Skyfall Filmmakers 3D-Printed This Rare Aston Martin So They Wouldn't Damage the Original

These days filmmakers often turn to computer graphics for scenes of destruction that would otherwise be too expensive or dangerous to stage in real life. But Skyfall posed a different problem. Namely that the effects crew didn't want to damage a priceless 1960 Aston Martin DB 5 that appeared in the original Bond film 50 years ago.

So instead of turning to 3D graphics, they turned to 3D printers.

The effects crew modelmakers called on a company called Voxeljet, who used a massive 3D printer with a capacity of 283 cubic feet to reproduce three 1:3 scale models of the Aston Martin. Each pseudo-miniature was actually assembled from 18 individual components so that they could be assembled with real-life functionality such as opening doors, trunks, and hoods. Unfortunately one of the models met its untimely death in an elaborate Hollywood-esque explosion, but its sacrifice ensured the original DB 5 was not harmed in the making of the film.