James Bond Aston Martin DB5 (silver) - CC04204S

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Corgi Model Club models are exact facsimiles of original Corgi Toys. When in mint condition and with their original box, original examples can fetch hundreds of Pounds at auction, making collecting Corgi Toys of the 1960s and early 1970s out of reach for many of us. That is, until now! It is our mission to make collecting Corgi Toys as affordable as possible – introducing these fantastic models to a new generation of die-cast model collectors. Being part of the Corgi Model Club is more like a flexible membership rather than a subscription. There is zero commitment. In addition, we have introduced a number of initiatives to make collecting our models as easy and cost effective as possible: One of the most famous cars in the world thanks to its association with James Bond, the Aston Martin DB5 was first released in 1963. A luxury grand tourer built for long distance yet high speed driving, the car was evolved from the Aston Martin DB4 Series V with the addition of a new and more powerful engine constructed entirely from aluminium. Corgi Model Club membership is completely free and without any catches. And should you ever wish to cancel – which you are totally free to do at any time – there is no financial penalty.

The car won the inaugural Toy of the Year award from the National Association of Toy Retailers in 1966. But demand remained huge long after Goldfinger left cinemas. An upgraded edition was launched in 1968 with cleaner castings, an authentic silver finish, and a new feature in the form of miniature tyre-slashers in the rear wheel centres. It sold more than 1.2m units and was in the Corgi catalogue into the early ’70s. As a member of the Corgi Model Club you will receive a monthly delivery of an officially licensed die-cast Corgi Toys re-issue from our collection. Each Corgi Model Club model has been carefully chosen and curated from Corgi’s ‘golden era' of the 1960s and early 1970s. Each and every Corgi Model Club model is exclusively licensed to us from Hornby PLC, owners of the famous Corgi Toys brand name. Each one comes with an individually numbered certificate of authenticity confirming its provenance as an official Corgi Model Club re-issue made by Hornby PLC. Your right to cancel within 14 days. Our terms are wholly in accordance with The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 and your statutory rights are not affected. The 1968 re-issue was painted silver and came with several extras; revolving number plates and rear tyre slashersThe most popular advice topics — we've got you covered 2035 petrol and diesel car ban: 12 things to know Advice As we find ourselves at that point in the year when he have to start thinking about the presents we're going to need for a special day which is now less than six weeks’ away, we thought it might be a nice idea to ask a couple of the Corgi team to nominate which models they would love to see waiting for them under the tree this year, just in case we decide to go down the Secret Santa route.

Corgi released a 50th Anniversary edition of the Goldfinger Aston Martin in 2014 which was a complete sell out and has also become collectable but is not to be confused with the original issue. Together with new box artwork and eager approval from ATV (although, according to Van Cleemput, no royalties were paid for a licence), the effect in 1965 was electric. The standard Volvo sold 315,000 examples in three years, but the Saint version shipped 321,000 in its first nine months, and went on to sell 1.2m. “I think I had a minor coup [with it] in my export sales days,” recalled Katz. “It sold extraordinarily well.” John Marshall and Tim Richards worked in Mettoy’s Northampton design centre, where every new Corgi diecast car, lorry, bus, tractor and more took shape. Marshall started there as a pattern-maker in 1961, following a spell designing moulds for plastic 00-gauge train kits. And the people at Corgi knew they were selling children a spring-loaded tragedy in waiting. They knew, the bastards, because the second-generation Bond DB5 was sold with a spare baddie. But why just one? You needed a bagful.

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Corgi and their legendary Swansea factory prided themselves in making models with unparalleled detail and accuracy. ‘The ones with windows’ was their much-trumpeted mantra – a dig at Dinky who had commonly produced toy cars with unglazed windows. Corgi’s first involvement with moving-image merchandising had been straightforward. Peter Katz, Mettoy’s regional sales manager for Scandinavia, was talking to a Swedish wholesaler one day when he asked if there was anything Corgi could do for the territory that would boost sales. He was told: “Well, a popular programme in Sweden is The Saint, and he drives a Volvo P1800; can’t you sell that as The Saint’s Volvo?” Was anything else ever so easily lost? I can’t think of anything. As children we would come to lose many other things — faith, innocence, virginity — but nothing was lost as simply as the baddie from a Corgi Bond DB5. There are no official statistics on casualties, but it seems reasonable to assume that the vast majority of them were lost within a few firings, maybe after one, and often within the first few hours of ownership. The toll for Christmas Day 1965 probably puts history’s worst battles in the shade. The ejection of the baddie from a Corgi Bond DB5 is a quantum event. He is in the seat and then he is somewhere else altogether — there being no discernible transitional phase between the two states. Where did he go? Into the vacuum cleaner.