JAMES BOND
FACT FILES

Please note this article is not intended to be the definitive listing of all CORGI James Bond models. Some editions were made exclusively for the overseas market and therefore not generally available in the UK. Models illustrated are not to scale.

CORGI continue to issue new models and a seemingly never-ending number of Aston Martin DB5s in revised and updated versions - all claiming to be authentic to the 1965 original. In recent years the CORGI Model Club (manufacturer of official licensed CORGI Toys) have issued superbly detailed new editions of many of CORGI's well-known models from their golden age. Offering models as part of a monthly membership scheme, or available to purchase individually (often in slightly different versions to the members edition), the club prides themselves on the authenticity of their die-cast replicas. Aimed squarely at the collectors market, the CORGI Model Club offers models for sale via their website, and unlike CORGI's own products are not available in shops. In 2022 an authentic replica of CORGI's original 1965 Aston Martin DB5 #261 was released by the CORGI Model Club to great acclaim, and went on to win ‘Gift of the Year’ in the Commemorative, Collectable and Charitable category at the 2023 awards held at The Royal Lancaster Hotel. A replica of the 1968 Silver Birch edition of the CORGI Aston Martin #270 is scheduled for release by the CORGI Model Club in October 2024.

Several CORGI James Bond vehicles have been repackaged and given a new catalogue number, although they are all essentially the same 1:36 scale versions already available in their original packaging. The models were then housed in generic slip-cased boxes similar to the Goldfinger & Thunderball 50th Anniversary editions, with current versions packaged in a rigid fold-up black box featuring Maurice Binder's gun barrel logo and bearing the film title and model name.

Beginning with the release of the first 007 model in 1965, CORGI has issued in excess of 250 different editions of James Bond related vehicles, over 50 of which have been of the classic Aston Martin DB5. The tradition continues with No Time To Die (2021), giving CORGI the opportunity to once again reinterpret the Aston Martin DB5 and Vantage V8 models; both making a reappearance in the latest James Bond film.

In addition to the cars of No Time To Die, CORGI also announced a 1:24 scale model of Primo's Triumph Scrambler 1200 Motorcycle seen in the film (pictured above). Due to be issued in October 2021 to coincide with the eventual debut of the film in cinemas, the model was subsequently cancelled and a new 1:12 scale version was released in late 2022.

In late 2021 CORGI released the Aston Martin once again (RT26101), with the model featuring rotating number plates, a retractable bullet proof rear shield, extending front over-riders, pop out machine guns, and, of course, a functioning passenger ejector seat. This new version of the all-time classic model is presented in original replica packaging seen on the very first CORGI No. 261 release from 1965, including a set of instructions hidden in a secret compartment. Both an iconic car and an iconic toy, the new 60s James Bond DB5 from Goldfinger claims to be the most exacting replica of the original classic available. However, CORGI's advertising was somewhat misleading as the original 261 edition from 1965 did not have revolving number plates - these would not appear until the 270 version from 1968, which was the first model with the authentic silver livery as seen in the film series.

Not to be outdone, the CORGI Model Club (manufacturer of official licensed CORGI Toys) announced their own release of the classic Aston Martin DB5, issued in June 2022. Claiming to be a more authentic replica of the original CORGI 261, this 1:46 scale edition is colour matched to the unique gilded livery of the 1965 toy, and it also comes complete with those all-important working James Bond gadgets that collectors know and love: Opening Roof and working spring loaded ejector seat for dispatching any unwanted baddies, retractable machine guns for shooting at rogue enemy spies, telescopic bumper over-riders to force SMERSH operatives off the road, and working pop-up rear bullet proof metal screen. Missing from this edition are the revolving number plates and red plastic tyre-slashers which were only introduced on the 1968 270 retooled edition.

The CORGI Model Club edition of the iconic James Bond Aston Martin DB5 won ‘Gift of the Year’ in the Commemorative, Collectable and Charitable category at the 2023 awards held at The Royal Lancaster Hotel.

In May 2024 CORGI released a die-cast model of the Q Glider seen in No Time To Die (2021). While not a real aircraft, the Q Glider was created as a full-size physical prop with an opening canopy by the No Time To Die production team for use on set. The glider prop was used onboard a real Royal Air Force C-17A Globemaster at RAF Brize Norton, and in a water tank set built at Pinewood Studios to create the interior submarine pen at Safin's (Rami Malek) Poisoned Garden. Visuals of the glider deploying from the Globemaster were created using Computer Generated Imagery.

The most famous CORGI model of them all returns in 2024 in a brand-new release to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the iconic James Bond film Goldfinger (1964). First released in 1965, this classic toy is the biggest selling die-cast car of all time. This is a newly tooled version of the classic 261 Aston Martin DB5, featuring all the legendary action features of the original, including the working ejector seat, pop up rear bullet shield and spring out over-riders and machine guns.

For 2024, the 261 arrives in the iconic Silver Birch paint finish of the real car for the first time ever!

CORGI's Aston Martin DB5 began life in 1965 as a simple children's toy designed to be played with, and the original Sixties models have since become valued collector's items, with each new iteration now generally displayed mint-in-box as part of an ever-growing collection of James Bond models aimed at a more adult market. And the legacy continues...

FACT FILES INDEX

UK CORGI Toys

FACT FILES The James Bond Films