David Mather, brand executive and asset bank manager at Corgi, says: “The original intent was to reveal the first of the continuation Goldfinger Aston Martin DB5’s at the 2020 Geneva Motor show inside a giant 261 box.

“Covid-19 put paid to that plan though, and the idea was mothballed until a couple of months ago, when Aston Martin came back to us to see what support we could lend to revitalising the DB5 in a 261 box reveal in different circumstances: a lead into the long awaited launch of No Time to Die in cinemas”.

The project meant incorporating several elements from different industries that would create a unique, and impactful experience for film and Bond fans alike.

As manufacturers of diecast models and pop culture items, Corgi has a long history of creating products such as model trains, trucks, and buses that can replicate iconic vehicles and pieces of promotion. Projects include models of the iconic James Bond DB5, with exclusive ejector seat, as well as the infamous Coca-Cola Christmas truck.

Working on the No Time to Die project with Aston Martin meant sourcing the original box and packaging for GLS to scan and replicate in a much bigger scale.

“We were able to supply our original product artwork files for the forthcoming RT26101 release to Aston Martin but highlighted some important quirks that would need to be overcome before the giant version of the box could be executed.

Corgi purchased an original DB5 toy box for GLS to reference when making the giant model

“The die-cast RT26101 pack is constructed from a scan of the original 261 packaging. As that famous front and interior art of the DB5 racing into action was not available to us, we’d purchased an original 261 package with the express intent of breaking it down to scan and then extract both the DB5 artwork and the original style Corgi logo. All other elements of the package were created as vectors, meaning they could be rescaled to any size with no loss in quality.” says Mather.

At this stage of production, all the assets were passed onto GLS Design which has previously created exhibitions and interiors for Aston Martin, as well brands like JCB.

GLS says it was impossible to create large-format artwork from the original box alone, and so its studio was employed to digitally re-draw the box design before going through a ‘rigorous signoff process’ to guarantee brand integrity for all involved was maintained.

GLS and Corgi have received lots of engagement and feedback following the inventive project

James Prescott, director at GLS Design, says: “The box has a white powder coated steel frame and joists, with plywood floor sections and additional skins of sheet material. The box was clad in 18mm solid core laminate with waterproof joins & 18mm low iron glass. The box contains a warm LED lightbox (as warm light is best to bring out the curves and colours of cars) along with vents and a dehumidifier to eliminate condensation from temperature differences inside/outside the box.”

Prescott adds: “When we shared our involvement on social media, we have had some warming compliments and lots of engagement, it was a fantastic project to be involved with, our industry like many others was decimated by the pandemic and we are now taking positive steps forward with projects like this."

No Time to Die is now in cinemas nationwide, and services and products from Corgi and GLS Designs can be found on their corresponding websites.

If you have any news, email david@linkpublishing.co.uk or join in with the conversation on Twitter and LinkedIn.