| The production of Corgi's first Aston Martin DB5 model | | | | suffered from a downturn in the toy market due to |
| in 1965, which was based on the car featured in | | | | computer games and the like taking a significant |
| Goldfinger complete with ejector seat, coincided with | | | | amount of market share the company took a long |
| the beginning of the Bond phenomenon, but the | | | | hard look at what it was doing and deliberately |
| success of the company's James Bond model cars | | | | refocused on the adult collector. |
| could hardly have been predicted. | | | | The change of strategy paid off with a huge increase |
| Three years later Corgi had sold 3.9 million units of the | | | | in sales as James Bond models other collectible cars |
| DB5 making it an instant and - judging by the fact it is | | | | were snapped up. Corgi has continued to develop its |
| produced to this day - timeless classic. Much sought | | | | ranges and current models in the James Bond range in |
| after as collector's pieces, if you are lucky to own one | | | | clued a gold-plated collectors edition DB5 model car, |
| in pristine condition from the early 1970s the value is | | | | proving the eternal interest in this car. |
| something in the range of £200-£300, | | | | While Corgi has been well established in Britain for |
| although why would you want to part with it at all? | | | | years, it is not the only company to hold a license to |
| And if you have one showing some wear and tear, | | | | produce 007 cars - RC2 produced 1:18 scale models |
| the value is probably something of the order of | | | | including the DB5 and the Aston Martin DBS from |
| £50. | | | | Casino Royale, while radio controlled versions of the |
| Corgi is currently going strong and with each new | | | | cars are available from Nikko. |
| James Bond film it produces another of its die-cast | | | | And proving that the market for 007 model cars |
| classic scale models, which are keenly snapped up by | | | | remain strong, there is a new magazine aimed at Bond |
| collectors. And although it is easy to see Corgi as a | | | | model car collectors. It's called The James Bond Car |
| company producing children's toys, nothing could be | | | | Collection and in addition to a full colour magazine each |
| further from the truth - when in the '80s the company | | | | copy includes a 1:43 scale model from one of the films. |