The term "Pizza Van" instantly conjures up just 1 image for me.
It was one of the most iconic cars from when I was a kid (and a car I didn't have!). For several years, the VW Transporter (Dormobile) pizza van was advertised on the back of Matchbox blisterpacks as the prize for joining the Matchbox collectors club...
So I was very pleased when I finally found and acquired this example 30 years later (regardless of how it smelled of stale cigarette smoke). But upon closer inspection, it's not actually THAT great of a casting, with no interior (hidden by opaque green windows), no suspension, no opening parts, and overly wide (and thus very inset) tire/wheels. Regardless, it's THE iconic pizza van in my mind.
But now there's a challenger! Tomica's new Hi-Ace van, a nice model (though sadly no longer with any opening parts) is now available in the same color combination (Italian flag colors) pizza van livery! ...which means it's time for a showdown... a comparison test... the classic tale of champion vs. challenger!
But if you've been paying attention to the words I've been writing, then you probably already have a pretty clear idea of how this will end.... ...which is an easy win for the Tomica. Yes, the Lesney is iconic, and vintage, and has pretty reasonable detail and nice paint (though the Tomica has equivalently nice detail and paint), but it's no match for the Tomica's silky soft suspension, the classic boxy design, and the seperate glass/plastic headlights!
We have a new pizza van winner!
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