Licence to create: Get your James Bond car

The other night, I was once again watching the James Bond movie Goldfinger (1964) starring Sean Connery. One of my favourite 'characters' is the spy's Aston Martin DB5, specially outfitted with Q's bells and whistles.

I've always wanted to get hold of a replica of the car, and have hunted numerous shops for that perfect die-cast one. I did manage to get hold of some die-cast models, but then they didn't have the cool features—such as a working ejector seat, or revolving number plates. So when LEGO said they were launching one in India during the Amazon Prime Day sale, I was in seventh heaven. Finally, two of my passions—model cars and LEGO—were coming together. But nothing quite prepared me for the experience.

I'm quite used to building LEGO City sets, so the LEGO Creator package didn't overwhelm me. But, it did say that it is for experts. While I am a fan and enthusiast, I don’t think I can qualify as an expert by a long shot. But I couldn’t not build it.

Opening the box, I found the usual LEGO stuff, and more. As I started building, the hours went by in a whirl. It wasn’t easy for sure, and it took me a long time to finish the project—the better part of a weekend actually. But I felt a sense of exhilaration when I finished it.

Now I am used to the detailing one sees on LEGO products, but this was something I'd never seen before. What impressed me most were the working parts: an ejector seat, tyre scythes, revolving number number plates, and an operational steering wheel. What's more, pulling back the gear stick revealed the front machine guns. Even the door had a telephone. And the wire wheel rims looked so real.

Of course, I've never ever built such a LEGO product earlier. If you are new to LEGO kits, the detailing and the very nature of the project may overwhelm you. But trust me, don’t lose your patience, for at the end of it you’ll be satisfied—even impressed—with what you have achieved.

LEGO has only 1,295 pieces on offer, and it costs a stiff Rs 19,999, but there's a discount of Rs 3,000 during the Amazon Prime Day sale. And you should definitely devote a weekend on it, as I did, unless you're a pro at building LEGO kits. That's another thing. If this is the first time you're building a LEGO product, it will be very challenging, but well worth the effort.

Happy building!