Bond, James Bond… A truly iconic phrase in movie folklore and matched by the equally iconic Aston Martin DB5. LEGO have previously released the Creator Expert DB5 which was significantly more expensive. Of course, it was also much, much more detailed with many of the features that made the DB5 the ultimate spy car. Think Ejector seats, hidden machine guns and revolving number plates.
However today we’re going to review the much smaller version. The Speed Champions Aston Martin DB5. It’s the first time that LEGO have used a movie based vehicle for the Speed Champions series. At $32.99 it’s a lot more accessible to most budgets.
Like the last few years, this set is based on the 8 stud wide chassis. It’s a little wider than the older Speed Champions series. It does have two grooves in the chassis base which you can use to display the car with the 3D printed stands we designed for you to print if that takes your fancy.
The build starts with the rear of the car and we were excited that 4 hidden machine guns were included behind the boot. Alas, we were mistaken and these are simply to mount the boot, but we’re still going to live that fantasy. We can start to see the application of a couple of stickers in the shot below, but generally with sticker applications are not too tedious.
Although it’s impossible to have the front mounted machine guns included in a set of this size, the designers did include the machine gun release handle. I was surprisingly excited by this addition… Strange, I know.
As we move to the front of the build, it was fantastic! The designers included printed elements for the headlights and indicators. On the type of curves that are present, it would have been a challenge to get the stickers mounted effectively so kudos to the team for printing the elements.
We also get 007 himself included in the set. The tuxedo is on point, but I’m not 100% convinced with the facial expression. I would have preferred the very mischievous smirk when 007 knows things are going to go pear shaped, but land in his favour.
We then move to completing the vehicle and are in for yet more suprises! The entire front grill is also printed in two seperate elements. Sing halleluiah!
The wheel hubs are also really well done. They are chrome and include the the spoke array closely representing the real thing include the tyre scythes to slow down the baddies. The air intake, door handles and side skirts are all printed stickers. However they are not too tedious to apply. I have a dream that one day, every element that needs some marking will be printed, but alas that day is not today.
The rear window is one printed chassis piece and nicely mirrors the shape of the DB5. The rear lights are printed and a little blocky compared to the real life car, but considering the scale are quite suitable. The use of binoculars for the exhaust is a great NPU. So too is the minifig gun used to hold the exhaust in place.
Overall Thoughts
Overall, the LEGO designers have done a great job with this set. Any time a vehicle is as svelte as the DB5 it will be a challenge to successfully reflect the curves. However, it’s immediately obvious what this car is. It was a fun build and even with the slight price increases applied to many sets recently, well worth the buy. I would have liked for James to have been given an extra pistol for when the going gets too tough. Otherwise a highly recommended set.
Set: Aston Martin DB5
Theme: Speed Champions
Set #: 76911
Number of Minifigs: 007
Number of Pieces: 298
RRP: $32.99
Overall: 86%
A special thanks to our friends at Zavvi who supplied this set for us to build.
Always been a fan of Aston Martins (could never afford a real one, but they are one of the prettiest cars to looks at)
Completely Agree. One powerball!