1/24 Revell Aston Martin DB5 James Bond 007 "Goldfinger" kit announced

[Rob Hall]

On 7/21/2023 at 5:32 PM, jaymcminn said:

Or the DBS from On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Sadly I'm guessing that's gonna be a big ol' nope on either of those. 

Most likely...a DBS would be very nice to see, always liked that generation of AM coupes..never kitted in 1/24th AFAIK...

[khier]

It is always nice to see new kits coming. However, British cars have never been my cup of tea, except some early Jaguars and the Lotus Esprit. Aston Martins and McLaren are particularly NoGo for me. I would  nevertheless be still interested in a classic car like the DB5 if it were a stock version.

[stavanzer]

And.....

It's here!

I am surprised it has landed with a 'Thud' around here.

 

[blubaja]

$80 for a snap kit. Gtfo revell. 

[stavanzer]

If you watch the video, it is more of a press-fit,glue-less kit, than a 'snapper'.

Very sophisticated engineering in this kit, and a very high parts count.

I'll bet the street price winds up closer to $70.00, than $80.00 anyway.

[Richard Bartrop]

I saw one of the Easy Click tractors in the flesh, and they do go together really nice, so the snap thing isn't a deal breaker.  I'm guessing they're trying to cater to the plastic robot fans?

There are some nice details, though on something like an Aston Martin, the lack of a full engine is kind of a disappointment.  It sounds like it's going to be over three figures here in Canada, and at that price, you have a right to be picky.

[Luc Janssens]

51 minutes ago, Richard Bartrop said:

I saw one of the Easy Click tractors in the flesh, and they do go together really nice, so the snap thing isn't a deal breaker.  I'm guessing they're trying to cater to the plastic robot fans?

There are some nice details, though on something like an Aston Martin, the lack of a full engine is kind of a disappointment.  It sounds like it's going to be over three figures here in Canada, and at that price, you have a right to be picky.

With that separate lower engine insert I wonder if a non-Bond version is in the stars.

[Rob Hall]

6 hours ago, stavanzer said:

If you watch the video, it is more of a press-fit,glue-less kit, than a 'snapper'.

Very sophisticated engineering in this kit, and a very high parts count.

I'll bet the street price winds up closer to $70.00, than $80.00 anyway.

$36.90 in the US...Model Roundup has it for preorder. 

[Rob Hall]

4 hours ago, Luc Janssens said:

With that separate lower engine insert I wonder if a non-Bond version is in the stars.

Have to have a different body, lots of different parts w/o the Bond gadgets. 

[TonyK]

The vibe I got from many modelers was they'd rather have a stock Aston Martin. Thought I'd watch the video but it's an hour long?! I'll wait until I've got more time.

[Rob Hall]

3 minutes ago, TonyK said:

The vibe I got from many modelers was they'd rather have a stock Aston Martin. Thought I'd watch the video but it's an hour long?! I'll wait until I've got more time.

I would figure the number of people that would be something with the Bond branding to be much higher than the # wanting a stock DB5...this will got all the non-modelers and casual modelers that are Bond fans that collect Bond memorabilia. 

[Bugatti Fan]

If anyone wants to make a stock DB5 it should not be too difficult to modify this kit with a bit of filling and rubbing down here and there.

The protruding front revolving number plate holder  on the bumper might be the most difficult thing to modify that I can see.

Edited January 20 by Bugatti Fan

[Matt Bacon]

1 hour ago, Bugatti Fan said:

If anyone wants to make a stock DB5 it should not be too difficult to modify this kit with a bit of filling and rubbing down here and there.

Agreed… after all the whole point of most of the “gadgets” is that they’re concealed: that’s why it’s a “Secret  Spy Car” 😜

Number plate, filling in the rear armour plate slot,  replacing the interior radio tracker screen with something more prototypical… there’s not that much to do. Shaping some rectangular rod stock to the bumper cross section to replace the box housing really shouldn’t be too hard…

best,

M.

 

Edited January 20 by Matt Bacon

[Rob Hall]

6 minutes ago, Matt Bacon said:

Agreed… after all the whole point of most of the “gadgets” is that they’re concealed: that’s why it’s a “Secret  Spy Car” 😜

Number plate, filling in the rear armour plate slot,  replacing the interior radio tracker screen with something more prototypical… there’s not that much to do. Shaping some rectangular rod stock to the bumper cross section to replace the box housing really shouldn’t be too hard…

best,

M.

 

Got to fill in the roof ejector seat hole also.  

Edited January 20 by Rob Hall

[stavanzer]

My guess, is that RoG figures that this 007 kit will pay for the all stock DB5 that we will see later.

50/50 chance that it will have an engine. I can imagine a business case for either a Full Detail or Curbside version. But, and all new body with all the "Special" holes from the 007 car will have to be tooled either way.

I like the kit, but I'd really rather have the 50 plus year old Aurora Aston Martin kit.

[peter31a]

At one hobby shop here in Ontario, Canada the kit was on the shelf for 80+ dollars. There had been no interest and still no interest after being reduced to $65 dollars to get rid of them. Most modellers comments apparently have been too toy like for that kind of money but I'm sure Bond collectors will snap them up which is what, I'm sure, Revell is counting on. Hoping for a stock version in the near future.

[Luc Janssens]

3 hours ago, Rob Hall said:

Have to have a different body, lots of different parts w/o the Bond gadgets. 

New top cavity would take care of opening hood, ejection roof and bullit plate. The rest could be grouped together on a separate tree. Guess time will tell if this kit is designed as a one trick pony or not.

 

Edited January 20 by Luc Janssens

[Matt Bacon]

1 hour ago, Rob Hall said:

Got to fill in the roof ejector seat hole also.  

Doh! Of course!

best,

M.

[Ace-Garageguy]

5 hours ago, Bugatti Fan said:

If anyone wants to make a stock DB5 it should not be too difficult to modify this kit with a bit of filling and rubbing down here and there.

The protruding front revolving number plate holder  on the bumper might be the most difficult thing to modify that I can see.

 

3 hours ago, Matt Bacon said:

Agreed… after all the whole point of most of the “gadgets” is that they’re concealed: that’s why it’s a “Secret  Spy Car” 😜

Number plate, filling in the rear armour plate slot,  replacing the interior radio tracker screen with something more prototypical… there’s not that much to do. Shaping some rectangular rod stock to the bumper cross section to replace the box housing really shouldn’t be too hard…

Yup yup yup. And the guts from the ancient Aurora/Revell kit can be tricked out and swapped in as well. Yes, I know it's nominally 1/25, but there are ways to compensate...

It looks like the new kit's body proportions are EDIT: might be good (though there's something about the windshield...), so it's a decent start for anyone who wants a stock DB5.

   

The greasy bits of the DB4 and 5 are very similar visually, so the old kit shown above is a viable source fer innards.

Edited January 20 by Ace-Garageguy

[Matt Bacon]

Looking at HPI-Guy’s video above, the tracker screen panel on the dash is a separate piece, and it really doesn’t have to be… which suggests that the kit’s engineered at least with a stock one in mind…

Doesn’t mean there will be one, but it looks like Revell think there _could_ be…

best,

M.

[Bugatti Fan]

As far as I can see, body wise the only obvious difference between a DB4 and a DB5  is the headlamp arrangement. Normal ones on the DB4 and recessed ones on the  DB 5 with the clear shaped covers over them.

The DB6 had a discreet boot (trunk) spoiler.  Airfix did a DB6 shortly after doing their JB DB5. I think it was in 1/25th like their original JB car.

[Richard Bartrop]

Even a few late model DB4s had the covered lights.

[Ace-Garageguy]

For whoever might be interested, there's a lot of info on this forum about the old Aurora/Revell kit that can be useful should one try to do a full-detail build.

For instance:

 

[stavanzer]

3 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

For whoever might be interested, there's a lot of info on this forum about the old Aurora/Revell kit that can be useful should one try to do a full-detail build.

For instance:

 

Thanks, Ace.

Another Rabbit Hole to drop into. At least it's the weekend, and I have to to go down the hole.......

[Matt Bacon]

1 hour ago, Bugatti Fan said:

As far as I can see, body wise the only obvious difference between a DB4 and a DB5  is the headlamp arrangement. Normal ones on the DB4 and recessed ones on the  DB 5 with the clear shaped covers over them. The DB6 had a discreet boot (trunk) spoiler.  Airfix did a DB6 shortly after doing their JB DB5. I think it was in 1/25th like their original JB car.

Late series DB4s also had the cowled headlights, as did the DB4GT, but you need to take about 10" out of the wheelbase of a DB5 kit to get a DB4GT (I did it with the Airfix re-box of the Doyusha kit, which has a bunch of other issues, but was cheap back in the day). The Airfix James Bond DB5 is 1/24, and full detail (I'm tempted to do a dual build of mine, bought from a charity shop for £7 a decade or so ago, with the new Revell one). Airfix turned it into a DB6, which I don't have. They tweaked the rear end to give the Kamm tail as @Bugatti Fan points out, but they didn't change the wheelbase or lift the roofline like the real thing did to make it a viable 2+2. If I ever manage to snag a DB6 kit, there's a fair bit of work to knock it into accurate shape.

My view is this (bearing in mind my default scale is 1/24, not 1/25):

• If you want a regular DB4 (which is one of the best looking 60s GT cars ever) build the Aurora/Monogram kit OOB.
• If you want a DB4GT, cut a chunk out of the middle of the cheapest Airfix/Doyusha DB5 you can find, and sand the sides a bit.
• If you want a full-detail DB5, build and adapt the Airfix James Bond DB5 (or sell it and buy many other kits, or wait for Revell to release standard car follow on to the Bond Quick-build)
• If you want a James Bond DB5, buy the Revell Quick Build kit
• If you want a DB6, buy the Airfix kit and prepare to do some work. There's a build thread somewhere on here with suggestions of where you need to cut and how, but basically you need to slide the trunk backwards, and lift the rear of the roof so the C-pilllars join up where they need to...

best,

M.