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The Little Nellie cockpit nacelle from Lewis Gilbert's Bond film You Only Live Twice. Bond (Sean Connery) flew the autogyro dubbed "Little Nellie" to locate Blofeld's (Donald Pleasence) hidden volcano base.
During the flight scenes, the autogyro was piloted by Wing Commander Ken Wallis. He swapped seats with Sean Connery straight after the earlier take off sequence featuring Q (Desmond Llewelyn). Production designer Ken Adams had heard Wallis being interviewed about autogyros on the radio one morning, and thought an autogyro would be a great fit for a Bond film.
The autogyro which became Little Nellie was already in existence before the production, but it was fitted with weaponry by Adams, Wallis and special effects artist John Stears. Only one autogyro was used for all of the outdoor filming and this is the actual cockpit nacelle from that vehicle. After the production Wallis flew the autogyro for numerous TV shows, public appearances, promotional work and air shows until 1986, when the vehicle crashed during an airshow in Northern Ireland (video footage of the incident is available online). The nacelle was damaged and was subsequently switched over for safety reasons. It is decorated with stickers from events Wallis attended, and he has autographed the nacelle on the left side, with the inscription "This is the original 'Little Nellie' cockpit, as flown by me. Ken Wallis 007!"
This is the original filming nacelle damaged on that day. Pieces of Little Nellie are not known to ever go into auction, making this an incredibly rare opportunity to own part of Bond's most distinctive vehicle.
The nacelle is made primarily of fibreglass and damage from the crash is evident all over, including holes and cracks. A support structure has been added to the nacelle since the production to help keep its shape. It is displayed on a custom-made stand and is also accompanied by a copy of the certificate of transfer between Wallis and the consignor. Dimensions: 154 cm x 56 cm x 63 cm (60.75" x 22" x 24.75")
Special shipping required; see special shipping notice in the Buyer's Guide.
Estimate: £75,000 - 150,000 M
View all lots from JAMES BOND: YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (1967)
View all lots from JAMES BOND - ALL ITEMS