You know this already as I've mentioned it a few times now, though some of you probably knew before I ever blogged about it, especially those who've read The Great Book Of Corgi. The 1965 Corgi Toys 261 Aston Martin D.B.5 was issued in a gold colour because, so one story goes, it looked like unpainted metal in silver. (Though other silver coloured models apparently looked all right.) Another story is that it was painted gold to tie in with the name Goldfinger, but as neither story is necessarily mutually exclusive, both accounts might be true.
In 1968, Corgi Toys released 270, a newly-tooled, slightly larger version (by a few millimetres), painted the correct silver birch colour with a couple of extra features, namely rear tyre-slashers and revolving number plates. The '65 model was actually a 'customised' D.B.4 (despite what it claimed on the base), as testified to by the tail lights which weren't amended when the existing moulds were pressed into service so that Corgi could capture the 1965 Christmas market in time. The '68 version was not only in the right colour, it also had the proper tail lights.
So after 60 years, Corgi have reissued the 261 version, but this time in the correct colour. Just think, this is what the car would've looked like back in '65 if they hadn't decided to give it the 'Midas' touch. Who knows though, maybe in an alternate universe somewhere, this is how the car first saw the light of day? To those who had one back in the mid-'60s, which do you prefer - the silver or gold version? Do tell if you'd be so kind.
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I prefer the gold car simply as its the one I had as a kid and is part of my childhood memory. But the silver version does look really good.
ReplyDeleteI think I prefer the gold one as well for the same reason, McS, though I did buy the 270 silver version in 1973 when I was 14. As I said in the post, the 270 was a newly-tooled version and different from the 261, so I'm glad to own both - as well as this new version of the 261.
DeleteBefore my time. Have you watched Gladiator 2 yet, Kid? Any good?
ReplyDeleteWhat, no Aston Martin as a boy, CJ? You poor deprived child. Yes, watched Gladiator II, visually spectacular, enjoyable enough, but not a patch on the first one.
DeleteFor me, as a young 'un, it was part of the Corgi/Dinky habit of giving us not actually completely "authentic" colours in our toy vehicles, viz a viz gold Aston Martin, green UFO Interceptor, etc. I like that Corgi UK have rereleased 261 in the 'right; colour and Corgi Collector's USA has the gold 261 if you want it.
ReplyDeleteNow, if Corgi released a No Time To Die DB5 without all the scratches and bullet marks I'd buy that one in a heartbeat.
They have, Ex - check out the Corgi Shop website. £39.99 and it's yours, though postage is extra.
DeleteOh, just noticed you said 'without the scratches', I thought you said 'with'.
DeleteYou could always book an appointment with ChipsAway car repairs, just to count how many expletives you receive, when they arrive and see your damaged Corgi DB. 'Childish, but priceless!'
ReplyDeleteThey'd probably charge for their visit - or maybe make it look like it wasn't damaged - then charge you.
DeleteHere's another version, Kid. A hefty price drop and decent reviews. I see they also do the A Team Van as well.
ReplyDeletehttps://amzn.eu/d/bCQSp3m
Took a look, liked it, bought it. Thanks M.
DeleteLook forward to seeing it. I'm tempted myself, must resist! Maybe an early Christmas present?
ReplyDeleteI'll post it on the blog when it arrives, M. Appropriately, Goldfinger was on TV last night (Friday) and is still running on ITV + 1, channel 35 right now (Saturday).
DeleteI actually had both of them way back then but was forced by parental influence to give one to my cousin as I apparently did not need two. You guessed it . In a couple of weeks it was wrecked , but I still have my silver one to this day with the white Toyota which went with it.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the 270 silver birch one from '68 was a great wee model, LH, much more accurate than the '65 261 gold-coloured version. Corgi Model Club will be reissuing the 270 very shortly, and even though I own an actual original, I'll be buying it when it goes on sale. (It'll be sent to me automatically.)
DeleteLike McScotty, I prefer the gold version as that was the car I received in 1965. Of course, I was still four years away from seeing my first Bond film at the cinema (OHMSS), so I had had no clue that the car in 'Goldfinger" was silver.
ReplyDeleteIn the '60s, B, I had no idea that James Bond was a movie icon (and after only 3 movies too) and just unconsciously assumed he was a fictional character created by Corgi Toys so they could sell such a great car. I wonder if it was the first movie tie-in model to differ in colour from the one it was based on? The gold one certainly has a charm that's hard to beat, though that may be nostalgia talking.
DeleteThat's an interesting point, Kid. I believe (IMHO) that the James Bond Aston Martin was the first ever movie tie-in die cast car in 1965, regardless of whether it was the correct colour or not. I'm not an expert on Corgi Toys, but did the Saint's Volvo get issued before or after the Aston Martin? Perhaps the Saint's Volvo was the first TV tie-in?
ReplyDeleteAs regards tie-in models having the wrong colour, I still shudder at the green and orange SHADO interceptor from Dinky. What were they thinking?
Re your awareness of who James Bond was in 1965, it got me pondering. I probably had no idea either until I saw the black & white Thunderball trading cards, or until I was given a James Bond annual for Christmas sometime later.
The Saint's Volvo 1800 was indeed the first character-related (TV tie-in) car from Corgi and predated the DB5, B. Did Dinky issue these models in the correct colour at first, then change them later, like they did with their TB2, or were they always the wrong colour? Incidentally, in the late '60s, I learned JB was a movie character, because my brother told me about him having seen Thunderball, though I don't think he saw at the time of release, but later on.
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