This time it was not even some obscure promotional model that was never sold in stores - no, this time it's a regular production item that must have been made in the thousands. And yet I had never seen this packaging before, and I also couldn't find a photo of the same blisterpack design anywhere. So, may I present the Corgi Juniors Extra 1001 James Bond Aston Martin DB6 in its final packaging from 1971/72:
(click photos to enlarge)
Maybe you think you've seen this before - but the usual cards from 1970, although looking similar with the same illustration, are longer. This new version is the same size as the 1979 re-release no. 40:
This was the standard size for Juniors blisterpacks from 1971 onwards so it should not come as a complete surprise that the DB6 was also produced in this packaging - what is surprising is that no example had surfaced before.
Here with a standard Juniors release of 1971, the Aston Martin DBS:
The car itself is also very unusual: It is the only 1001 I had seen with clear instead of blue tinted windows. No - I had seen one before but it is the first where I have noticed the clear windows. Exactly this variation of the 1001 with 10-spoke wheels and clear windows is shown on the card of the later 40 Aston Martin. (I think kerbside has in the meantime shown another one is his "Things I Kept" thread - the one standing on the corner of the Octopussy set.)
I had known before that the 40 card does not show a photo of the 40 but the older 1001 with the large 10-spoke wheels, as the baddie figure and seat are clearly different. (The poor chap had his legs amputated during the redesign.)
I hadn't noticed the clear windows before although I would have assumed that the clear window insert for the 40 was used for that photo example. Now it looks like Corgi just took some 1001 DB6 they had lying around for the 40 card picture.
In good company (still missing a few minor variations).
. I like Husky models with the painted figures best 
