With allegedly the highest-ever number of pre-orders for an Airfix kit, the firm’s 1/32 Bond Bug car has now been reissued in the Vintage Classics range. CHRIS CLIFFORD reviews the contents.
As a child of the 1960s-70s, I have fond memories of particular cars being driven at the time. However, I don’t remember seeing a Bond Bug… but truly wish I had. They must have been pretty rare in the Cambridgeshire city of Peterborough, where I was raised. The vehicle was a redesigned, sportier version of a Reliant three-wheeler that never went into production – the Rogue. But when Reliant bought Bond Cars in 1969, the former sought the creative skills of Tom Karen at Ogle Design, to fashion another sporty three-wheeled car. Its initial production resting with Bond, but then later with Reliant itself. Essentially a counterpoint to the much more famous (and often maligned) Reliant Robin, the Bond Bug was manufactured from 1970-74, but was never a true sales success… regardless of its dazzling tangerine paint and futuristic, wedge-shaped outline. It was no cheaper than its contemporary, the legendary Mini, but less practical.
Above: Airfix's interior tub features reasonable seat cushioning detail, plus BOND titles on the headrests.
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