Member Article

Bond autogyro kits get collectors shaken and stirred

Four rare James Bond autogyro kits look set to get collectors both shaken and stirred when they go to auction with Anderson and Garland next week [10th October].

The unmade kits of ‘Little Nellie’ – the heavily armed autogyro used by Sean Connery’s Bond in You Only Live Twice – are estimated to sell for around £100 each and have already attracted significant interest, heightened by the forthcoming release of the latest Bond movie, Skyfall.

The models are part of over 1800 Airfix and other sets being put up for auction by two North East vendors after Anderson and Garland sold what is believed to be the largest ever collection of model kits in July for nearly £9000.

Unlike the last collection which included a significant number of contemporary kits from across the world, the current one features many first edition British kits from the 1950s and includes a high number of aeroplanes and armoured fighting vehicles, although there are also a small number of kits by the popular American manufacturer Aurora.

Today owned by Hornby, Airfix was founded in 1939 and the pastime of making the kits up grew in popularity as a hobby during the 1960s and 1970s. Despite the passing of time, demand for Airfix model kits remains high.

Fred Wyrley-Birch from Anderson & Garland said: “In July we had an unusually large collection of Airfix and other models kits up for auction. That may have been the biggest – now we have the best!

“As you’d expect from anything associated with the James Bond name, the Little Nellie kits are already proving highly sought after, not least because they remain untouched and these first editions were only sold while the film was being publicised. Some wonderful items that were created during Airfix’s first decade of trading are also generating excitement and we look forward to seeing what happens on the day.”

For more information, please visit www.andersonandgarland.com.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sarah Waddington .