" I have said before a few times this is a fantastic income for GE Fabbri especially in the financial climate we are in. I think it would foolish to stop such a lucrative subscription based collection."
Foolish for G.E. Fabbri? Heck yeah. Foolish for Ixo (especially) or Universal Hobbies? Actually, no. Both companies (especially Ixo) are trying to get new partworks off the ground. For Ixo, it's Avtomobilyi Na Sluzhba in Russia, which could quite possibly (in fact, I would go so far as to say "probably") translate into "public service" vehicle lines in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, and Germany. If you're an Ixo executive concerned with nothing except for profit, do you keep the Bond line going, or do you launch a bunch of public service vehicle partworks with great quality, affordability, and universal appeal (I hate to say this as a Bond fanatic, but asking around, the JBCC has less of the universal appeal aspect to it than does a line with realistic and affordable police cars, fire brigade vehicles, private security cars, bank armored trucks, streetsweepers, search and rescue 4x4's...basically, all your public utilities vehicles from throughout your nation's history)? Ixo and DeAgostini have made NO secret (going so far as to actually state it) that Avtomobilyi Na Sluzhba is a test marketing to see if a partwork on public service vehicles will work (which they would then presumably work their way through the former East Bloc and then ultimately France and Germany). Thus far, it's worked very well...the only complaints are that it's coming out too slowly! Further, if you're an executive at Universal Hobbies, your role was reduced greatly for the upcoming "unknown eight" final cars and the people at UH and G.E. Fabbri, reading some of the posts here, apparently had a bit of a falling out. If Ixo pulls out after 110 (which seems likely) and then Fabbri goes to you, do you really say "oh yeah sure, we'll drop all of our current projects and partworks, forget the falling out we had, and get to work on the JBCC immediately!"? I think not, unfortunately, although it would be nice.
By the way, I'm convinced the ZIL-117 will be a car from the "unknown eight." Ixo's guy present on RCForum.ru for the USSR AvtoLegende partwork series recently confirmed this car as official and assuming AL sticks to their regular release schedule and Fabbri sticks to the one that was issued prior to Mr. Steed's post, they would come out almost simultaneously.
" I have said before a few times this is a fantastic income for GE Fabbri especially in the financial climate we are in. I think it would foolish to stop such a lucrative subscription based collection."
Foolish for G.E. Fabbri? Heck yeah. Foolish for Ixo (especially) or Universal Hobbies? Actually, no. Both companies (especially Ixo) are trying to get new partworks off the ground. For Ixo, it's Avtomobilyi Na Sluzhba in Russia, which could quite possibly (in fact, I would go so far as to say "probably") translate into "public service" vehicle lines in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, and Germany. If you're an Ixo executive concerned with nothing except for profit, do you keep the Bond line going, or do you launch a bunch of public service vehicle partworks with great quality, affordability, and universal appeal (I hate to say this as a Bond fanatic, but asking around, the JBCC has less of the universal appeal aspect to it than does a line with realistic and affordable police cars, fire brigade vehicles, private security cars, bank armored trucks, streetsweepers, search and rescue 4x4's...basically, all your public utilities vehicles from throughout your nation's history)? Ixo and DeAgostini have made NO secret (going so far as to actually state it) that Avtomobilyi Na Sluzhba is a test marketing to see if a partwork on public service vehicles will work (which they would then presumably work their way through the former East Bloc and then ultimately France and Germany). Thus far, it's worked very well...the only complaints are that it's coming out too slowly! Further, if you're an executive at Universal Hobbies, your role was reduced greatly for the upcoming "unknown eight" final cars and the people at UH and G.E. Fabbri, reading some of the posts here, apparently had a bit of a falling out. If Ixo pulls out after 110 (which seems likely) and then Fabbri goes to you, do you really say "oh yeah sure, we'll drop all of our current projects and partworks, forget the falling out we had, and get to work on the JBCC immediately!"? I think not, unfortunately, although it would be nice.
By the way, I'm convinced the ZIL-117 will be a car from the "unknown eight." Ixo's guy present on RCForum.ru for the USSR AvtoLegende partwork series recently confirmed this car as official and assuming AL sticks to their regular release schedule and Fabbri sticks to the one that was issued prior to Mr. Steed's post, they would come out almost simultaneously.
Outside the East I fear the james Bond Collection may hold more weight than utility or service vehicles. I think GE Fabbri would be foolish to finish a well established collection now as it does have a mass following especially here in the UK. I think to stop it and start the DB5 kit part work would be a disaster as these kits have been subject to much criticism from tabloid press and consumer programmes.
Hi all. I’m new to this forum and new to collecting JB cars; I’m from Sussex, England but lived in Canada for the last 30 or so years.
I only have a small collection at the moment but its slowly growing.
These are the vehicles I would like to see after 110!.
1. BMW R1200 TND just loved the bike and helicopter chase
2. Sub from FYEO good battle between the two dive subs.
3. The speed boat from moonraker just as the wings are activated and the boat goes over the falls,
4. Chevrolet from FRWL
5. The helicopter escape pod from Goldeneye
6. Mercedes 450 from FYEO just as bond kicks it of the cliff.
7. Kenworth Truck/Tractor to big for the money, maybe GF should consider a new small
collection consisting of the larger vehicles I’m sure there would be a lot interest.
8. The laser carrying truck with laser from Goldfinger.
9. Rolls Royce Phantom 111 from Octopussy
10. The Aston Martin Vanquish from DAD as Bond see it for the first, or dosnt see it.
I’m working on a model of this.
Hi all. I’m new to this forum and new to collecting JB cars; I’m from Sussex, England but lived in Canada for the last 30 or so years.
I only have a small collection at the moment but its slowly growing.
These are the vehicles I would like to see after 110!.
1. BMW R1200 TND just loved the bike and helicopter chase
2. Sub from FYEO good battle between the two dive subs.
3. The speed boat from moonraker just as the wings are activated and the boat goes over the falls,
4. Chevrolet from FRWL
5. The helicopter escape pod from Goldeneye
6. Mercedes 450 from FYEO just as bond kicks it of the cliff.
7. Kenworth Truck/Tractor to big for the money, maybe GF should consider a new small
collection consisting of the larger vehicles I’m sure there would be a lot interest.
8. The laser carrying truck with laser from Goldfinger.
9. Rolls Royce Phantom 111 from Octopussy
10. The Aston Martin Vanquish from DAD as Bond see it for the first, or dosnt see it.
I’m working on a model of this.
Well thats my list.
I like the idea of a new small collection. I suggested something similar many posts ago. when we signed up for the collection it was hinted we would receive specials over and above the initial three. As they did not come to anything this could also fill a void after the collection finishes at 110. Maybe a further 15 issues of larger vehicles from the Bond franchise. This could include the bus, the tanker etc etc or multi models in one issue. GE FAbbri has a market here , established customer base wanting for more of their product. If I was an exec I would be looking to explore avenues to keep this active.
"Outside the East I fear the james Bond Collection may hold more weight than utility or service vehicles."
The key words here are "outside the East." Thing is, you have an enormous market in Russia, the Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, Romania, and the Czech Republic with a very stable currency (GBP is of course stable, but I'm referring to the current worries of so many corporations, whether well-founded or not, related to the Euro). Also, these vehicles are typically packed in cardboard blisters, which allows the company to make an equally good quality vehicle, but also to save money without doing any kind of diorama. Just rip open the blister and make your own diorama (something I think is common to both the US and Canada as well as the former East Bloc).
"Or start a new partwork subscription service here in the US using all (or some) of the existing vehicles. Licensing permitting, of course.
That would be a no-brainer, almost risk free investment."
This WOULD work, but only without the dioramas. This may seem anathema to some of you, but virtually all of the people I've come into contact with that have been buying/selling the JBCC cars do so with an eye toward taking them off the dioramas and putting them on their O Gauge layout and/or much larger diorama of their own construction (with myself being one of these people). The "do-it-yourself" layout culture that seems embedded in the US and Canada (many immigrants from the former East Bloc contribute to this culture as well...trust me on that one) is indeed something I do see in Western Europe, but I don't see it in the 1/43 scale/O Gauge that's so prevalent in the US and Canada. I see it in 1/87 or 1/76 scale (HO and OO), which leads to super-detailed HO and OO scale cars (far better made than American HO scale cars) built with an eye toward sitting on a layout. Could it succeed? Yes, but you've got to ditch the dioramas, since that's what a great many hobbyists would do themselves.
Personally am not sure if it would make much sense to continue the collection. It has been pretty much exhausted by now, unless you really want every single vehicle that 007 overtook in every movie... Does anyone have any figures showing how many people subscribed when the collection started, and how many are still subscribed now? I would be suprised if more than 50% have continued. There are many reasons - first of all we had been promised 40 models. Second, how many of us have enough room to display more than 30-50 models anyway? And if you don't, do you have room to store them (and what is the point of keeping them stored away? One look at eBay shows that many subscribers have decided that they did not need most of the models, so they can be bought for much less that the price we pay for regular subscription. I have seen them in pawn shops too.
There have been many good models released, but there have been quite a few that should not have been. The collection was very badly prepared and executed to start with, so I am sure that Fabbri know they have to end it while they still do not lose money.
"Second, how many of us have enough room to display more than 30-50 models anyway? And if you don't, do you have room to store them (and what is the point of keeping them stored away?"
Listen, to be perfectly honest, I do not buy the "no space" argument. If I can fit my Dinky Toys collection (in excess of 350 1/48 scale cars with purchases going back to the 1940's from my father's collection, though many are also on my layout simply because I like displaying them more than any others) into my wood and glass display cabinet that's about 2 feet by 8 feet by 4 feet, then the JBCC can be fit into a similar arrangement with room to spare for at least 200 other cars. Contrary to popular belief, we model car nuts do not litter our walls and shelves with a single row of cars. I will grant you that I do NOT use dioramas when displaying these cars, but why not do what I do and "rotate" what's on display in the front row as opposed to what's on display in the back row? In other words, every week or so, take your stack of dioramas, move 'em to the back, and bump each row forward. I would imagine you'd enjoy getting a closer look at the cars while doing so, since I certainly do with my Dinkys. "Rotating display" is very common among model car collectors, no matter what the scale or subject. I've seen this with everything from pre-1969 Lesney Matchbox to 1/18 scale American muscle cars. Otherwise, even collectors living in the most gargantuan of houses would run out of room once they hit the 1,000 mark (and I know at least two people living in perfectly average homes with about three times that...). It's just not an argument I can buy unless your interest is purely Bond with very little interest in model cars themselves.
"There have been many good models released, but there have been quite a few that should not have been."
Such as? I think everyone has about two dozen "turkeys" that they think were totally unnecessary, but the great majority of these stem from the quality of the model rather than its importance in the film. I guess you could say Colonel Moon's supercars were totally unnecessary; that's two. I tend toward thinking the Austin Mini racer from OHMSS was also pretty pointless, though cool. That's three. The Ford Thunderbird from DAD inserted purely as a marketing device. That's four. So, uh, what else? And bear in mind that many model car collectors have been looking for the pre-1985 cars for years and either have not been finding anything, not been finding anything sufficiently detailed, or not finding anything remotely affordable.
I have to say that I find your posts very factual and informative, Dalkowski110. I didn't think I would touch your raw nerve here though! ;%
I grant you - some of the subscribers do have more than enough space to display their models. But I do not think they will be a majority amongst the initial subscribers. I am primarily a 1/24 scale collector, so as you imagine my 1/24 scale collection already takes a lot more space simply due to the size of the cars (and yes, I do rotate my 1/24 models!). Personally, I would much prefer a 20-model 1/24 scale 007 collection than 110 (or even 500!) in 1/43 scale. But, being a Bond fan, I could not just pass on this collection either. Your list of unnecessary models is so spot-on that I have no doubt that if you tried a little harder you could at least triple the "turkeys" (hint - VW Beetle from OHMSS). Mind you - they are "turkeys" as part of a 007 car collection only - they may be very collectible in their own right - just not as Bond vehicles. Allowing 2-3 really relevant vehicles per Bond movie we could have a perfectly complete James Bond car collection consisting of no more than 50 models. Extending the collection so many times and so far does seem a bit of a money grab whose first victims are quality and accuracy (as in the case of the Audi and Aston convertible, for example). Of course, other partwork collections suffer from similar flaws - some of the releases in the Kultowe Auta PRL, for instance, never enjoyed a "cult" status in communist Poland; some were hardly ever seen there! But that's another story...
Well, I think is't véry difficult to point out a "turkey" in the first place. For instance, you say "Hint - VW beetle", while I happen to like it very mutch. My experience is, that we don't always want cars that have minor roles, but if they are original or well-made, we'll like 'em any way. Example: At first I was very negative about the OHMSS Mini, but now that i've got it here in my hands, I find it a very nice little car. It looks good, and though it's not really a car that would come up if you'd be asked to name a Bond-car, that's part of it's charm.
Now, about the whole space-issue( no moonraker pun intended ): I've switched from 2 glass display cabinets to 2, witch now holds three 1/24 scale Presidential Limousines on 1 shelf, as well as 12 1/18th scale 50's cars divided over 4 shelves. I can put all the (currently) 71 JBSS's in there, but it'll lose part of its charm when taken out of the box I think, so I've just put the cars from No. 50 onwards on 1 wooden shelf next to it, stored in a pyramid-way. That way the can be see, but don't take mutch room ánd add a little extra dimension to the cars itself, each being in it's own "world".
I háve tried to put them all in the cabinet, but without the dio's it just looks unfinished, expecialle for the ones that were made with the diorama in mind...
"Of course, other partwork collections suffer from similar flaws - some of the releases in the Kultowe Auta PRL, for instance, never enjoyed a "cult" status in communist Poland; some were hardly ever seen there! But that's another story..."
Part of this is distributing the same partwork series in Hungary, Romania, Germany, and a nearly identical partwork series (numberplates are the only difference) in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. I also believe you can order it in the former Yugoslavia, but am not sure in which countries. To be honest, judging from that distribution, there isn't one single car in that series that shouldn't be there. If anything, the series was poorly named, since most of the Kultowe Auta/Kultovni Auto collectors I know want models of pretty much all of the cars in those collections and the usual concern is if a car is just not well-modelled as opposed to being there (a lot of people were disappointed in certain color choices, I know, plus the screw-up with not giving the ZIL-111 government license plates was heavily criticized).
By the way, you didn't really hit a nerve...I just had kind of a tough day yesterday.
"My experience is, that we don't always want cars that have minor roles, but if they are original or well-made, we'll like 'em any way."
Agreed 100%. Where else are you going to find a Leyland Sherpa van or a 1939 La Salle/Miller Combination Coach?
Now I am in full agreement with the two previous posts!
Naming the series incorrectly certainly has a lot to do with it. The Bondola, the Acrostar or the T-72 tank are certainly no cars, but I am glad to have them in my collection. I do not have any of the Kultowe Auta PRL series, but have seen the models and they are really nice. The only reason I am not buying them is the scale - I am not a real 1/43 collector.
And I still would like to see some statistics showing how many people subscribed originally and how many are still subscribed now – close to issue 100.
The perfect solution would be to have tiered releases - first cars with Bond gadgets, then cars that Bond just drove, then perhaps villain cars, then some additional vehicles, and so on. But perhaps it's asking too much - manufacturers make many decisions on the go, and a lot depends on how popular a collection is.
I have to agree some models seem to be fill in's but the majority have been good ,and there have been some real jems they did the q boat but not the moonraker carlson speed boat with hang glider nor the disco volante. which is a shame . I was very happy to get the hovercraft and i am looking forward to the bondula. biggest diapointment is no scaramanga car in flying form or the ice bike from d.a.d
too difficult to do? possibly, but they could of tried to do the wings separatley to rest onto the car they had already issused.
but leaving out the most sought after models makes the collection good but not fabulous
I feel we could all name at least 10 models we would like to have seen issued and should have issued once they stopped doing just the cars
Too difficult to do for a diorama? Definitely. Think of how huge you'd have to make the case to accomodate 1/43 scale wings. Take a look at a 1/48 scale model of an early War WWII fighter plane...let's make it something *really* tiny, like a Polikarpov I-16...and you'll find it has a wingspan of about 7 inches. And that's 1/48 scale, so you can probably tack on another half inch for the Matador's 1/43 wings, which were roughly the same width. Now, I know your proposal anticipates and prevents increased diorama width. But what about length? To realistically have it proportional, say using 8 inch wide wings, you'd need a case just about 10 inches long!
"nor the disco volante"
Impossible in 1/43 scale, and they stated from the beginning all models would be in 1/43 scale (although I will grant you that some 1/50 scale models of the larger stuff like the tank and probably the Bondola will be out there, but that's NOT a huge difference). You're now looking at something roughly TEN FEET long. Even in 1/144 scale, you have a model that is multiple feet long.
"the moonraker carlson speed boat with hang glider"
But remember, this is the James Bond Car Collection, emphasis on CAR. Even though the Q-Boat and Bondola were basically boats, the former proved capable of maneuvering pretty well on land and was indeed briefly involved in a car chase and the Bondola was an amphibious vehicle. And the ice rocket thing from DAD? Believe me, you could put at least fifteen other cars not on the list into production before that, which I will proceed to name...
-UAZ-469B "Russian Jeep" (Appeared in every single Brosnan film and had a huge role in GE)
-Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL (FYEO)
-1961 Chevrolet Series 30 "1-Tonner" (FRWL)
-1986 Dodge Ram Pickup (LTK)
-1967 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow I Two-Door Convertible by Mulliner Park-Ward (OHMSS)
-1970 Ford Custom Las Vegas Sheriff's Car (DAF)
-Mercedes-Benz 220D "Ponton" (GF)
-Lada Niva L (TWINE)
-1973 Chevrolet Impala or Bel Air (Because, collectively, it was the single-most numerous car in any Bond film, that being LALD. Reminds me of the old commercials ironically from Ford about "A brand new Ford in every garage" switched over to their main competitor and taken literally. I'd like to see Sheriff Pepper's car pre-trashing, to be honest, but just about anything would work.)
-1977 Scaldia-Volga M24 Elite (OP)
-1958 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith (FRWL)
-VAZ-2106 Moscow GAI Police Car (GE)
-1961 Chevrolet Bel Air (DN)
-A DB5 without any exposed gadgets (Can be any movie in which the DB5 appears).
-1986 Wales & Edwards Rangemaster Milk Float (TLD)
One of the things I really like about this collection is the pairing up of vehicles where the dioramas tie in together from the same sequence (i.e. TND Beemer & Merc, Quantum Aston & Alfa, LD Aston & Lada etc) which is why I think the GF Merc should be issued to go with the near-crash DB5. Now there's been mention of a plain non-gadget DB5, which I think is also a glaring omission, I reckon it would be a perfect partner to the GE Ferrari F355 (the DB5 is shown on the background card). It would be VERY easy to produce, Mr. Fabbri!
I guess most of us are still far, far away from issue 100. Except for those who live in the UK, of course. I have just received the first IXO-produced hearse! I wonder if the releases will slow in other countries as well like they are supposed to in the UK, or perhaps we will be able to catch up so that the collection ends up roughly at the same time everywhere...
No 100 (in UK) was the Ford Crown Victoria Police Car.
This week I picked up No. 101-the Rolls Royce Silver Cloud II from AVTAKill.
I collect it from Forbidden Planet shop and am not a subscriber.
No. 102-The Bondola will be after 26 Jan. 2011-probably into early Feb.
Bleuville-"You may use anything but the Atomiser-which you must never touch,never." OHMSS.
Hi - I've been following this thread for a while as an interested observer, and just thought I'd like to chip in with a few comments regarding the previous releases and possible future issues.
As I'm more of a petrolhead than a James Bond fan as such, the great thing about this collection is seeing models made available of vehicles that would otherwise never have been produced in miniature. How else would a La Salle hearse or similarly obscure vehicles have reached the shelves ? Having said that, I couldn't really justify buying the entire collection, so I've focused on the two films which feature vehicles I particularly like - Goldfinger and OHMSS. Bond's Aston, Tracy's Cougar, and the two Mercs are great models from the latter, while the Aston, Mustang, Rolls, T-bird and Lincoln from GF are also superb. I did feel the Lincoln should have been made with the option of closing the boot though, so I carried out a bit of surgery to convert it. The model also lacked the whiteband tyres of the screen version, which I remedied by substituting the tyres from a donor T-bird.
Sadly I felt the releases for both films have included a couple of Turkeys. I think Oddjob's pick-up has already been mentioned - and certainly to me the body shape looks wrong. I'd also level the same criticism at the OHMSS Mini - if you compare the side profile with any other Mini model, it's obvious that the upper half of the body is too high. Among the other releases I've seen which somehow don't work for me are the Moonraker Hispano and the FRWL Bentley - the proportions of both seem clumsy and lacking the elegance of the originals, unlike the GF Rolls, which looks spot on.
As for future issues - from the posts above, I could see the collection running to 150 with no problems at all, though at the rate of one a month this would take years ! The next ten wish lists I've seen so far also miss a few obvious choices, which I'm including on mine -
Dr. No
1. 1959 Cadillac sedan. (as seen parked at the airport) I know it's only window dressing, but it's such fantastic car, prominently featured on screen, and not to my knowledge ever decently modelled in that scale (although I think Dinky did a coupe).
2. Vauxhall Velox. Bond arrives at the harbour in it, so legitimate contender.
FRWL
3. The Rolls Royce as already mentioned.
Goldfinger
4. The Mercedes Ponton. OK, I have the Minchamps version, but such an obvious choice.
Thunderball
5. Ford Zephyr Four staff car.
You Only Live Twice/The Spy Who loved Me/Moonraker
6. Yellow Mini Moke. Every Bond villain has a fleet of these. Why hasn't it already been done ?
OHMSS
7. Rolls Royce Silver Shadow convertible. Again an obvious contender. Though I have been a bit disappointed with some of the chrome work on the more modern Rolls Royce releases. It doesn't seem as elegant as that on the Mercedes models.
8. Ford Escort. As seen in the ice rally. More prominently featured than the Mini, so why not ?
9. Mercedes minibus. Nice vehicle with a key role.
Diamonds Are Forever
10. Blofeld's personal submarine. Who else would do it ?
Hope there's a chance some of these might possibly be considered as future releases (particularly the yellow Moke !)
"How else would a La Salle hearse or similarly obscure vehicles have reached the shelves ?"
Agreed 100%. And by the way, since Ixo did that car, I'm really hoping they make an ambulance version of it.
"I think Oddjob's pick-up has already been mentioned - and certainly to me the body shape looks wrong."
Yep. They slanted the windshield too little and, as a result, the roofline was WAY too high. I'm tempted to try and get a second one and make a Code 3 with 1/43 Ford Falcon parts (I think Trax Models in Australia has a '65 Australian Falcon...different styling but a near-identical roofline...in their "wrecking yard," [i.e. defective cars] and have been tempted to try and just kit-bash the correct Ranchero).
"and the FRWL Bentley - the proportions of both seem clumsy"
It's actually very well proportioned when compared to itself...the only problem is that it's about 1/40 scale. Another model sized too large (albeit nowhere near as huge as the Bentley) is the LALD 1963 Chevrolet Impala. Contrary to popular belief, both of the Ford Fairlane Skyliners are the correct size. The DAD Skyliner (yes, that's a Skyliner with the roof retracted...note the lack of a stack) just looks too big because the driver figure is too small. These cars had HUGE compartments for all the gizmos working the retractable hardtop.
"1. 1959 Cadillac sedan. (as seen parked at the airport) I know it's only window dressing, but it's such fantastic car, prominently featured on screen, and not to my knowledge ever decently modelled in that scale (although I think Dinky did a coupe)."
Franklin Mint also did a very nice job on their convertible, which I have. Unfortunately, if you're living in the UK, Franklin Mint can be tough to get. Spark Models also just recently announced a series of 1959 Cadillacs for a VERY reasonable price of $60 each, with the exception of the Fleetwood 75 limousine (the price is TBD for the Fleetwood...given that they're resin, handmade, and have rolling wheels, I'm really, REALLY looking forward to these). You'll be able to get a convertible, a two-door sedan (NOT a coupe), a four-door sedan, and a limo. Given that this car, as much as I'd love to see one for about $20, had such a minor role in the film, I would ultimately respectfully disagree with it, much as I LOVE this car. Fortunately, Spark is pretty easy to get in the UK AND well-known for getting the details right.
"2. Vauxhall Velox. Bond arrives at the harbour in it, so legitimate contender."
To be honest, I thought about this one, but ultimately figured no. Corgi Vanguards makes one that's very affordable (like $15-$20?) in the same color and really, with the addition of the driver's side wing mirror, scale is no big deal.
"5. Ford Zephyr Four staff car."
Beautiful car, but again, it just doesn't play a big enough role. I have a feeling somebody like Brooklin will do one of these eventually, too. Also, I had it pegged as a Zephyr 6?
"6. Yellow Mini Moke. Every Bond villain has a fleet of these. Why hasn't it already been done ?"
Probably because unlike the UAZ-469B, whilst every villain has a fleet of them, they're background vehicles. The UAZ-469B's have guys actively shooting at Bond for extended periods of time (especially in GE), chasing Bond (especially in GE), and Renard uses one as a getaway vehicle whilst mowing down Russian Army troops in TWINE. The Yellow Mokes are basically either blowing up or driving around in the background.
"7. Rolls Royce Silver Shadow convertible. Again an obvious contender. Though I have been a bit disappointed with some of the chrome work on the more modern Rolls Royce releases. It doesn't seem as elegant as that on the Mercedes models."
That's easy. Just take some chrome paint (I use Tamiya, but you have Humbrol in the UK, which has been much better on the few times I've been fortunate enough to use it) and touch it up. But then, once Ixo starts making these, you'll see details that the Universal Hobbies models lacked. Basically, when a model is missing something, just touch it up (another example of this are the hubcaps on the OHMSS Mercedes-Benz 600 SWB) with the aid of real photos of the same car.
"8. Ford Escort. As seen in the ice rally. More prominently featured than the Mini, so why not ?"
Ultimately because I think the Mini was a mistake in the first place and two wrongs don't make a right.
"9. Mercedes minibus. Nice vehicle with a key role."
This one I completely agree with.
"The model also lacked the whiteband tyres of the screen version, which I remedied by substituting the tyres from a donor T-bird."
The Toyota Crown from YOLT has this same problem (and for all those "but one exists already!" types, Ebbro made a superb and now very rare model about five years ago of this car). I actually fixed it with binder reinforcement rings by trimming them to the proper size. NOTE: use an X-Acto knife. You'll never be able to keep a steady enough hand if you try and use scissors. I too found the Lincoln's trunk to be annoying and indeed disappointing, but because I have baggage being perpetually loaded and unloaded on my O Gauge layout, I figure I can keep the trunk open with a baggage handler removing cargo from the trunk.
It had a larger role than some of the other vehicles chosen, so why not? Corgi Vanguards did release a range of five Zephyr 4s (and yes, it is a 4 - has a slightly different grill/headlight treatment to the 6) in 2001-4, but none in black unfortunately. I coincidentally bought on auction last week the last release of that batch, the one in "Windsor Grey".
You Only Live Twice/The Spy Who loved Me/Moonraker
6. Yellow Mini Moke. Every Bond villain has a fleet of these. Why hasn't it already been done ?
They already have the mould from Issue N°24, the white one from LALD, so it would be easy enough - but if there are a limited number of releases to go, let's rather have new vehicles than rehashed previous releases.
OHMSS
8. Ford Escort. As seen in the ice rally. More prominently featured than the Mini, so why not ?
I would also have chosen this one over the Mini, but maybe GEF thought we'd had too many Fords already. There are various sources for 1/43 Escort Mk.1's, although the "cheapies" are all RHD (Hongwell/Cararama & Corgi Vanguards), as is the only white one made by Minichamps!
Personally, I'm still hoping the Lada Niva from TWINE makes it into this collection ... but the one that really ought to still be included is the Mercedes on the cliff-edge from FYEO - now that was an iconic Bond moment!
"It had a larger role than some of the other vehicles chosen, so why not? Corgi Vanguards did release a range of five Zephyr 4s (and yes, it is a 4 - has a slightly different grill/headlight treatment to the 6) in 2001-4, but none in black unfortunately. I coincidentally bought on auction last week the last release of that batch, the one in "Windsor Grey"."
According to IMCDB, we're both right...the car shown in closeup is the Zephyr 6. The car shown at a distance is a Zephyr 4. Continuity error, anyone? As an aside, I've also heard something akin to this mentioned as a continuity error for the 1960 Ford Galaxie Ranch Wagon in FRWL with regard to a two-door and four-door variant appearing, but in that film, there's no evidence to show that the two cars were one in the same (indeed, they have different numberplates...perhaps Kerim Bey just liked the Ford Galaxie Ranch Wagon).
"Personally, I'm still hoping the Lada Niva from TWINE makes it into this collection"
Same here, especially seeing as it's the "L" model with "truck-type" side mirrors. Not even the (numerous) Soviet and Russian iterations have made an L.
"Sorry if I am a complete nitwit about the subject, but are they still making these then?"
We have nine left. Number 101 is known to be the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II from AVTAK. Number 102 is the "Bondola" from MR. Beyond that, there used to be a list but which I fear is no longer reliable. It consisted of...
103. 1959 Ford Consul Mk. II Jamaican Colonial Police Car (DN)
104. ZIL-117 SWB Limousine (CR)*
105. 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 Country Squire Station Wagon (GF)
106. Ford Bronco II (QoS)
107. 1971 Ford Econoline (DAF)**
108. Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II (LTK)***
109. 1973 Chevrolet Impala Custom Coupe (LALD)
110. Aston-Martin DBS V12 with crash damage (QoS)
*The Russian Partwork USSR AvtoLegende, also made by Ixo, has officially confirmed that it's doing one of these and should be released around roughly the same time as the CR ZIL-117. This leads me to suspect that it's still on the list, despite the REALLY minor role it had.
**Mr. Steed's allusion (see below) to a list change mentioned "some vehicles from DAF that are very different," leading me to believe that like the ZIL-117, the Ford Econoline is staying.
***Mr. Steed mentioned multiple Rolls-Royces and seeing as this one would share the moulds with Valentin's Silver Shadow II, I would have to guess it would be produced.
Then along came JohnSteed's post. He's way more intimately connected with this than we are and he hinted at more Rolls-Royces (i.e. multiple ones, so I'm guessing that one more of the Rollers that played a larger role will be featured; Draco's two-door convertible, Kerim's Silver Wraith, as well as the aforementioned LTK Silver Shadow II all fit the bill) and multiple cars from DAF (the LV Sheriff's car, I'm hoping, is one of those), plus some other unspecified cars. No names, no order. This probably has something to do with Ixo's seeming takeover, but that's merely my guess.
BTW, here's the exact wording from JohnSteed's post and some deductions I've made about it. By the way, remember that Ixo is now exercising greater control than Universal Hobbies, which is why I believe the list to have changed.
"After the Bondola we've only got a few cars left. I don't want to promise the order just yet, but there will be a couple more Rolls-Royces and some rare cars from DAF and LALD."
We'd already seen the AVTAK Silver Cloud II, so this logically means they added at least one Rolls-Royce somewhere along the way, possibly at the expense of the GF Galaxie Country Squire (I really hope not...), DN Ford Consul Mk. II (I also really hope not) or the QoS Ford Bronco II or some combination thereof. The most obvious Rollers to add would be the OHMSS Two-Door Convertible (pre-Corniche Corniche, basically) and the FRWL Silver Wraith. These cars both had very significant roles, there's an obvious demand, and believe me, having a very good friend who works in marketing, they're not just going to spit out two more iterations of the Silver Shadow II. Why? Because that's just stupid and it actively goes against what the consumer wants. Also recall that the Silver Shadow II mould is Universal Hobbies, not Ixo. Sure, it could be shared, but with Ixo in the driver's seat (no pun intended), they're going to want to make their own moulds. In fact, looking at it, it could even mean the deletion of this particular model. Also, recall the backlash against mould-sharing when it's occurred in the past with this series.
Some rare cars (plural) from DAF would indicate to me the Ford Econoline and either the LVPD or LV Sheriff's car. Rare cars from DAF would indicate one of the ubiquitous 1973 Chevies (either Bel Air or Impala) as well as the Mack AB Oyster Truck (yes, that could fit into an Ixo display stand).
Here's my guess, although I'm not even going to try and guess at the order...
103. Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow I Two-Door Convertible, Mulliner Park-Ward Body (OHMSS)
104. Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith II (FRWL)
105. Ford Consul Mk. II (DN)*
106. Mack AB Oyster Wagon (LALD)
107. 1973 Chevrolet Bel Air or Impala (LALD)
108. 1970 or 1971 Ford Custom Police or Sheriff's Car (DAF)
109: 1971 Ford Econoline (DAF)
110: ZIL-117 (CR)
*This one's REALLY a guess. Of the remaining cars on the list, it seems to have had the largest role. That's the ONLY reason I'm putting it there. I also find it significant that JohnSteed did NOT mention an Aston.
Evening all, I had issues 100 and 101 on Sunday ( thanks postie !!!!!! ) love the diorama / pix in the Ford Crown Victoria Police Car.
But, issue 101, the Rolls Royce Silver Cloud II from AVTAK, is about to be pushed into the lake, so shouldn't Bond and Tibbet be in the back ??
"Please, pléase tell me you're joking about the fact that you'd rather have an oyster truck than an Aston Martin "
Well, I don't. I said that I'm DEDUCING from the wordage of JohnSteed's posts what we're going to get, NOT what I want. The only car with a significant role that's "different" or "rare" from LALD that Mr. Steed mentioned in plural was the Mack AB Oyster Wagon. I also asked you to note that Mr. Steed DID NOT make mention of an Aston, whilst going out of his way to mention Rollers, multiple cars from LALD, and multiple cars from DAF.
Comments
Foolish for G.E. Fabbri? Heck yeah. Foolish for Ixo (especially) or Universal Hobbies? Actually, no. Both companies (especially Ixo) are trying to get new partworks off the ground. For Ixo, it's Avtomobilyi Na Sluzhba in Russia, which could quite possibly (in fact, I would go so far as to say "probably") translate into "public service" vehicle lines in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, and Germany. If you're an Ixo executive concerned with nothing except for profit, do you keep the Bond line going, or do you launch a bunch of public service vehicle partworks with great quality, affordability, and universal appeal (I hate to say this as a Bond fanatic, but asking around, the JBCC has less of the universal appeal aspect to it than does a line with realistic and affordable police cars, fire brigade vehicles, private security cars, bank armored trucks, streetsweepers, search and rescue 4x4's...basically, all your public utilities vehicles from throughout your nation's history)? Ixo and DeAgostini have made NO secret (going so far as to actually state it) that Avtomobilyi Na Sluzhba is a test marketing to see if a partwork on public service vehicles will work (which they would then presumably work their way through the former East Bloc and then ultimately France and Germany). Thus far, it's worked very well...the only complaints are that it's coming out too slowly! Further, if you're an executive at Universal Hobbies, your role was reduced greatly for the upcoming "unknown eight" final cars and the people at UH and G.E. Fabbri, reading some of the posts here, apparently had a bit of a falling out. If Ixo pulls out after 110 (which seems likely) and then Fabbri goes to you, do you really say "oh yeah sure, we'll drop all of our current projects and partworks, forget the falling out we had, and get to work on the JBCC immediately!"? I think not, unfortunately, although it would be nice.
By the way, I'm convinced the ZIL-117 will be a car from the "unknown eight." Ixo's guy present on RCForum.ru for the USSR AvtoLegende partwork series recently confirmed this car as official and assuming AL sticks to their regular release schedule and Fabbri sticks to the one that was issued prior to Mr. Steed's post, they would come out almost simultaneously.
Outside the East I fear the james Bond Collection may hold more weight than utility or service vehicles. I think GE Fabbri would be foolish to finish a well established collection now as it does have a mass following especially here in the UK. I think to stop it and start the DB5 kit part work would be a disaster as these kits have been subject to much criticism from tabloid press and consumer programmes.
That would be a no-brainer, almost risk free investment.
Jim
I totally agree.
I only have a small collection at the moment but its slowly growing.
These are the vehicles I would like to see after 110!.
1. BMW R1200 TND just loved the bike and helicopter chase
2. Sub from FYEO good battle between the two dive subs.
3. The speed boat from moonraker just as the wings are activated and the boat goes over the falls,
4. Chevrolet from FRWL
5. The helicopter escape pod from Goldeneye
6. Mercedes 450 from FYEO just as bond kicks it of the cliff.
7. Kenworth Truck/Tractor to big for the money, maybe GF should consider a new small
collection consisting of the larger vehicles I’m sure there would be a lot interest.
8. The laser carrying truck with laser from Goldfinger.
9. Rolls Royce Phantom 111 from Octopussy
10. The Aston Martin Vanquish from DAD as Bond see it for the first, or dosnt see it.
I’m working on a model of this.
Well thats my list.
I like the idea of a new small collection. I suggested something similar many posts ago. when we signed up for the collection it was hinted we would receive specials over and above the initial three. As they did not come to anything this could also fill a void after the collection finishes at 110. Maybe a further 15 issues of larger vehicles from the Bond franchise. This could include the bus, the tanker etc etc or multi models in one issue. GE FAbbri has a market here , established customer base wanting for more of their product. If I was an exec I would be looking to explore avenues to keep this active.
The key words here are "outside the East." Thing is, you have an enormous market in Russia, the Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, Romania, and the Czech Republic with a very stable currency (GBP is of course stable, but I'm referring to the current worries of so many corporations, whether well-founded or not, related to the Euro). Also, these vehicles are typically packed in cardboard blisters, which allows the company to make an equally good quality vehicle, but also to save money without doing any kind of diorama. Just rip open the blister and make your own diorama (something I think is common to both the US and Canada as well as the former East Bloc).
"Or start a new partwork subscription service here in the US using all (or some) of the existing vehicles. Licensing permitting, of course.
That would be a no-brainer, almost risk free investment."
This WOULD work, but only without the dioramas. This may seem anathema to some of you, but virtually all of the people I've come into contact with that have been buying/selling the JBCC cars do so with an eye toward taking them off the dioramas and putting them on their O Gauge layout and/or much larger diorama of their own construction (with myself being one of these people). The "do-it-yourself" layout culture that seems embedded in the US and Canada (many immigrants from the former East Bloc contribute to this culture as well...trust me on that one) is indeed something I do see in Western Europe, but I don't see it in the 1/43 scale/O Gauge that's so prevalent in the US and Canada. I see it in 1/87 or 1/76 scale (HO and OO), which leads to super-detailed HO and OO scale cars (far better made than American HO scale cars) built with an eye toward sitting on a layout. Could it succeed? Yes, but you've got to ditch the dioramas, since that's what a great many hobbyists would do themselves.
Personally am not sure if it would make much sense to continue the collection. It has been pretty much exhausted by now, unless you really want every single vehicle that 007 overtook in every movie... Does anyone have any figures showing how many people subscribed when the collection started, and how many are still subscribed now? I would be suprised if more than 50% have continued. There are many reasons - first of all we had been promised 40 models. Second, how many of us have enough room to display more than 30-50 models anyway? And if you don't, do you have room to store them (and what is the point of keeping them stored away? One look at eBay shows that many subscribers have decided that they did not need most of the models, so they can be bought for much less that the price we pay for regular subscription. I have seen them in pawn shops too.
There have been many good models released, but there have been quite a few that should not have been. The collection was very badly prepared and executed to start with, so I am sure that Fabbri know they have to end it while they still do not lose money.
Listen, to be perfectly honest, I do not buy the "no space" argument. If I can fit my Dinky Toys collection (in excess of 350 1/48 scale cars with purchases going back to the 1940's from my father's collection, though many are also on my layout simply because I like displaying them more than any others) into my wood and glass display cabinet that's about 2 feet by 8 feet by 4 feet, then the JBCC can be fit into a similar arrangement with room to spare for at least 200 other cars. Contrary to popular belief, we model car nuts do not litter our walls and shelves with a single row of cars. I will grant you that I do NOT use dioramas when displaying these cars, but why not do what I do and "rotate" what's on display in the front row as opposed to what's on display in the back row? In other words, every week or so, take your stack of dioramas, move 'em to the back, and bump each row forward. I would imagine you'd enjoy getting a closer look at the cars while doing so, since I certainly do with my Dinkys. "Rotating display" is very common among model car collectors, no matter what the scale or subject. I've seen this with everything from pre-1969 Lesney Matchbox to 1/18 scale American muscle cars. Otherwise, even collectors living in the most gargantuan of houses would run out of room once they hit the 1,000 mark (and I know at least two people living in perfectly average homes with about three times that...). It's just not an argument I can buy unless your interest is purely Bond with very little interest in model cars themselves.
"There have been many good models released, but there have been quite a few that should not have been."
Such as? I think everyone has about two dozen "turkeys" that they think were totally unnecessary, but the great majority of these stem from the quality of the model rather than its importance in the film. I guess you could say Colonel Moon's supercars were totally unnecessary; that's two. I tend toward thinking the Austin Mini racer from OHMSS was also pretty pointless, though cool. That's three. The Ford Thunderbird from DAD inserted purely as a marketing device. That's four. So, uh, what else? And bear in mind that many model car collectors have been looking for the pre-1985 cars for years and either have not been finding anything, not been finding anything sufficiently detailed, or not finding anything remotely affordable.
I grant you - some of the subscribers do have more than enough space to display their models. But I do not think they will be a majority amongst the initial subscribers. I am primarily a 1/24 scale collector, so as you imagine my 1/24 scale collection already takes a lot more space simply due to the size of the cars (and yes, I do rotate my 1/24 models!). Personally, I would much prefer a 20-model 1/24 scale 007 collection than 110 (or even 500!) in 1/43 scale. But, being a Bond fan, I could not just pass on this collection either. Your list of unnecessary models is so spot-on that I have no doubt that if you tried a little harder you could at least triple the "turkeys" (hint - VW Beetle from OHMSS). Mind you - they are "turkeys" as part of a 007 car collection only - they may be very collectible in their own right - just not as Bond vehicles. Allowing 2-3 really relevant vehicles per Bond movie we could have a perfectly complete James Bond car collection consisting of no more than 50 models. Extending the collection so many times and so far does seem a bit of a money grab whose first victims are quality and accuracy (as in the case of the Audi and Aston convertible, for example). Of course, other partwork collections suffer from similar flaws - some of the releases in the Kultowe Auta PRL, for instance, never enjoyed a "cult" status in communist Poland; some were hardly ever seen there! But that's another story...
Now, about the whole space-issue( no moonraker pun intended
I háve tried to put them all in the cabinet, but without the dio's it just looks unfinished, expecialle for the ones that were made with the diorama in mind...
Part of this is distributing the same partwork series in Hungary, Romania, Germany, and a nearly identical partwork series (numberplates are the only difference) in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. I also believe you can order it in the former Yugoslavia, but am not sure in which countries. To be honest, judging from that distribution, there isn't one single car in that series that shouldn't be there. If anything, the series was poorly named, since most of the Kultowe Auta/Kultovni Auto collectors I know want models of pretty much all of the cars in those collections and the usual concern is if a car is just not well-modelled as opposed to being there (a lot of people were disappointed in certain color choices, I know, plus the screw-up with not giving the ZIL-111 government license plates was heavily criticized).
By the way, you didn't really hit a nerve...I just had kind of a tough day yesterday.
"My experience is, that we don't always want cars that have minor roles, but if they are original or well-made, we'll like 'em any way."
Agreed 100%. Where else are you going to find a Leyland Sherpa van or a 1939 La Salle/Miller Combination Coach?
Naming the series incorrectly certainly has a lot to do with it. The Bondola, the Acrostar or the T-72 tank are certainly no cars, but I am glad to have them in my collection. I do not have any of the Kultowe Auta PRL series, but have seen the models and they are really nice. The only reason I am not buying them is the scale - I am not a real 1/43 collector.
And I still would like to see some statistics showing how many people subscribed originally and how many are still subscribed now – close to issue 100.
The perfect solution would be to have tiered releases - first cars with Bond gadgets, then cars that Bond just drove, then perhaps villain cars, then some additional vehicles, and so on. But perhaps it's asking too much - manufacturers make many decisions on the go, and a lot depends on how popular a collection is.
too difficult to do? possibly, but they could of tried to do the wings separatley to rest onto the car they had already issused.
but leaving out the most sought after models makes the collection good but not fabulous
I feel we could all name at least 10 models we would like to have seen issued and should have issued once they stopped doing just the cars
Too difficult to do for a diorama? Definitely. Think of how huge you'd have to make the case to accomodate 1/43 scale wings. Take a look at a 1/48 scale model of an early War WWII fighter plane...let's make it something *really* tiny, like a Polikarpov I-16...and you'll find it has a wingspan of about 7 inches. And that's 1/48 scale, so you can probably tack on another half inch for the Matador's 1/43 wings, which were roughly the same width. Now, I know your proposal anticipates and prevents increased diorama width. But what about length? To realistically have it proportional, say using 8 inch wide wings, you'd need a case just about 10 inches long!
"nor the disco volante"
Impossible in 1/43 scale, and they stated from the beginning all models would be in 1/43 scale (although I will grant you that some 1/50 scale models of the larger stuff like the tank and probably the Bondola will be out there, but that's NOT a huge difference). You're now looking at something roughly TEN FEET long. Even in 1/144 scale, you have a model that is multiple feet long.
"the moonraker carlson speed boat with hang glider"
But remember, this is the James Bond Car Collection, emphasis on CAR. Even though the Q-Boat and Bondola were basically boats, the former proved capable of maneuvering pretty well on land and was indeed briefly involved in a car chase and the Bondola was an amphibious vehicle. And the ice rocket thing from DAD? Believe me, you could put at least fifteen other cars not on the list into production before that, which I will proceed to name...
-UAZ-469B "Russian Jeep" (Appeared in every single Brosnan film and had a huge role in GE)
-Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL (FYEO)
-1961 Chevrolet Series 30 "1-Tonner" (FRWL)
-1986 Dodge Ram Pickup (LTK)
-1967 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow I Two-Door Convertible by Mulliner Park-Ward (OHMSS)
-1970 Ford Custom Las Vegas Sheriff's Car (DAF)
-Mercedes-Benz 220D "Ponton" (GF)
-Lada Niva L (TWINE)
-1973 Chevrolet Impala or Bel Air (Because, collectively, it was the single-most numerous car in any Bond film, that being LALD. Reminds me of the old commercials ironically from Ford about "A brand new Ford in every garage" switched over to their main competitor and taken literally. I'd like to see Sheriff Pepper's car pre-trashing, to be honest, but just about anything would work.)
-1977 Scaldia-Volga M24 Elite (OP)
-1958 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith (FRWL)
-VAZ-2106 Moscow GAI Police Car (GE)
-1961 Chevrolet Bel Air (DN)
-A DB5 without any exposed gadgets (Can be any movie in which the DB5 appears).
-1986 Wales & Edwards Rangemaster Milk Float (TLD)
I guess most of us are still far, far away from issue 100. Except for those who live in the UK, of course. I have just received the first IXO-produced hearse! I wonder if the releases will slow in other countries as well like they are supposed to in the UK, or perhaps we will be able to catch up so that the collection ends up roughly at the same time everywhere...
No 100 (in UK) was the Ford Crown Victoria Police Car.
This week I picked up No. 101-the Rolls Royce Silver Cloud II from AVTAKill.
I collect it from Forbidden Planet shop and am not a subscriber.
No. 102-The Bondola will be after 26 Jan. 2011-probably into early Feb.
Bleuville-"You may use anything but the Atomiser-which you must never touch,never." OHMSS.
As I'm more of a petrolhead than a James Bond fan as such, the great thing about this collection is seeing models made available of vehicles that would otherwise never have been produced in miniature. How else would a La Salle hearse or similarly obscure vehicles have reached the shelves ? Having said that, I couldn't really justify buying the entire collection, so I've focused on the two films which feature vehicles I particularly like - Goldfinger and OHMSS. Bond's Aston, Tracy's Cougar, and the two Mercs are great models from the latter, while the Aston, Mustang, Rolls, T-bird and Lincoln from GF are also superb. I did feel the Lincoln should have been made with the option of closing the boot though, so I carried out a bit of surgery to convert it. The model also lacked the whiteband tyres of the screen version, which I remedied by substituting the tyres from a donor T-bird.
Sadly I felt the releases for both films have included a couple of Turkeys. I think Oddjob's pick-up has already been mentioned - and certainly to me the body shape looks wrong. I'd also level the same criticism at the OHMSS Mini - if you compare the side profile with any other Mini model, it's obvious that the upper half of the body is too high. Among the other releases I've seen which somehow don't work for me are the Moonraker Hispano and the FRWL Bentley - the proportions of both seem clumsy and lacking the elegance of the originals, unlike the GF Rolls, which looks spot on.
As for future issues - from the posts above, I could see the collection running to 150 with no problems at all, though at the rate of one a month this would take years ! The next ten wish lists I've seen so far also miss a few obvious choices, which I'm including on mine -
Dr. No
1. 1959 Cadillac sedan. (as seen parked at the airport) I know it's only window dressing, but it's such fantastic car, prominently featured on screen, and not to my knowledge ever decently modelled in that scale (although I think Dinky did a coupe).
2. Vauxhall Velox. Bond arrives at the harbour in it, so legitimate contender.
FRWL
3. The Rolls Royce as already mentioned.
Goldfinger
4. The Mercedes Ponton. OK, I have the Minchamps version, but such an obvious choice.
Thunderball
5. Ford Zephyr Four staff car.
You Only Live Twice/The Spy Who loved Me/Moonraker
6. Yellow Mini Moke. Every Bond villain has a fleet of these. Why hasn't it already been done ?
OHMSS
7. Rolls Royce Silver Shadow convertible. Again an obvious contender. Though I have been a bit disappointed with some of the chrome work on the more modern Rolls Royce releases. It doesn't seem as elegant as that on the Mercedes models.
8. Ford Escort. As seen in the ice rally. More prominently featured than the Mini, so why not ?
9. Mercedes minibus. Nice vehicle with a key role.
Diamonds Are Forever
10. Blofeld's personal submarine. Who else would do it ?
Hope there's a chance some of these might possibly be considered as future releases (particularly the yellow Moke !)
Agreed 100%. And by the way, since Ixo did that car, I'm really hoping they make an ambulance version of it.
"I think Oddjob's pick-up has already been mentioned - and certainly to me the body shape looks wrong."
Yep. They slanted the windshield too little and, as a result, the roofline was WAY too high. I'm tempted to try and get a second one and make a Code 3 with 1/43 Ford Falcon parts (I think Trax Models in Australia has a '65 Australian Falcon...different styling but a near-identical roofline...in their "wrecking yard," [i.e. defective cars] and have been tempted to try and just kit-bash the correct Ranchero).
"and the FRWL Bentley - the proportions of both seem clumsy"
It's actually very well proportioned when compared to itself...the only problem is that it's about 1/40 scale. Another model sized too large (albeit nowhere near as huge as the Bentley) is the LALD 1963 Chevrolet Impala. Contrary to popular belief, both of the Ford Fairlane Skyliners are the correct size. The DAD Skyliner (yes, that's a Skyliner with the roof retracted...note the lack of a stack) just looks too big because the driver figure is too small. These cars had HUGE compartments for all the gizmos working the retractable hardtop.
"1. 1959 Cadillac sedan. (as seen parked at the airport) I know it's only window dressing, but it's such fantastic car, prominently featured on screen, and not to my knowledge ever decently modelled in that scale (although I think Dinky did a coupe)."
Franklin Mint also did a very nice job on their convertible, which I have. Unfortunately, if you're living in the UK, Franklin Mint can be tough to get. Spark Models also just recently announced a series of 1959 Cadillacs for a VERY reasonable price of $60 each, with the exception of the Fleetwood 75 limousine (the price is TBD for the Fleetwood...given that they're resin, handmade, and have rolling wheels, I'm really, REALLY looking forward to these). You'll be able to get a convertible, a two-door sedan (NOT a coupe), a four-door sedan, and a limo. Given that this car, as much as I'd love to see one for about $20, had such a minor role in the film, I would ultimately respectfully disagree with it, much as I LOVE this car. Fortunately, Spark is pretty easy to get in the UK AND well-known for getting the details right.
"2. Vauxhall Velox. Bond arrives at the harbour in it, so legitimate contender."
To be honest, I thought about this one, but ultimately figured no. Corgi Vanguards makes one that's very affordable (like $15-$20?) in the same color and really, with the addition of the driver's side wing mirror, scale is no big deal.
"5. Ford Zephyr Four staff car."
Beautiful car, but again, it just doesn't play a big enough role. I have a feeling somebody like Brooklin will do one of these eventually, too. Also, I had it pegged as a Zephyr 6?
"6. Yellow Mini Moke. Every Bond villain has a fleet of these. Why hasn't it already been done ?"
Probably because unlike the UAZ-469B, whilst every villain has a fleet of them, they're background vehicles. The UAZ-469B's have guys actively shooting at Bond for extended periods of time (especially in GE), chasing Bond (especially in GE), and Renard uses one as a getaway vehicle whilst mowing down Russian Army troops in TWINE. The Yellow Mokes are basically either blowing up or driving around in the background.
"7. Rolls Royce Silver Shadow convertible. Again an obvious contender. Though I have been a bit disappointed with some of the chrome work on the more modern Rolls Royce releases. It doesn't seem as elegant as that on the Mercedes models."
That's easy. Just take some chrome paint (I use Tamiya, but you have Humbrol in the UK, which has been much better on the few times I've been fortunate enough to use it) and touch it up. But then, once Ixo starts making these, you'll see details that the Universal Hobbies models lacked. Basically, when a model is missing something, just touch it up (another example of this are the hubcaps on the OHMSS Mercedes-Benz 600 SWB) with the aid of real photos of the same car.
"8. Ford Escort. As seen in the ice rally. More prominently featured than the Mini, so why not ?"
Ultimately because I think the Mini was a mistake in the first place and two wrongs don't make a right.
"9. Mercedes minibus. Nice vehicle with a key role."
This one I completely agree with.
"The model also lacked the whiteband tyres of the screen version, which I remedied by substituting the tyres from a donor T-bird."
The Toyota Crown from YOLT has this same problem (and for all those "but one exists already!" types, Ebbro made a superb and now very rare model about five years ago of this car). I actually fixed it with binder reinforcement rings by trimming them to the proper size. NOTE: use an X-Acto knife. You'll never be able to keep a steady enough hand if you try and use scissors. I too found the Lincoln's trunk to be annoying and indeed disappointing, but because I have baggage being perpetually loaded and unloaded on my O Gauge layout, I figure I can keep the trunk open with a baggage handler removing cargo from the trunk.
Yes, it's odd that this one has been left out.
It had a larger role than some of the other vehicles chosen, so why not? Corgi Vanguards did release a range of five Zephyr 4s (and yes, it is a 4 - has a slightly different grill/headlight treatment to the 6) in 2001-4, but none in black unfortunately. I coincidentally bought on auction last week the last release of that batch, the one in "Windsor Grey".
They already have the mould from Issue N°24, the white one from LALD, so it would be easy enough - but if there are a limited number of releases to go, let's rather have new vehicles than rehashed previous releases.
I would also have chosen this one over the Mini, but maybe GEF thought we'd had too many Fords already. There are various sources for 1/43 Escort Mk.1's, although the "cheapies" are all RHD (Hongwell/Cararama & Corgi Vanguards), as is the only white one made by Minichamps!
Personally, I'm still hoping the Lada Niva from TWINE makes it into this collection ... but the one that really ought to still be included is the Mercedes on the cliff-edge from FYEO - now that was an iconic Bond moment!
According to IMCDB, we're both right...the car shown in closeup is the Zephyr 6. The car shown at a distance is a Zephyr 4. Continuity error, anyone? As an aside, I've also heard something akin to this mentioned as a continuity error for the 1960 Ford Galaxie Ranch Wagon in FRWL with regard to a two-door and four-door variant appearing, but in that film, there's no evidence to show that the two cars were one in the same (indeed, they have different numberplates...perhaps Kerim Bey just liked the Ford Galaxie Ranch Wagon).
"Personally, I'm still hoping the Lada Niva from TWINE makes it into this collection"
Same here, especially seeing as it's the "L" model with "truck-type" side mirrors. Not even the (numerous) Soviet and Russian iterations have made an L.
"Sorry if I am a complete nitwit about the subject, but are they still making these then?"
We have nine left. Number 101 is known to be the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II from AVTAK. Number 102 is the "Bondola" from MR. Beyond that, there used to be a list but which I fear is no longer reliable. It consisted of...
103. 1959 Ford Consul Mk. II Jamaican Colonial Police Car (DN)
104. ZIL-117 SWB Limousine (CR)*
105. 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 Country Squire Station Wagon (GF)
106. Ford Bronco II (QoS)
107. 1971 Ford Econoline (DAF)**
108. Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II (LTK)***
109. 1973 Chevrolet Impala Custom Coupe (LALD)
110. Aston-Martin DBS V12 with crash damage (QoS)
*The Russian Partwork USSR AvtoLegende, also made by Ixo, has officially confirmed that it's doing one of these and should be released around roughly the same time as the CR ZIL-117. This leads me to suspect that it's still on the list, despite the REALLY minor role it had.
**Mr. Steed's allusion (see below) to a list change mentioned "some vehicles from DAF that are very different," leading me to believe that like the ZIL-117, the Ford Econoline is staying.
***Mr. Steed mentioned multiple Rolls-Royces and seeing as this one would share the moulds with Valentin's Silver Shadow II, I would have to guess it would be produced.
Then along came JohnSteed's post. He's way more intimately connected with this than we are and he hinted at more Rolls-Royces (i.e. multiple ones, so I'm guessing that one more of the Rollers that played a larger role will be featured; Draco's two-door convertible, Kerim's Silver Wraith, as well as the aforementioned LTK Silver Shadow II all fit the bill) and multiple cars from DAF (the LV Sheriff's car, I'm hoping, is one of those), plus some other unspecified cars. No names, no order. This probably has something to do with Ixo's seeming takeover, but that's merely my guess.
"After the Bondola we've only got a few cars left. I don't want to promise the order just yet, but there will be a couple more Rolls-Royces and some rare cars from DAF and LALD."
We'd already seen the AVTAK Silver Cloud II, so this logically means they added at least one Rolls-Royce somewhere along the way, possibly at the expense of the GF Galaxie Country Squire (I really hope not...), DN Ford Consul Mk. II (I also really hope not) or the QoS Ford Bronco II or some combination thereof. The most obvious Rollers to add would be the OHMSS Two-Door Convertible (pre-Corniche Corniche, basically) and the FRWL Silver Wraith. These cars both had very significant roles, there's an obvious demand, and believe me, having a very good friend who works in marketing, they're not just going to spit out two more iterations of the Silver Shadow II. Why? Because that's just stupid and it actively goes against what the consumer wants. Also recall that the Silver Shadow II mould is Universal Hobbies, not Ixo. Sure, it could be shared, but with Ixo in the driver's seat (no pun intended), they're going to want to make their own moulds. In fact, looking at it, it could even mean the deletion of this particular model. Also, recall the backlash against mould-sharing when it's occurred in the past with this series.
Some rare cars (plural) from DAF would indicate to me the Ford Econoline and either the LVPD or LV Sheriff's car. Rare cars from DAF would indicate one of the ubiquitous 1973 Chevies (either Bel Air or Impala) as well as the Mack AB Oyster Truck (yes, that could fit into an Ixo display stand).
Here's my guess, although I'm not even going to try and guess at the order...
103. Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow I Two-Door Convertible, Mulliner Park-Ward Body (OHMSS)
104. Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith II (FRWL)
105. Ford Consul Mk. II (DN)*
106. Mack AB Oyster Wagon (LALD)
107. 1973 Chevrolet Bel Air or Impala (LALD)
108. 1970 or 1971 Ford Custom Police or Sheriff's Car (DAF)
109: 1971 Ford Econoline (DAF)
110: ZIL-117 (CR)
*This one's REALLY a guess. Of the remaining cars on the list, it seems to have had the largest role. That's the ONLY reason I'm putting it there. I also find it significant that JohnSteed did NOT mention an Aston.
But, issue 101, the Rolls Royce Silver Cloud II from AVTAK, is about to be pushed into the lake, so shouldn't Bond and Tibbet be in the back ??
Well, I don't. I said that I'm DEDUCING from the wordage of JohnSteed's posts what we're going to get, NOT what I want. The only car with a significant role that's "different" or "rare" from LALD that Mr. Steed mentioned in plural was the Mack AB Oyster Wagon. I also asked you to note that Mr. Steed DID NOT make mention of an Aston, whilst going out of his way to mention Rollers, multiple cars from LALD, and multiple cars from DAF.