Forum member and good friend John Cox sends us in this report about the recent James Bond Collectors Weekend which just concluded in Chicago, USA. And as a part of this fantastic report I can tell you we’re the first site to cover the news, so there you go! CommanderBond.Net is up on top again!

And just as a little teaser, we’re hoping to have photos for you soon!

Before reading the report I must give a major thank you to John for this excellent report! If anyone else would care to send in their thoughts please send them to daniel@commanderbond.net. Or of course you can discuss this in the CommanderBond.Net Forums in our newly erected United States Forums.

Bonding in Chicago
By John Cox
7/24/01

I just returned from the fourth annual James Bond Collectors Weekend, held July 20 to 22 in Chicago, Illinois, and I¹m happy to report that the weekend was a major success! Fifty or so dedicated Bond fans and collectors traveled to “the Windy City” from all over the world, one from as far as Japan! On Friday we gathered for a Bond themed costume party held in the suite of The Seneca Hotel, right in the exclusive Gold Coast area of Chicago. We toasted Agent 007 with champagne, exchanged gossip about BOND 20, and played James Bond trivia games late into the night. Great fun!

On Saturday we were treated to a full complimentary breakfast at the The Seneca, then the dealer room was opened up for the massive Bond Sale of choice 007 collectibles. In attendance was a representative from Corgi who gave the group an exclusive look at upcoming vehicles (watch for the AVTAK break-away Renult), and solicited our opinions as to what should come next. (I suggested Vijay¹s rickshaw taxi from OCTOPUSSY ­ after all, it is a “company car.”) Also in attendance was SpyGuise, one of the largest dealers of 007 merchandise in the world. By all accounts, this was the most successful sale yet.

Following the sale, a luxury bus whisked us out into the farmlands of Illinois (with Bond videos playing on the onboard TV system) for what proved to be a highlight of the weekend. Get ready for this. As we pulled up to a charming house located between a cornfield and a golf course a hush fell over bus. Because there on the front lawn were: the Neptune Submarine from FYEO; the jet boat from MOONRAKER; not one, but two Q-boats from TWINE (one that did the barrel roll and one with wheels that went on shore); the famous speed boat from LIVE & LET DIE (which did the world record jump over Sheriff J.W. Pepper); a parahawk from TWINE with a dummy villain on board; the Wet Bike from TSWLM (the first Wet Bike ever made, we learned); and a weapons sled from THUNDERBALL. Wow! These vehicles are owned by the Ian Fleming Foundation and are stored at the home of IFF board member Mr. Doug Redenius. While we had our pictures taken beside the vehicles, eight members at a time were taken inside the house to explore Doug¹s massive Bond archive, the largest collection of Bond memorabilia in the world! Let¹s just say if Doug doesn¹t have it, it doesn¹t exist. Boarding the bus for the return trip to Chicago, each attendee received a gift courtesy of Corgi — the blue Z3 from GOLDENEYE. Nice.

Saturday night was free time for the attendees to explore the city. I took a look at the one and only Bond location in Chicago — the ice rink where Bond out-skates three KGB agents in the short story “Live at Five.”

On Sunday the group assembled in the Signature Room on the 95th floor of famous Hancock Tower for a very special luncheon with Bond author, and all around nice guy, Raymond Benson. Following a very good lunch (with a view to a kill) Raymond spoke at length about how he goes about writing a Bond novel. During a Q&A session Raymond revealed a few choice details about his next, yet untitled, Bond book. As we know, the setting is Japan and the villain is Goro Yoshido (introduced to us in NEVER DREAM OF DYING), but the news which brought applause from the fans was the fact that Tiger Tanaka will return! “And he won¹t be a villain, I promise,” joked Raymond.

Following the talk, Raymond played his own original “James Bond Suite” on the piano, which brought him his third standing ovation of the day, then signed copies of NEVER DREAM OF DYING. Thanks, Raymond! While this was the official end of the weekend, the fans lingered in the bar and continued to talk shop and about where the next weekend might take place. Key West? San Francisco? Who knows? But I will be there!

For information about this and the next BOND COLLECTORS WEEKEND, visit: http://members.tripod.com/~msherm/ or email: conventions007@yahoo.com