How 007's Aston Martin gave toy firm Corgi a licence to make Christmas killing

If you were a parent in November 1965 60 years ago this week then you were probably frantically searching for the first ever blockbuster Christmas toy which was 4in long, made from gleam ing metal and had numerous pop-out weapons.

- By Giles Chapman

Despite workers at the Swansea factory where it was made toiling round the clock demand simply could not be met for Corgi Toys' James Bond Aston Martin DB5.

The manufacturer went flat-out to get 750,000 into shops in the run-up to Christmas.

Yet many glum mums and sad dads across the country simply could not get hold of one. "We never in our wildest dreams expected such phenomenal sales," Corgi's advertising manager Bill Baxter said.

"We have now doubled production but many children will not be able to get one for Christmas."

The car won the inaugural Toy Of The Year award from the National Association Of Toy Retailers in 1966, recognising its status as Britain's firstever Christmas blockbuster plaything.

Diecast toy cars had been consist ently popular with children since the first Dinky Toys were launched by Liverpool company Meccano in 1934. They were joined by smaller, more affordable diecast metal vehicles from East London's Matchbox in 1953 then the Mettoy Company's Corgi Toys range intensified competition in 1956.

By the 1960s incredible design ingenuity was employed equipping the miniature cars, lorries, tractors, buses and other vehicles with clever features and opening parts even working sus pension and steering systems. And British manufacturers led the way.

CORGI was one of the first to harness the power of television even though there were just two channels broadcasting for a few restricted hours each day and rev up its handheld cars' sales performance.

One of the most popular items in its range was a small-scale version of the Volvo P1800.

The full-size car was driven by Roger Moore in episodes of ITV's thriller series The Saint.