This piece, a 9mm Walther P5 documented as being used by Sean Connery in Never Say Never Again has been in the collection for a considerable period of time. Back in 1983 when Mr Connery returned to the role of James Bond for a rival production at Elstree Studios & The Bahamas his weapon of choice was going to be the Heckler & Koch P9S however the P5 ended up being his weapon of choice when an armourer handed him the pistol and simply said “try this Sean” which he did and liked it.
When the rival production released a publicity image of their new Bond with his new pistol back in 1983 much like in 1998 when Pierce Brosnan appeared on teaser posters for Tomorrow Never Dies brandishing the relatively new second generation 9mm Walther P99 people asked the question “what is it?” The official Bond production company asked that very same question of Mr Connery’s armourers (unknown to the official producers until now?) and perhaps not wanting to appear behind the times hurriedly rearmed the official 007, Roger Moore with the very same pistol (of which there were two)..literally the very same pistol so when Roger was using it in the UK Sean who was overseas used a different P5 hired in from a French Armourer. This clone pistol was only used in the scene in Bond’s hotel room where he draws his pistol while eating an apple. Funny enough I was also once the keeper of the French location P5.
It is evident that Bond 13 was following suit issuing their 007 with a P5 when Bond loses his pistol in the back of the Tuc-Tuc which is clearly a P5 and later says to Desmond Llewelyn’s Q when handing over an empty shoulder holster “ I’ve lost my PPK” demonstrating what was in the original script & quite possibly what had already been shot with a PPK?
Never Say Never Again may not be everyone’s cup of tea? but if you are going to own a hero Bond Walther and you can’t source a Connery PPK? then this is a pretty darn good alternative especially as it was also used by Roger in Octopussy -{
That's a beautiful pistol!! I love the P5! I've wanted to purchase one since I saw Harrison Ford wield one when he foiled the assassination attempt in the opening of "Patriot Games."
Here’s one for Rainier Wolfcastle and Acacia_Avenue: An incredible piece of Bond and Corgi collectible history
Created by the Swansea Factory in 1977 as a demonstration model for visitors to the factory & to show high end retailers such as Hamleys the mechanisms for the soon to be released Corgi 269: James Bond Lotus Esprit which would retail @ £2.25 and would be featured in the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me.
Red: diecast casing, Yellow: Perspex/glass, Blue: black plastic components and Green: working features.
The factory cutaway demonstration model has featured on page:353 in The Great Book of Corgi by Marcel Van Cleemput (published 1989) and page:63 in The James Bond Diecasts of Corgi by Dave Worrall (published 1996) however documentation from Mr Van Cleemput suggests there was more than one example produced, perhaps 2 or more? and that the one in his Great Book of Corgi could not be found & so is still out there somewhere?
It first came to the knowledge of mainstream collectors when one appeared at Vectis on 16th December 2002 (Lot#85) when it achieved £950.00
Another?, this time a presentation boxed example was auctioned by Vectis on 12th June 2004 (Lot#244) which achieved £1400
A third?, also presentation boxed example was auctioned by Vectis on 9th August 2005 (Lot#142) which achieved £1800.00.
A fourth?, presentation boxed with a brass plaque which was sourced from a Corgi Director by Mr Van Cleemput himself surfaced at specialist diecast retailer Quality Diecast Toys priced at £2,750.00 & I missed out on it by a matter of hours…Bugger!
It has been suggested that the Vectis model and QDT model are in fact one and the same as they bare too many similarities in the highlighted section paint finish. This was also my belief until the 2001 dated Marcel Van Cleemput provenance was produced.
It is now the latest & perhaps final addition? to the Corgi section of Donk’s Dungeon where hopefully it will remain for posterity or until I’m a pile of dust!
As seen in The Great Book of Corgi -{
UPDATE: my thanks to Rainier Wolfcastle and Acacia_Avenue and Quality Diecast Toys whose tireless investigations have been able to prove beyond a shadow of doubt that the Vectis model of 2002, 2004 and 2005 and the QDT example is actually one and the same model which has changed hands 6 times over an 11 year period but perhaps more importantly that the model was sourced by Marcel Van Cleemput -{
The only problem is that mine has not been mentioned which was supposedly the one featured in the Great Book of Corgi. :-) I did send an several emails to QDT about my example. I know that Vectis had a number of Fakes and Code 3 examples passes through their books!
The only problem is that mine has not been mentioned which was supposedly the one featured in the Great Book of Corgi. :-)
It would be great if you'd show some photos of your example. I am sure Donk won't mind. The one in the Great Book has very distinctive paint blemishes which aren't easy to replicate.
The only problem is that mine has not been mentioned which was supposedly the one featured in the Great Book of Corgi. :-)
It would be great if you'd show some photos of your example. I am sure Donk won't mind. The one in the Great Book has very distinctive paint blemishes which aren't easy to replicate.
Please do. Not only was your example mentioned in the post but also illustrated from The Great Book of Corgi. Marcel himself was unsure what happened to it so this would be an amazing discovery for both Bond & Corgi enthusiasts. Rainier went to great lengths to assist in identifying my QDT example as also being the Vectis example so you could not ask for a better person (or Acacia_Avenue) to study photo reference -{
Further research supported by British Pathe archival images suggest that the Mauser may have came from the 1965 tour car because at the April 2nd-17th New York 9th Annual Automobile Show held at the NY Coliseum the pistol & stock were absent from the weapons tray having having been substituted by a fibreglass Luger P08 parabellum pistol. The original cut out for the Mauser is clearly visible beneath the substitute Luger pistol.
Is this one of the photo's that you saw with a Luger instead of the Mauser?
Further research supported by British Pathe archival images suggest that the Mauser may have came from the 1965 tour car because at the April 2nd-17th New York 9th Annual Automobile Show held at the NY Coliseum the pistol & stock were absent from the weapons tray having having been substituted by a fibreglass Luger P08 parabellum pistol. The original cut out for the Mauser is clearly visible beneath the substitute Luger pistol.
Is this one of the photo's that you saw with a Luger instead of the Mauser?
I'd hoped to source a unique piece of Bond memorabilia to celebrate Thunderball's 50th Anniversary year and this is quite a find and something rather special, an original United Artists "casting" press kit for the roles of Domino, Fiona, Paula and Patricia. The only complete example this collector has ever seen. It is interesting to note from page 2 that both Claudine Auger and the Luscious Lucianna Paluzzi won their respective roles but at this time in 1965 neither Martine Beswick or Molly Peters were being considered for the roles of Paula and Patricia -{
Comments
Oh F*** ....thank you very much Mr Higgins Sir
Now to just get those bl**dy trainers and burn them
If anyone has a "Look Out" Luciana Paluzzi door panel in pretty much any condition I'd appreciate a PM -{
Have you seen this?
http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/22721/lot/84/
Would be nice if they provided some history: when and why was it made, etc.
Stand is a bit ginger beer though. A heart donk? A heart?
Vive le droit à la libre expression! Je suis Charlie!
www.helpforheroes.org.uk
www.cancerresearchuk.org
Casino, Geff! 8-)
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
When the rival production released a publicity image of their new Bond with his new pistol back in 1983 much like in 1998 when Pierce Brosnan appeared on teaser posters for Tomorrow Never Dies brandishing the relatively new second generation 9mm Walther P99 people asked the question “what is it?” The official Bond production company asked that very same question of Mr Connery’s armourers (unknown to the official producers until now?) and perhaps not wanting to appear behind the times hurriedly rearmed the official 007, Roger Moore with the very same pistol (of which there were two)..literally the very same pistol so when Roger was using it in the UK Sean who was overseas used a different P5 hired in from a French Armourer. This clone pistol was only used in the scene in Bond’s hotel room where he draws his pistol while eating an apple. Funny enough I was also once the keeper of the French location P5.
It is evident that Bond 13 was following suit issuing their 007 with a P5 when Bond loses his pistol in the back of the Tuc-Tuc which is clearly a P5 and later says to Desmond Llewelyn’s Q when handing over an empty shoulder holster “ I’ve lost my PPK” demonstrating what was in the original script & quite possibly what had already been shot with a PPK?
Never Say Never Again may not be everyone’s cup of tea? but if you are going to own a hero Bond Walther and you can’t source a Connery PPK? then this is a pretty darn good alternative especially as it was also used by Roger in Octopussy -{
What we really need is a crap emoji
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Great history with that piece! Enjoy it!! -{
Kindest regards,
Craig
The only problem is that mine has not been mentioned which was supposedly the one featured in the Great Book of Corgi. :-) I did send an several emails to QDT about my example. I know that Vectis had a number of Fakes and Code 3 examples passes through their books!
Please do. Not only was your example mentioned in the post but also illustrated from The Great Book of Corgi. Marcel himself was unsure what happened to it so this would be an amazing discovery for both Bond & Corgi enthusiasts. Rainier went to great lengths to assist in identifying my QDT example as also being the Vectis example so you could not ask for a better person (or Acacia_Avenue) to study photo reference -{
Is this one of the photo's that you saw with a Luger instead of the Mauser?
Wonder who she is - she must have been errrr..... special even 50 years ago
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!