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Bond with the best
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Scanning the 007 armoury...
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What, exactly what, comes to your mind when the name 'James Bond' is mentioned? Deadly damsels? Cold drink served in tall glasses? Humour in the face of danger? Exotic weapons? Sophisticated gadgetry? Smart dialogue? Well, James Bond is many things to many people.
The man who prefers to live dangerously and likes his favourite drink `shaken, not stirred', has his own fan following. Creating a legacy of secret missions, formidable villains and memorable henchmen, not to forget the gorgeous 'Bond girls', the Bond series follow a tremendously successful formula that deftly interweaves action, suspense, humour, sex, and high technology.
Where would James Bond be without his predictably well-equipped survival kit? Stabbed, shot, blown up, crushed and incinerated a thousand times over. His gadgetry has been put together by the Q-branch. For many years, Q-branch has come up with the most ingenious gadgets imaginable, from the tiniest miniaturised electronic wizardry to the guns and weapons that have saved 007's life on numerous occasions.
Let us take a look at Bond's kit. The standard issue briefcase, making its only appearance in `From Russia With Love', was the first, and perhaps the most authentic, of his spy gadgets. Equipped with a flat bladed throwing knife, 50 gold sovereigns, 20 rounds of ammunition, an AR7 folding sniper's rifle and a canister of tear gas, the briefcase came to Bond's rescue when held at gunpoint by Red Grant.
In `Thunderball', 007 escapes certain death in Largo's shark pool by using the re-breather, the small underwater breathing device, to avoid drowning. He has an innocuous looking cigarette that hides a tiny, explosive rocket, activated on lighting the cigarette -- a simple idea, but highly effective when Bond is being held at gunpoint by Blofeld in `You Only Live Twice'.
Making its appearance in `Moonraker', Bond's dart gun was worn around the wrist, like a watch, and could be triggered by nerve impulses. It came with five blue-tipped armour-piercing darts and five red-tipped darts that were cyanide coated. The dart gun saved Bond's life twice: once when inside a gravity simulator being subjected to 13Gs and again when held at gunpoint by Hugo Drax.
An ordinary-looking key ring attachment, Q-branch made some clever audio-actuated modifications to the Philips keyfinder featured in `The Living Daylights'. When armed, the first bar of `Rule Britannia' would cause the keyfinder to eject a concentrated stun gas to disorient an enemy. Bond's keyfinder was also packed with explosives primed to blow up when activated by his personalised signal - a wolf whistle. Skeleton keys that could open 90 per cent of the world's locks also came attached to the keyfinder.
Cleverly labelled `Dentonite', 007's toothpaste tube, contained a powerful plastic explosive. Used by Bond in `Licence To Kill', the toothpaste was remotely exploded using a detonator cunningly disguised as a packet of cigarettes. Bond always remembers to take his ordinary-looking camera with him when he goes away on holiday. It has a few hidden extras, though. If you turn on the flash, it shoots a powerful laser at all those who are dumb enough to say `cheese'. Only appearing in `Licence To Kill', the camera takes X-Ray photographs too.
This piece on the Bond gizmos would not be complete without a reference to his watches, a legend in themselves. Packed with plastic explosive, his gadget-laden Seiko in `Moonraker' could be set to go off `bang on time'. It facilitated the escape of Bond from being cremated below the space shuttle. Bond had another Seiko in `Octopussy', equipped with a directional locator that picked up the frequency emitted by a tiny transmitter hidden inside a Faberge Egg.
His Rolex, featured prominently in `Live and Let Die', is equipped with an incredibly powerful electro-magnet that could `deflect the path of a bullet'. The watch also has a serrated face, which can rotate at high speed to turn it into an incredibly useful cutting device. This feature saved both Bond and Solitaire when fed to hungry sharks. The very stylish Omega Seamaster Professional Diver's Watch worn by 007 in `Golden Eye' has a laser hidden in its dial, which helps 007 escape from the villain's private train which had been set to blow up. It also acts as the remote detonator for Bond's explosive devices. The Omega makes another appearance in `The World Is Not Enough', where Bond uses its rappelling cord to make a hasty getaway. The list is indeed endless. Q-branch has many innovations to his credit: his ordinary-looking leather belt modified to conceal a rappelling cord in `Golden Eye', his Ericsson mobile phone which has a fingerprint scanner and a powerful electric stun gun in `Tomorrow Never Dies'. The phone can be used to drive Bond's BMW.
The rather smart looking pen is actually a class four grenade. `Appearances are deceptive,' James Bond seems to tell us all!
K. T. R.
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