The RTE is back!
Our Resident Tomica Expert, Jay Kho, has the latest batch from Tomica Premium in hand, and as he does every time a new batch is released, he has an in-depth look. I don’t collect Tomica Premium, but it is getting harder and harder to ignore them, especially that tremendous 3000GT. Jay, use your influence and tell TP to release one in pearl. 90’s magic!!
Enjoy.
(Thanks Jay.)
S2k and 3KGT
It seems like Tomica Premium’s new casting creation has slowed a bit, but maybe that’s a good thing.
Building a quality product does take time and these premium series are certainly quality. Thankfully, gone are the days of essentially regular Tomica with upgraded wheels. The door gaps have disappeared, the ride height is now lower, and body lines seem to be more crisp. But for me, the best reason for the slow down is that I can actually keep up. It means we can give ourselves time to ramp and dish out the funds for these beauties. The price isn’t terrible, but they are definitely not a $1 toy. (Good thing we have friends like Japan Booster who offer them at a great price
.)
But we do have a new batch. A re-release of the Mazda RX-7 FD3S with the re amemiya specification, this time in white and brought to you by the Takara Tomy mall. This is the second exclusive from the mall after the jade Nissan Skyline R34.
Outside the RX7 there are two new castings in this batch, the Honda S2000 and the Mitsubishi GTO. Obviously, because they are Tomica the cars will be badged as they were in Japan, but these are replicas of US cars as well. The Honda was also known as the S2000 in the US, but Mitsubishi rebadged the GTO the 3000GT. Of course here in the States there was the Dodge Stealth option as well. The Stealth was sold by Chrysler under its partnership with Mitsubishi, known since the 70’s as Diamond Star Motors, or DSM. You might recall cars like the Dodge Colt, Plymouth Arrow, Chrysler Conquest and so on. All were shared by both companies, and outside of minor appearance changes all had the Sony guts. (Disco Disco Good Good)
Then there is the Honda S2000. A great car, certainly fast and nimble, and famous in my family because my nephew flipped one. He is ok, but the car is not. (And thankfully it wasn’t a Type S.)
Can I be honest? This TP S2000 Type S is nice, but I am not feeling the wheels on it. They are prototypical of the original wheels, but the diameter is way too big in my eyes. Maybe that’s just me and I’m a little too finicky about the wheels and stance. But I always believe that you can pretty much make any car look nice just by picking the right wheels and ride height. They didn’t here.
Mitsubishi 3000GT? Gorgeous lines, great aerodynamics, also famous in my family because I did dumb things with it driving through L.A. and sold it. It wasn’t the VR4 version anyways, so get off me.
And oh yes!!! The 3000GT is a beauty. I can guarantee you without a doubt that this is the best looking Mitsubishi GTO twin turbo hardtop ever done in a 1/64 scale. Bar none, maybe because this is the only car anyone has done in this scale. It is still top notch.
A way to think about collecting is to look at the models, and honestly ask yourself if you will regret not getting one when they are harder to come by. For me, all three merit that consideration, but the Mitsubishi is the one you will most regret passing by. Grab while you can at Japan Booster.
(And of course, it is JDM on Lamley, so you are required by law to buy them.)
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