Object Number: AMHT-2021-337
Object Type: Artefact
Object Description: Corgi 1:43 scale model of James Bond DB5, gold plated edition
This October marks the 60th anniversary of the James Bond film ‘Goldfinger’. Why is this important, you may ask. Well, it was the first James Bond film to feature an Aston Martin car. And what a car it was – the newest Aston Martin model at the time – the DB5. Often referred to as ‘the most famous car in the world’ due to the James Bond link, the film-version of the car captured the imagination, and has been forever immortalised in a plethora of model versions.
Hence our Object in Focus for this month had to be a James Bond DB5 scale model. It would have been rude not to, quite frankly!
However, the story for this item may not be as straightforward as one might hope. Determining the details of items can sometimes be a challenge when working through the cataloguing of museum backlogs. Although information is recorded at the time of acquisition, not all details are known or may be missing when it comes to entering the item into the database. This is perhaps one of those times…
The original models were made by Corgi, and ours is definitely a Corgi-produced model, as ‘Corgi Toys’ can be seen on the underside. Sure, it’s obviously a James Bond DB5 at a 1:43 scale. It has all the functional gadgets a budding spy could ever want; the guns shooting from the front grille, the bullet-proof rear shield and of course the ejector seat complete with baddy. There is even what is apparently meant to be a wooden club on the back seat, although it looks suspiciously like the whittled end of a matchstick. Is this original to the model, or something that has found its way in there with the passing of time?
It was also described as ‘gold-plated’. Hmmmm. It is certainly shiny and gold in colour, but is this actual gold plating? Maybe it’s brass? It is definitely not gold painted as per the original models produced in 1965, so when exactly might this one have been produced? It is not one of the later gold plated anniversary editions from the 1990s, as their wheels look different and they all have the ‘007’ logo on the bottom, whereas this one does not. Most curious.
Perhaps we may never find out the exact back story to this item. It is both frustrating and mysterious, but definitely worth a closer look. Come and visit… we’ll be expecting you.
