DMC: The Bentley Locomotive in detail

Higgins

Long time ago, Superado asked me for details of the Bentley model, which is part of the Bentley Limited Edition of "Devil May Care".

I have the book in hands right now and took some snaps. I have been very surprised about the sheer size of the model, I would have expected it to be half that size

minigeff

Bondtoys wrote:

You've had a shave I see Bumtoys!!

Nice model by the way, but never been a bentley fan tbh. Nice addition to the collection though, I pity the poor sucker who had to deliver the bugger.

welshboy78

I always thought it was a dinky little thing too.

Anybody seen the new Casino Royale edition?

Higgins

You mean the Carte Blanche Bentley edition?

Dunno about CR

welshboy78

No there is a new one out mate

http://www.ianfleming.com/casino-royale-bentley-edition/

danjaq_0ff

Oh no, don't tell him that

Higgins

welshboy78 wrote:

No there is a new one out mate

http://www.ianfleming.com/casino-royale-bentley-edition/

Thanks, Welshie.
However I am a bit disappointed. A cardset????

welshboy78

£750 also - yikes!!

Higgins

The previous Bentley editions have had these prices as well :v

welshboy78

Ah ok. Thought they were around £500 for some reason!!!

The Domino Effect

I can tell my Bentleys from my Aston Martins but that's about as far as it gets...is the above model an accurate model of one of the ones that Fleming had Bond driving in the books, ie: 1933 Bentley 4½ Litre (I'm guessing no), 1953 Bentley Mark VI or Bentley R-Type Continental?

Higgins

nobody knows exactly how the Locomotive Bentley looked like.

"Fleming described in detail a modified Bentley R type in Thunderball and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service which Bond loving called ‘the Locomotive’. The car never existed but, using Fleming’s exact specifications, a cast and polished 1:43 scale model of the car has been hand crafted by Bentley for this edition."

The Domino Effect

Excellent, thanks. The 1933 Bentley is a beautiful car, but really looks odd in the hands of a spy in any decade other than the 1930s...unless he's undercover in a vintage car rally! If the Locomotive did indeed look like that model, that works for me.

Higgins

welshboy78 wrote:

Ah ok. Thought they were around £500 for some reason!!!

To be honest, the "Carte Blanche" Bentley book retailed with GBP 1000 and had 500 units.
DMC was limited to 200/100 so 300 in total

Higgins

minigeff wrote:

I pity the poor sucker who had to deliver the bugger.

He was awarded with 50% of the global Stollen production

The Domino Effect

Bondtoys wrote:

He was awarded with 50% of the global Stollen production

That's a steal...or a stollen...or something.

Donald Grant

The "Locomotive" was based on real car. Fleming had contacted Bentley about an R type Continental with a knife edged boot similar to his Ford Thunderbird. He was told that there was one being realized by Mulliners. However the body work was ultimately completed by Henri Chapron due to cost. The real car had the "winged B" instead of the understated hexagonal bolt atop the radiator.





DG

The Domino Effect

Thanks DG. I'd always wondered what it really looked like, but had never gone so far as to do some digging...so thanks for that. That is a nice car and definitely has similarities with the Thunderbird.

Higgins

Is it only me, or is the wheelbase on the Chapron drawing significantly shorter - which makes the car by far prettier imo.

The Domino Effect

I agree, it does look shorter but it's hard to tell from the angle. I've noticed the same thing with the DB5. I've seen photos that make it seem very long and lean, and others in which it looks compact and rugged.

Donald Grant

Bondtoys wrote:

Is it only me, or is the wheelbase on the Chapron drawing significantly shorter - which makes the car by far prettier imo.

Yes big guy, I think you're right. And of course you were technically correct about the "Locomotive", because it did not exist when Fleming wrote about it. It was in the works so to speak and came later.

DG

superado

Thanks for sharing, Bondtoys, and congratulations on your new acquisition! I would like to visit your house...when no one is home ) P.S. Have you seen my recent email?

Here are some photos of the John McLusky renditions of the Locomotive for the Daily Express Bond comics as well as more recent shots of the Chapron Bentley. On the cartoon drawings, Fleming was still alive when the original Bond books were serialized and I suspect he might have helped with his input with the artist on how certain things like the fictional Locomotive might have looked, of course to match his own description. Can anyone confirm this, particularly those who has Jon Gilbert's "Ian Fleming - The Bibliography"? The similarities between the cartoon drawings and the current appearance of the Chapron Bentley are remarkable.






As for the Chapron Bentley, I believe that the current owner did "fix" the coachwork to correct what he considered was ugly and inappropriate styling done by Chapron, so I don't know how much of it still resembles the essence of what Fleming had in mind, of course as Mulliners first drafted and envisioned during Fleming's preparation for TB, which came before, based on what Donald Grant said above, the actual execution of the design after Henry Chapron was commissioned for the coachwork instead of Mulliners as originally plannned. The changes of the car's coachwork "before and after" as seen in Donald Grant's above photos are dramatic, IMO. In response to Bondtoys comments, it seems that the most current bodywork is more in keeping with the shorter body as seen in the Chapron blueprints, vs. what Chapron eventually produced.




One detail that I still find ambiguous, is, what did Fleming mean by "knife" or "razor" edged? In coachwork design, it could have meant how the rear fenders were shaped to protrude from the mass of the trunk (or boot) section, or it could have also meant a hard-edged, squared shaped trunk section as depicted in the comic strip version and sort of fits Fleming's "large, ugly boot" description, since both of these featured figured into cars of the period (see the protrusion of the rear fenders in Donald Grant's post of the car's older coachwork), particularly on some models of the Thunderbird since that was mentioned by Fleming in his inquiries to Rolls Royce/Bentley. I hope that rear images of Chapron's original boot design will eventually turn up, since there are none online as far as I can tell; that would help confirm what Fleming actually meant.

Higgins

re. the razor-edged trunk, I always had not in mind the side fins but the shape of the trunk when reading the novel.
However checking vintage Thunderbirds, I may have been wrong and Fleming meant the fins (wonder why he did not mention these though).

Here are shots from the rear side of the DMC model:

Donald Grant

It's interesting how the real "locomotive" has evolved over time. I think the B&W picture I provided shows the Bentley as close as possible to Fleming's description. The pictures Superado provided shows the Bentley looking more rounded. Yes, I believe it was the "fins" that Fleming was referring to as "knife edged" and the rear end as a whole as "blunt boot" consistent with his own Ford Thunderbind. To me, the Chapron drawing also shows this while also making the car appear shorter. The B&W picture that I provided makes the car look very long.

DG

ExpatJB

Excellent thread. Ive never had a good image of what the 1930's Bentley might look like. A lot more elegant than I imagined. -{

ExpatJB

Excellent thread. Ive never had a good image of what the 1930's Bentley might look like. A lot more elegant than I imagined. -{