Maybe our American members can tell us more? Dalko, care to do some research in your nearest comic book store?
LOL, great pic! Basically, that's the sort of response I got from the two guys I know selling it here in the US, so it's not exactly exclusive to England. Apparently, people are interested more in the characters than their cars and if they wanted cars, they'd want classic American cars.
I'm not convinced Batman fans are really that much into cars to be honest.
Judging from the people I spoke with, you'd be right.
If anyone ever thought "When will this *&^%$** JBCC partwork ever end??" you wait and see how long a non-specific movie/TV cars partwork will last. It could go on forever, thousands of cars/bikes/trucks and dioramas could be modelled. If any brave partwork company were to try and deal with all of the licensing hurdles, it could be a golden goose that doesn't stop laying.
Just buy up TV series that are considered to be classics, but have lapsed into the public domain from the 1950's-1970's. You'd make a killing by only licensing a few non-public domain TV series.
Let's have some new code 3's . Also vanish will be collected 23rd May now .
I made one that isn't Bond-related but uses JBCC parts. I took the interior and grille out of the Scaldia-Volga M24 and fitted them to the Romanian Masini de Legenda GAZ-24, which is somewhat implied to be a Military, Securitate, or Governmental car. I think the end result looks quite nice and will post a photo if you're interested.
One big problem with a movie or TV series model car partwork: It would be absolutely unpredictable in the long (and even mid-) run. So we would never know what show/movie to expect next, and unless someone absolutely doesn’t mind what they are watching you’d be bound to see models from movies/shows you loved, those you hated, and perhaps even ones you never watched. As a result, I don’t think too many people would subscribe to a series with an undetermined length and unknown contents. It would certainly be a great series to cherry-pick, but not sure from a partwork publisher’s point of view this would make much commercial sense.
One big problem with a movie or TV series model car partwork: It would be absolutely unpredictable in the long (and even mid-) run. So we would never know what show/movie to expect next, and unless someone absolutely doesn’t mind what they are watching you’d be bound to see models from movies/shows you loved, those you hated, and perhaps even ones you never watched. As a result, I don’t think too many people would subscribe to a series with an undetermined length and unknown contents. It would certainly be a great series to cherry-pick, but not sure from a partwork publisher’s point of view this would make much commercial sense.
I think this would be a gold mine for any part work or diecast company to create as a range. The range itself would be only limited by imagination and yes one man's treasure will be anothers trash but the beauty of this range if promoted properly and cleverly it could run as a part work and also as cherry picking range.
The Part work could run at 24 - 36 models then as specials there after released 1 per month . The subject matter is perfect for all things car centric, movie centric, even bond models could be included with the usual Astons and lotus et al appearing in new improved dioramas. Obscurer blink and you miss it vehicles would also appear but then I think this was the attraction of JBCC the collector had the opportunity to collect vehicles that lets be honest would not have been produced out with the 'bond' genre of this collection.
If a JBCC 2 is unlikely , I suggest Eaglemoss or another company pick up the baton and create a complimentary follow up collection . This could be targeted at previous subscribers but also sold to individuals on anon subscription basis but at a premium to the originals at £7.99. There were some great cars and vehicles missed from the original collection. All worthy of place but somehow forgotten or excluded. The kenworth , the AEC bus etc etc. What exclusive great specials they would make. The SKYFALL landrover and Audi A5 another two gems missed or cut short due to the imminent batman release . Batman is being sold at £9.99 per model, I would certainly have been happy to pay more for JBCC if price was an issue for not continuing the collection by Eaglemoss. Dal110 has spoken of a business disagreement between diecast manufacturers and Eaglemoss . Who is making the Batman collection? Why are they pushing such a collection which seems such a specialised market ? I have said it numerous times and no doubt will say it again I cannot believe the bond collection was shelved , for the batman collection to run in its place. Will it achieve the anticipated 80 models, JBCC was only originally to be 40 , 40 more batmobiles really ???
As DAL110 has confirmed the collection is nose diving in the US also? Anyone want to buy 11 batmobiles ???
Eaglemoss previously released the 1/8 007 DB5 partwork while JBCC was in full swing, so if it was possible to have two Bond-related series at the same time, I don’t think the winding up of JBCC had anything to do with the Batman series. I’m not buying the Batmobiles and I would have bought the Skyfall Land Rover, but now it’s finished, why cry over spilt milk? There are other things to spend your money on.
Personally, I think the Batman Automobilia series was the final nail in the coffin for the JBCC. It seems Fabbri lost subscribers initially by going WAY beyond the quoted 40, then a lot more were tempted over to the 1:8 DB5 darkside which was Fabbri's first real mistake in terms of timing - they should have run it AFTER the JBCC. Finally Eaglemoss would have made an almighty mistake if they assumed Bond-centric/car-centric collectors interested in the JBCC would also buy into Batman. I have spent decades working with marketing companies and most of them are as out of touch with customer opinions as politicians are with their voters. So it would be no surprise to me if they did make that assumption.
You have to ask yourself what hooked you into the JBCC - if it was just the cars not Bond, the movies or the dioramas then yes, you can go back to the same die-cast offerings that were around before the JBCC without any problem. But, if you were interested in what made the series so unusual - the intriguing movie factor of the vehicle AND display - there is nothing else around quite like it. Since the JBCC finished I have bought 4 movie related Batmobiles and 1 Vanguards model and that's it. Dalko's mention of a possible Ixo Belvedere has my interest, but that's all for the foreseeable future. That means my wallet is filling up again, but the only thing that Eaglemoss can possibly do to get a few more hundred out of me is to re-start the JBCC with extras or create a new diorama based car partwork. A movie/TV theme doesn't have to be handled by just one company and it could easily be sub-divided into genres such as 'Film Noir', 'Action Thrillers', 'Comedy Greats', 'Heroes', whatever floats your boat. Failing that, a Route Bleue based on British classic vehicles or American classic vehicles. Otherwise, my pennies are staying firmly locked up in my piggy bank.
First of all apologies if this has been raised already, 255 pages is a lot to trawl through.
I was having a sort out of my JBCC and noticed that the No1. French Aston Martin in the collection which I purchased from a French dealer at a toy fair many years ago before it started in the UK appears to be different to the UK version.
Has anybody else come across this?
Different Wheels on car and gold lettering on box
No ejector roof and slightly different size sticker and area for sticker, the base plate is also slightly different
First of all apologies if this has been raised already, 255 pages is a lot to trawl through.
I was having a sort out of my JBCC and noticed that the No1. French Aston Martin in the collection which I purchased from a French dealer at a toy fair many years ago before it started in the UK appears to be different to the UK version.
Has anybody else come across this?
Different Wheels on car and gold lettering on box
No ejector roof and slightly different size sticker and area for sticker, the base plate is also slightly different
End of box with French wording
Rainier Wolfcastle posted some info on the French DB5 recently:
Out of interest, are the figures and how they fit in the interiors exactly the same in these Norev/Eligor/UH variants of the same model? If they are, does that mean a separate company made them and the interiors for all of the die-cast manufacturers involved?
Yep another 1/8th model from Eaglemoss the perfect partner to the DB5 (NOT). Another folly from eaglemoss . Spending £650 - £800 on a 1/8 diecast Nissan GTR ....really . They have lost the plot. Don't get me wrong a nice car but with no link or purpose other than its a Nissan , why would you buy it. The DB5 is a historic car , with of course the bond link.
Yep another 1/8th model from Eaglemoss the perfect partner to the DB5 (NOT). Another folly from eaglemoss . Spending £650 - £800 on a 1/8 diecast Nissan GTR ....really . They have lost the plot. Don't get me wrong a nice car but with no link or purpose other than its a Nissan , why would you buy it. The DB5 is a historic car , with of course the bond link.
It's not as mad as it seems. This model was developed for the Japanese market, so it is already there. They are just trying to sell more to increase the profit. And it appears to be much better designed than the DB5. I'm personally not interested, though I doubt it will be released in Oz anyway. Altaya has released 2 Citroens in 1/8 in France - the 2CV Charleston and the DS 21. Now that is something I would be tempted to collect!
Yep another 1/8th model from Eaglemoss the perfect partner to the DB5 (NOT). Another folly from eaglemoss . Spending £650 - £800 on a 1/8 diecast Nissan GTR ....really . They have lost the plot. Don't get me wrong a nice car but with no link or purpose other than its a Nissan , why would you buy it. The DB5 is a historic car , with of course the bond link.
I've had emails from Emoss inviting me to buy this partwork too, and likewise I was 100% unimpressed with the prospect of a GTR. There might be a few petrolheads out there somewhere who think it's a great idea, but that will only be while this car is currently desirable - give it a year or two and it will seem like yesterday's news and very few will still be interested. A build up needs to be both stunning and have long-lasting widespread popularity - I suggested the '66 TV Batmobile in 1:8 scale a while back, but it could be a 'transformable' James Bond Lotus Sub, the Ghostbusters Caddy or the Bullitt Mustang. Alternatively, a more rational 'current' supercar choice would have been a standard Aston Martin DBS in QOS colours, or a totally safe classic option would have been an E-Type Jaguar with a working drophead.
Same thing with Eaglemoss's ships - why HMS Endeavour? How many people worldwide have even heard of it? Now, a pre-painted large scale build up of RMS Titanic with working lights and sounds - that would sell.
Hello to all
After few weeks without any works on my models, I find few times to work on. So here another code 3 for a Moonraker vehicle.
It is not finished but I wanted you to show some photos.
I read all the message for the recent weeks and all comments are very interesting.
About the French JB collection, the box you find with the French title in gold are a test serie that Fabbri made in France. I bought all the series in France (some model second hand in 2 or 3 copy) and the models are all in English, exactly like your models in UK.
All producers are making local test in different town in France. It can explain theses ‘differents’ models.
For example in April 2012, we had a Batman test in France… but nothing for the moment. Here is a site where we can follow all models coming on the market and all the test made. http://cntrois.over-blog.com/categorie-11595937.html (scrolled down to see Batman …in oval boxes !)
I buyed the first models of batman in UK because of movies related and affordable price. They are nice by the way. But for me , the comics Models are nice but don’t talk to much to me. It is not ‘real’ cars.
About a TV & movie series, it would be great. I also started few years ago some models. For example I found Bullit car not too expensive, or some French car in typical French movie.
But I think including all movies & TV series around the world, it is endless…. So which company will take the opportunity ?… we’ll see.
We can find here some very nice model, but for me, it is a bit expansive (K200 Knight Rider at £55, scale 1/43, Ghostbusters car same price & scale, and other…)
So I like to watch ideas and creation of other people. Continue to share your experience.
Cheers.
Some nice ideas there, DDenis, your photos certainly show how diverse a TV/movie partwork could be. I particularly like the concept of a 'Mentalist' Citroen - did Tony help you out with that one?
Hello MovieCarFan,
Tony (many thanks to him for the 'Skyfall - Wolksawgen') didn't help me on that one. ... but was more easier this time.
Want to see other code3 from you guys...
Thanks to all. Cheers
It's been a while. Here are some more from the literary collection:
Do you remember the yellow Ferrari that raced Bond at the beginning of GoldenEye? What do you mean it was red! Haven't you read the novelisation? Shame on you
This next lot are really ‘guesstimates’ as the authors weren’t entirely clear on the specific vehicle:
MGA Quantum of Solace – I’ve gone for the MGA. Reason: Fleming describes a rather well off young man who drives an MG – my guess is that he’d have a brand new car.
MG TC The Spy Who Loved Me – Vivienne’s first boyfriend had a second hand MG so I’ve chosen the TC. By the time the novel was written the TC had ceased production over ten years previous. So a young 18-19 year old may well have purchased a car that old.
Lancia Stratos Role of Honour – now, Gardner describes a Lancia sports car working alongside a Ferrari. The most obvious choice for the early 80s would be Beta Monte Carlo, but I’ve gone with a Stratos because:
a. It’s just a much more impressive and classic car than the Beta
b. If this were a film, a Stratos and a Ferrari working together would look much more exciting than if it were a Beta
Finally, with so much talk about Batman and the cars featured in the comics - it gave me an idea - enjoy..................
More very nice Code3s - great stuff! The literary models seem to be stacking up to quite a number now, which suggests a JBCC 'series 2' could quite easily be based on the Bond books (take note Eaglemoss :v ). The TB Austin Taxi is really striking, as is the Rover SDI. There was an article online recently saying that there are only 310 Rover SDIs known to still exist in the UK and are getting VERY rare, which makes this particular model a welcome sight.
More very nice Code3s - great stuff! The literary models seem to be stacking up to quite a number now, which suggests a JBCC 'series 2' could quite easily be based on the Bond books (take note Eaglemoss :v ). The TB Austin Taxi is really striking, as is the Rover SDI. There was an article online recently saying that there are only 310 Rover SDIs known to still exist in the UK and are getting VERY rare, which makes this particular model a welcome sight.
I am not so interested in the novels but I have to agree that there could be quite a lot of attractive cars from the books included in the JBCC 2. And we haven't even seen the Bentleys (R-Type "Locomotive" and Mulsanne Turbo) and the most beautiful of all - his Saab 900 "Silver Beast", yet.
Out of interest, are the figures and how they fit in the interiors exactly the same in these Norev/Eligor/UH variants of the same model? If they are, does that mean a separate company made them and the interiors for all of the die-cast manufacturers involved?
I have always thought that the figures were the same but had to take another look. No, the figures are different. The Eligor DB5 and the UH have the same figure but the Norev version has a different (in my opinion slightly better) sculpt. The nose of Norev's Connery is larger and straight (although he has a double chin). The other figure looks more like Barbie in profile.
The other figures are different, too, like Brosnan has his arm ellbow on the door or inside the Z8. But the differences are not very obvious. I think the figures don't come from Norev or UH directly but rather from some companies specializing in figures. Even in the good old 'Made in Gt. Britain' days Corgi sourced the figures from Hong Kong (as written in the Great Corgi Book about the misshaped Graham Hill figure for the Cortina GXL), so I would assume that figures are commissioned by third companies and bought in bulk.
Out of interest, are the figures and how they fit in the interiors exactly the same in these Norev/Eligor/UH variants of the same model? If they are, does that mean a separate company made them and the interiors for all of the die-cast manufacturers involved?
I have always thought that the figures were the same but had to take another look. No, the figures are different. The Eligor DB5 and the UH have the same figure but the Norev version has a different (in my opinion slightly better) sculpt. The nose of Norev's Connery is larger and straight (although he has a double chin). The other figure looks more like Barbie in profile.
The other figures are different, too, like Brosnan has his arm ellbow on the door or inside the Z8. But the differences are not very obvious. I think the figures don't come from Norev or UH directly but rather from some companies specializing in figures. Even in the good old 'Made in Gt. Britain' days Corgi sourced the figures from Hong Kong (as written in the Great Corgi Book about the misshaped Graham Hill figure for the Cortina GXL), so I would assume that figures are commissioned by third companies and bought in bulk.
That's interesting. If there was just one figure supplier, there would have to be a 'standardisation' of how different model car manufacturers create the interiors to accomodate the figures. For anyone who has never disassembled a UH JBCC model, the interior is a 'pod' with door sides, floor and dashboard all included. The figures have large slots 'where the sun don't shine' which are located (glued) onto plastic pegs moulded onto seat bases and usually the driver's hands are glued to the steering wheel. If a model car manufacturer attaches the dashboard to the car body, not the interior, that would create problems. Also there needs to be adequate clearance between the steering wheel and seat to accomodate the figure's legs. (That's why I didn't put a figure in the TB E-Type, no room for the legs and no headroom either!) It's obviously not as simple as 'let's use another manufacturer's model cars and just pop figures in'.
Using an outside supplier for figures would also explain the disparity between Ixo's OP Range Rover 'Bianca' figure and others in the Ixo JB offerings. The Bianca figure was one of the finest, most accurate sculpts in the whole JBCC series, whereas other figures like the one in the LD Lada 2105 looked like weird little gingerbread men.
Not a part of my car collection (I wish!) but I snapped these pics a couple of years ago. It was a beauty:
The scent smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning. Then the soul-erosion produced by high gambling - a compost of greed and fear and nervous tension - becomes unbearable and the senses awake and revolt from it.
Think that the ford is probably from yat ming road legends series of budget models. Sell in UK for part work type prices and are pretty good for price.
Think that the ford is probably from yat ming road legends series of budget models. Sell in UK for part work type prices and are pretty good for price.
Maz hits it on the nose. MovieCarFan, I would HIGHLY recommend their 1957 Chevy Nomad; it's one of the best values you can get for that price and even better than most diecast '57 Chevys.
Not a part of my car collection (I wish!) but I snapped these pics a couple of years ago. It was a beauty:
That is a seriously gorgeous car. If it were in the UK, the pics would either be of an empty space with the car having been nicked, or the car would be kicked in and on fire, or it would be clamped, or covered in bird poo!! No-one would dare to leave it parked up like that here.
The DB5 is incredibly rare in the UK too, I've seen a few at shows, car museums etc but have only ever seen one out on the road once, a metallic blue example in Ashbourne, Derbyshire.
Comments
LOL, great pic! Basically, that's the sort of response I got from the two guys I know selling it here in the US, so it's not exactly exclusive to England. Apparently, people are interested more in the characters than their cars and if they wanted cars, they'd want classic American cars.
Judging from the people I spoke with, you'd be right.
Just buy up TV series that are considered to be classics, but have lapsed into the public domain from the 1950's-1970's. You'd make a killing by only licensing a few non-public domain TV series.
I made one that isn't Bond-related but uses JBCC parts. I took the interior and grille out of the Scaldia-Volga M24 and fitted them to the Romanian Masini de Legenda GAZ-24, which is somewhat implied to be a Military, Securitate, or Governmental car. I think the end result looks quite nice and will post a photo if you're interested.
Can hardly wait to see the Vanish!
I think this would be a gold mine for any part work or diecast company to create as a range. The range itself would be only limited by imagination and yes one man's treasure will be anothers trash but the beauty of this range if promoted properly and cleverly it could run as a part work and also as cherry picking range.
The Part work could run at 24 - 36 models then as specials there after released 1 per month . The subject matter is perfect for all things car centric, movie centric, even bond models could be included with the usual Astons and lotus et al appearing in new improved dioramas. Obscurer blink and you miss it vehicles would also appear but then I think this was the attraction of JBCC the collector had the opportunity to collect vehicles that lets be honest would not have been produced out with the 'bond' genre of this collection.
If a JBCC 2 is unlikely , I suggest Eaglemoss or another company pick up the baton and create a complimentary follow up collection . This could be targeted at previous subscribers but also sold to individuals on anon subscription basis but at a premium to the originals at £7.99. There were some great cars and vehicles missed from the original collection. All worthy of place but somehow forgotten or excluded. The kenworth , the AEC bus etc etc. What exclusive great specials they would make. The SKYFALL landrover and Audi A5 another two gems missed or cut short due to the imminent batman release . Batman is being sold at £9.99 per model, I would certainly have been happy to pay more for JBCC if price was an issue for not continuing the collection by Eaglemoss. Dal110 has spoken of a business disagreement between diecast manufacturers and Eaglemoss . Who is making the Batman collection? Why are they pushing such a collection which seems such a specialised market ? I have said it numerous times and no doubt will say it again I cannot believe the bond collection was shelved , for the batman collection to run in its place. Will it achieve the anticipated 80 models, JBCC was only originally to be 40 , 40 more batmobiles really ???
As DAL110 has confirmed the collection is nose diving in the US also? Anyone want to buy 11 batmobiles ???
Bring back JBCC ..............please
You have to ask yourself what hooked you into the JBCC - if it was just the cars not Bond, the movies or the dioramas then yes, you can go back to the same die-cast offerings that were around before the JBCC without any problem. But, if you were interested in what made the series so unusual - the intriguing movie factor of the vehicle AND display - there is nothing else around quite like it. Since the JBCC finished I have bought 4 movie related Batmobiles and 1 Vanguards model and that's it. Dalko's mention of a possible Ixo Belvedere has my interest, but that's all for the foreseeable future. That means my wallet is filling up again, but the only thing that Eaglemoss can possibly do to get a few more hundred out of me is to re-start the JBCC with extras or create a new diorama based car partwork. A movie/TV theme doesn't have to be handled by just one company and it could easily be sub-divided into genres such as 'Film Noir', 'Action Thrillers', 'Comedy Greats', 'Heroes', whatever floats your boat. Failing that, a Route Bleue based on British classic vehicles or American classic vehicles. Otherwise, my pennies are staying firmly locked up in my piggy bank.
I've got some that I promised to post a week or so ago but my PC blew up! Will try to get photos uploaded this weekend if possible.
I was having a sort out of my JBCC and noticed that the No1. French Aston Martin in the collection which I purchased from a French dealer at a toy fair many years ago before it started in the UK appears to be different to the UK version.
Has anybody else come across this?
Different Wheels on car and gold lettering on box
No ejector roof and slightly different size sticker and area for sticker, the base plate is also slightly different
End of box with French wording
Rainier Wolfcastle posted some info on the French DB5 recently:
http://ajb007.co.uk/topic/28313/james-bond-car-collection-questions-and-praise/page/247/
- Down towards the end of the page.
You can read more about this DB5 on p. 95, with updates on 155 and 247.
The other test issues can be found on 96, 104, 160 and 247.
Hi Rainer, Yes we meet again
(still have my contacts working on the Matchbox Helicopter/Plymouth quest)
I have just read through your brilliant and informative posts regarding the French variants, well done -{
I will now add the remaining four to my list of items to watch out for.
Yep another 1/8th model from Eaglemoss the perfect partner to the DB5 (NOT). Another folly from eaglemoss . Spending £650 - £800 on a 1/8 diecast Nissan GTR ....really . They have lost the plot. Don't get me wrong a nice car but with no link or purpose other than its a Nissan , why would you buy it. The DB5 is a historic car , with of course the bond link.
It's not as mad as it seems. This model was developed for the Japanese market, so it is already there. They are just trying to sell more to increase the profit. And it appears to be much better designed than the DB5. I'm personally not interested, though I doubt it will be released in Oz anyway. Altaya has released 2 Citroens in 1/8 in France - the 2CV Charleston and the DS 21. Now that is something I would be tempted to collect!
I've had emails from Emoss inviting me to buy this partwork too, and likewise I was 100% unimpressed with the prospect of a GTR. There might be a few petrolheads out there somewhere who think it's a great idea, but that will only be while this car is currently desirable - give it a year or two and it will seem like yesterday's news and very few will still be interested. A build up needs to be both stunning and have long-lasting widespread popularity - I suggested the '66 TV Batmobile in 1:8 scale a while back, but it could be a 'transformable' James Bond Lotus Sub, the Ghostbusters Caddy or the Bullitt Mustang. Alternatively, a more rational 'current' supercar choice would have been a standard Aston Martin DBS in QOS colours, or a totally safe classic option would have been an E-Type Jaguar with a working drophead.
Same thing with Eaglemoss's ships - why HMS Endeavour? How many people worldwide have even heard of it? Now, a pre-painted large scale build up of RMS Titanic with working lights and sounds - that would sell.
After few weeks without any works on my models, I find few times to work on. So here another code 3 for a Moonraker vehicle.
It is not finished but I wanted you to show some photos.
I read all the message for the recent weeks and all comments are very interesting.
About the French JB collection, the box you find with the French title in gold are a test serie that Fabbri made in France. I bought all the series in France (some model second hand in 2 or 3 copy) and the models are all in English, exactly like your models in UK.
All producers are making local test in different town in France. It can explain theses ‘differents’ models.
For example in April 2012, we had a Batman test in France… but nothing for the moment. Here is a site where we can follow all models coming on the market and all the test made.
http://cntrois.over-blog.com/categorie-11595937.html (scrolled down to see Batman …in oval boxes !)
I buyed the first models of batman in UK because of movies related and affordable price. They are nice by the way. But for me , the comics Models are nice but don’t talk to much to me. It is not ‘real’ cars.
About a TV & movie series, it would be great. I also started few years ago some models. For example I found Bullit car not too expensive, or some French car in typical French movie.
But I think including all movies & TV series around the world, it is endless…. So which company will take the opportunity ?… we’ll see.
We can find here some very nice model, but for me, it is a bit expansive (K200 Knight Rider at £55, scale 1/43, Ghostbusters car same price & scale, and other…)
So I like to watch ideas and creation of other people. Continue to share your experience.
Cheers.
Tony (many thanks to him for the 'Skyfall - Wolksawgen') didn't help me on that one. ... but was more easier this time.
Want to see other code3 from you guys...
Thanks to all. Cheers
Do you remember the yellow Ferrari that raced Bond at the beginning of GoldenEye? What do you mean it was red! Haven't you read the novelisation? Shame on you
This next lot are really ‘guesstimates’ as the authors weren’t entirely clear on the specific vehicle:
MGA Quantum of Solace – I’ve gone for the MGA. Reason: Fleming describes a rather well off young man who drives an MG – my guess is that he’d have a brand new car.
MG TC The Spy Who Loved Me – Vivienne’s first boyfriend had a second hand MG so I’ve chosen the TC. By the time the novel was written the TC had ceased production over ten years previous. So a young 18-19 year old may well have purchased a car that old.
Lancia Stratos Role of Honour – now, Gardner describes a Lancia sports car working alongside a Ferrari. The most obvious choice for the early 80s would be Beta Monte Carlo, but I’ve gone with a Stratos because:
a. It’s just a much more impressive and classic car than the Beta
b. If this were a film, a Stratos and a Ferrari working together would look much more exciting than if it were a Beta
Finally, with so much talk about Batman and the cars featured in the comics - it gave me an idea - enjoy..................
I have always thought that the figures were the same but had to take another look. No, the figures are different. The Eligor DB5 and the UH have the same figure but the Norev version has a different (in my opinion slightly better) sculpt. The nose of Norev's Connery is larger and straight (although he has a double chin). The other figure looks more like Barbie in profile.
The other figures are different, too, like Brosnan has his arm ellbow on the door or inside the Z8. But the differences are not very obvious. I think the figures don't come from Norev or UH directly but rather from some companies specializing in figures. Even in the good old 'Made in Gt. Britain' days Corgi sourced the figures from Hong Kong (as written in the Great Corgi Book about the misshaped Graham Hill figure for the Cortina GXL), so I would assume that figures are commissioned by third companies and bought in bulk.
That's interesting. If there was just one figure supplier, there would have to be a 'standardisation' of how different model car manufacturers create the interiors to accomodate the figures. For anyone who has never disassembled a UH JBCC model, the interior is a 'pod' with door sides, floor and dashboard all included. The figures have large slots 'where the sun don't shine' which are located (glued) onto plastic pegs moulded onto seat bases and usually the driver's hands are glued to the steering wheel. If a model car manufacturer attaches the dashboard to the car body, not the interior, that would create problems. Also there needs to be adequate clearance between the steering wheel and seat to accomodate the figure's legs. (That's why I didn't put a figure in the TB E-Type, no room for the legs and no headroom either!) It's obviously not as simple as 'let's use another manufacturer's model cars and just pop figures in'.
Using an outside supplier for figures would also explain the disparity between Ixo's OP Range Rover 'Bianca' figure and others in the Ixo JB offerings. The Bianca figure was one of the finest, most accurate sculpts in the whole JBCC series, whereas other figures like the one in the LD Lada 2105 looked like weird little gingerbread men.
Maz hits it on the nose. MovieCarFan, I would HIGHLY recommend their 1957 Chevy Nomad; it's one of the best values you can get for that price and even better than most diecast '57 Chevys.
That is a seriously gorgeous car. If it were in the UK, the pics would either be of an empty space with the car having been nicked, or the car would be kicked in and on fire, or it would be clamped, or covered in bird poo!! No-one would dare to leave it parked up like that here.
The DB5 is incredibly rare in the UK too, I've seen a few at shows, car museums etc but have only ever seen one out on the road once, a metallic blue example in Ashbourne, Derbyshire.