Corgi 271 Aston Martin

1978 - 1980

Prototype :

Corgi diecast Pre Production Prototype Car 007 James Bond Aston Martin DB5


It has made in Great Britain moulded into the base.
There is no ejector seat but there is
a bar that holds the roof up.
The front guns and back shield operate normally.

 

 

 

Prototype :


I first saw this version about ten years ago and the owner had purchased it from a friend who was a Corgi Rep.


The front machine guns do not work they are glued in place, the rear bullet proof screen does not work and is glued in an open position, the bandit is stuck to the seat and the base has been screwed to the body of the car.


On picture, the roof in its open position which shows that the retaining bar on the roof is a lot thinner than usual and the side release mechanism does not have the usual bit that juts out to hold the roof down.

 

 

 

 

Now this is very interesting - where have I seen this before? Uh, in the 1978 Corgi catalogue (above, with the 1979 below to compare the prototype shown in the 1978 catalogue with the production model).

 

This is not the exact same car but it has the same design of the retaining bar with the 45-degree reinforcement. Also note that both cars have only two raised guide strips near the center of the bulletproof screen, while the production car has two additional guides close to the outer edges. The bulletproof screen seems to be different on the two prototype cars, with the one in the catalogue unpainted polished metal or maybe even chromed (and showing wear marks near the outer edge which probably led to the changed design for production).

Of course the wheels are also different. I guess that there were prototypes showing both wheel types, with Corgi eventually deciding on the 4-spoke wheels for the initial release.

 

 

 

I believe that all Bond figures up to Mettoy's failure in October 1983 still were painted. Only later were unpainted figures in light brown or dark blue used.

I think the passengers started to be unpainted during 1980, and Bond and passenger stayed the same until Mettoy's insolvency in October 1983.

Bond at the wheel was moulded in black plastic, with only his shirt, hands and face painted.
Passenger was blue plastic and paint like Bond.

Figures in the 1978 and 1979 boxes were painted and sealed in paper bag; in the 1980 box two unpainted blue bandits on sprue and the Bond figure with simplified paint as in 1981.

So I would rather say the change to unpainted passengers and reduced paint on Bond was made during 1980, and not with the change of boxes for 1981! (The box has a 1980 print date but strangely has reverted to the 1977 copyright while an earlier “1:36” box with a 1979 print date also has a 1979 copyright!)

 

Regarding the questions when 4-spoke wheels were used I can't give you exact dates :

- Wheels are more commonly 4-spoke from 1978-1982, and from 1983 more often dished 12-spoke. But the car in the 1978 catalogue (which is a pre-production model however) has 12-spoke wheels, so it may be possible that a smaller batch were made with the 12-spoke wheels. And with Corgi losing much money by then, it was becoming more usual to use wheels that were readily available instead of waiting for the proper wheels to be remanufactured, so other cars like the Kojak Buick and Ford Torino used the 12-spoke wheels in increasing numbers. It doesn't seem impossible to me that a 12-spoked car in an early box is as it came from Corgi.


The 4-spoke wheels were still used after 1983 in small batches on other cars (like some Bonna ambulance variants), so I guess the few seen on Aston Martins in blue boxes are authentic.

 

Regarding the questions when white interiors were used I can't give you exact dates :

- that's they were starting in the 1981 boxes and continued in the 1983 and 1984 boxes. I have one with a brown driver figure, and trying to remove that figure without damaging the seat is quite risky (I tried a little but didn't want to break something), so I guess this must indeed come from the post-Mettoy period.

 

- Bodywork color variations vary between grey and silver

- 4 spoke with white interior (1981 - 1983/4) or red interiror (1978 - 1991)
- 12 spoke Whizzwheels with white interior (1981 - 1983/4) or red interiror (1978 - 1991)

- white interior : 1981 - 1983/4 (with 4 spoke or 12 spoke Whizzwheels)
- red interiror : 1978 - 1991 (with 4 spoke or 12 spoke Whizzwheels)

 

 

 

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