and the paint finish extremely poor, being more of a pale grey than the traditional silver birch. I suggested a deluxe version, with richer paint job, wing mirrors, wipers on the windscreen, and spoked wheels with rubber tyres. And guess what? The next release of the model looked just like the one below, but with the above base.
I eventually contacted Corgi again (by this time owned by HORNBY), and congratulated them on their much improved product, saying that the only thing requiring amendment was the positioning of the Corgi logo on the base, and suggesting that it would look better occupying the space where the 007 used to be. Imagine my surprise and delight when the very next Aston Martin I purchased had that very change instituted. Although I suspect Corgi may have arrived at the same conclusion independently as not too much time had elapsed between me making the suggestion and it being implemented.
So there you have it. My part in Corgi's restoration of its 271 model of James Bond's Aston Martin D.B.5 to its former glory - surpassing it in fact. And friends - the story is true. I know, because I was that soldier.
8 comments:
Very nice, who told 'em to change the upholstery colour?
I think the real car had black upholstery, hence the change to make it a more accurate representation, DSE. I think I prefer the red 'though, and the light blue baddie.
You'll be surprised. I went to a political event and they said if you want your local rep to listen to you, write them a letter. Don't send an email they don't even bother with them. If you send a hand written letter it gets read since no one sends letters any more particularly hand written.
My first communications with Corgi were by letter and then telephone, Phil. However, any emails I've sent to Corgi have always been responded to, as far as I recall. I've still got a reply by the (then) managing director somewhere, which I may publish when I find it. I should also have a copy of the first letter I sent to Corgi, which I may also add to the post.
I'm a regular listener to Radio 4 and apparently at least a quarter of the audience don't have internet access so it's very arrogant when certain programmes can only be contacted by e-mail - everybody has to pay a licence fee so they should make sure everybody can contact BBC programmes. But there seems to be no rhyme or reason as some shows do allow contact by letter and some don't. In 2013 there was a one-off programme about the NHS and I sent an e-mail which was read out on air, woo hoo !!
I dunno, CJ, just because people listen to a programme doesn't necessarily oblige the makers to ensure that everyone can comment on it. If listeners can respond, great, but if they can't, tough luck. Actually, I'm not really interested in the opinions of those who feels compelled to 'phone, text, or write in response to a topic on a radio programme. As a listener to Radio 4 myself, I find the majority of those who call 'Any Answers' (the follow-up programme to the Saturday repeat of 'Any Questions') to be an inarticulate bunch of morons - whatever side of the topic they favour. Seems to be only thickos who 'phone in.
I stopped listening to Any Questions - it would be much better if there was more interaction with the audience but all we get is politicians spouting the party line. I'll listen if there's been a really big news story and then I'll listen to Any Answers too. On the whole I find the callers comments quite interesting - I've found the real morons to be on local radio phone-ins.
I hate it when they stammer, stutter and stumble through their comments, and waste time by saying "Hello, there, how are you?" instead of getting straight to the point. And some of them seem to think they've got half an hour to indulge themselves.
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