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Orlebar Brown

Olin Mark VI

Olin Mark VI
Olin Mark VI
photo © BondToys.de
photo © BondToys.de
Olin Mark VI
photo © BondToys.de

One of the few prominent product placements in the 1981 movie For Your Eyes Only are the Olin Mark VI skis, that Bond uses in a thrilling downhill winter chase in Cortina, Italy. The skis are first seen mounted on the back of the copper metallic Lotus Esprit. Then Bond carries them up, puts 'm on his feet, and starts his downhill trip on a ski-jump, apparently not bothered by the fact that these are not jumping skis.

The OLIN MARK VI Comp DH that have been used in the famous chase in the bobtrack in Cortina are now in the possession of BondToys (www.bondtoys.de). The skis have been used by John Eaves, the stunt-double for Roger Moore.

In the spectacular opening scene of A View to a Kill, Roger Moore uses another pair of Olin skis, which have Olin Racing written at the bottom. The skis can be spotted when Bond, in a white Bogner outfit, locates 003's corpse with an Autophon VS68 transceiver and recovers the microchip.

Product Code: 
ga032

James Bond Holiday Gift

Comments

Hi - I would like to point out that these skis were never used in the bond film FOR YOUR EYES ONLY. As the UK importer of Olin Skis I supplied the 4 pairs of OLIN Mark VI skis to Eon Productions for the film. They were 200/03 - Jnnnnn - I have 1 pair (Roger Moore's) and all 4 were the same - 2 we clean for close up shots and the other 2 were for John Eaves (Olin Contracted skier) and our pair (Rogers).

No way would they use a pair of 222 DH skis for close action shots where speed would have hindered

Let the buyer beware

Well, I am taking all this "Info" with a grain of salt, especially, if the "source" is not even capable to count up to 5:

2 pairs for the Lotus + 2 pairs for Johne Eaves + 1 pair for RM is 5 pairs in my books ;)

I have written and spoken confirmation from John Eaves in person (!!) that he's used these skis in the action scenes and I would have appreciated, if "peter" would have contacted me prior he spreads such libel on the net.

On a more general apporoach:

The fact, that the UK importer supplied certain skis for a film production does not necessarily mean, that the stunt double really used these particular scenes when shooting. I am sure, that John (who was under contract with Olin USA) rehearsed these scenes prior with other skis but I'll ask him all this.

A skier myself, 2 general remarks:
I don't think, that 22 extra cms make such a difference in speed in a bob track or a ski jump and if I was to run down a bob trck on skis, I would be more concerned about stability than speed. The 222 certainly offer the maximum of stability, especially if you compare them to 200 skis.

quote:

"As the UK importer of Olin Skis I supplied the 4 pairs of OLIN Mark VI skis to Eon Productions for the film. They were 200/03 - Jnnnnn - I have 1 pair (Roger Moore's) and all 4 were the same - 2 we clean for close up shots and the other 2 were for John Eaves (Olin Contracted skier) and our pair (Rogers)."

I have a pair of the Olin Mark VI SL's that were my favorite ski for quite a few years. They are retired and in storage currently. Any value for a Bond collector?
Comp SL around 200cm are a better match to the chase scene skis. Orange and black tyrolias look correct.
I too have a pair of Olin Mark VI SL's with classic Look bindings. In very good shape and I was wondering if you found they have any value? Thanks TH
As one of the employees involved in manufacturing these skis, I can tell you we made them over the normal maximum length of 205 centimeters. We made 6 or 10 pairs at 220 centimeters (I can't remember as it was over 25 years ago). After the movie aired, we made a special pair of "Ultras" personally for Roger Moore.
Currently, 11/7/2016, I have been contacted by a person in the UK wanting to buy my OLIN Vl COMP SL's. He is restoring a Lotus and is searching for two pairs of skis. I am on the fence about letting mine go as they are the flagship of my ski collection. We did not discuss price but if ever there was a buyer to pay a lot for the Vl's he could be the one. Adam W.
Hi Tim Can you give me a shout if you still want to sell them Ross
I worked in product development at Olin. The skis that I made for the film had 007 written, with white grease pencil, on the bonded side. You can find it near the tail piece of the ski. By the way only four pairs were made. The tips, running surface side were made from aluminum and were hand formed to fit the steel edges in. There were other hurtles to overcome when making these skis. Our 'lab' press was a single cavity and was made to press up to 215cm, so when setting up the press I had to use c-clamps to hold the tail stop in place to accept a length of 220cm.
John do you remember whether the Tyrolia 38 bindngs were red or orange?
The skis left the Middletown factory without bindings.
John, I have a pair of Olins, that are labeled "O-Works". I purchased them from a Rep at the end of a Mammoth Mountain, trade fair (many years ago. They seemed to ski somewhere between the DTSL and the RTS. The Rep had told me that only a few pairs were made. Can you shed any light on what they were produced as; if they made it to the market? Thanks!
In the movie, before the big jump, you can clearly see that Bond is using the SL version ... =)
The car carrying the skis in FOR YOUR EYES ONLY is a Lotus TURBO Esprit, not a regular Esprit, which was featured in THE SPY WHO LOVED ME four years earlier and turned into a submarine. The 'metallic copper' model is the second in the film after the ivory white Turbo from an earlier sequence (SPOILER) meets an unfortunate fate.
I contacted John Eaves and asked about the skis he used in View to a Kill. He said they were Olin Comp Sl 205 and that the bindings were Tyrolia. He wasn’t sure which model, however, a few screen shots show that they are most likely Tyrolia 290d. I also am the current owner of the Wet Bike Delivery bag seen in The Spy Who Loved Me. If anyone has questions on that...
I had a pair of Olin Mark VI Comp SL skis, they were marked 205/208 and the serial number started with a J. They were great skis similar to the ones in the Bond movies.
Well, it's been about seven years since I last checked this post and I still have my Olin Mark VI skis in storage and waiting for a collector. Skis have changed a lot over the past twenty years but I still remember these as one of the best I've ever skied.
I have in my possession the skis that were used by John Eaves and pictured with John and signed by him. Serial number of the skis are 007. These skis will be auctioned soon, we just need to find the right outlet for them.
Wer they auctioned off yet? If not, shoot me an email if you want to sell them. Thanks Type917@gmail.com
I found another pair as well. They are more common than I thought. Any idea about their value ?

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