A fresh box of new Tomicas just arrived all the way from Hong Kong! 22 new-to-me models, all freshly made and double sealed in plastic! But not all of the castings are new, some are older castings that I never wanted badly enough to buy before, two or three are just color/police/fire variations of castings I already have. But some of them ARE new, and some of them are unbelievably cool, while some are nothing more than letdowns... so how do they rank? Read on!
The first step is to separate them into broad groupings... the awesomely cool contenders, the letdowns, and the broad middle ground of ok/reasonable castings. In truth however, they quickly separate into not 3, but 7 distinct groupings. From last to first, (and in the below photo from left to right), here are the 22 worst to best of my newest Tomica models:#22: London double decker bus in red, #95. An old casting, never bought due to lack of interest. Not really bad, just kind of boring and very underscaled. Roughly comparable to the ubiquitous (and equally uninteresting and equally under-scaled) Matchbox casting.
#21: Nissan Note in copper, #48. This is one more somewhat boring casting of a somewhat boring economy car. The lack of any opening features makes it even weaker. Still better than some of the awful new models from Matchbox and Hot Wheels, so I'm OK with the decision to buy it, it's just not at all, and never will be, a favorite.
#20: Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz in pink, Tomica Premium #25. Overall I'm a HUGE fan of the Tomica Premium line - offering excellent detail (especially wheels!) and great castings for not too much more money than an ordinary Tomica casting (and at far better price points, and more normal scales, than the Tomica Vintage line that I always think I want to love but am unable to...). So what's the deal with this model? Well, partly its just too dang small. A real Eldorado is almost twice the length of a late '80's Celica All-Trac (another Premium casting), not the same length. And even without comparing it, it just feels a little plasticky. It seems pretty nice until you pick it up. The worst example of the Tomica Premium line that I've yet found. #19: Nissan Serena e-Power in white, # 52. I'm a big fan of Tomica minivans, even the less exciting examples. This Serena is one of the less exciting ones, and in fact I already have this casting, but not in white, so out of loyalty to Tomica minivans I felt like I had to get it. On the plus side, it does have an opening tailgate as well as distinct glass (plastic) headlights. Overall an OK casting, just not one to get overly excited about.
#18: Dodge Viper GTS in red, # 11. This one looked nice as I pulled it out of the box, but then I noticed its a little small, it's rounded shape isn't overly well modeled, and it doesn't have any opening parts. It kind of reminds me of the boring red (same color) Mazda RX8 from 10-12 years ago, though I like the Viper a little bit more.#17: Lotus 3-Eleven in green, # 112: This casting was one of the harder ones for me to decide where it belonged. It doesn't help that I'm not familiar with the real car, and that the (supposedly real) car doesn't really look like what I think a car is supposed to look like (I'm not a fan of the Polaris Slingshot either!). On the other hand, it DOES look kind of cool... ...and the paint is somehow really cool-looking....
#16: Daihatsu Cast in lime green, #46: Another casting that I wasn't sure where to place. I can't decide whether it looks cool or is super ugly. A model of a real car that I'm not familiar with, though it appears to have a bit of a Mini Countryman vibe. Not sure if its an economy car, a microvan, or a cute-ute SUV. Extra points for the opening rear hatch. The paint is pretty cool too, a lustrous lime green with a white roof. The overall conclusion is inconclusive, other than that I'm glad I've got it!
#15: Subaru WRX S4 Unmarked Police Car in grey, #2: Tomica's done a bunch of uninspiring WRXs, which is sad since a WRX is such an inspiring car! This WRX casting is better than several of the earlier ones, but still not overly great. Kind of bland... It has an opening hood, though I'd rather it have opening doors. The scale is right on and the paint is not bad, so somehow it got to #15.
At this point we move into models that were more liked, so I photographed fronts and backs...
#14: Nissan X-Trail Fire Chief in red, #1. X-Trails always remind me of the rattle-trap X-Trail that I rented on a vacation on the washed-out dirt roads of Costa Rica, so I always tremble a little bit when I see an X-Trail (they aren't sold in the USA - so I don't get much of a chance to change my opinion of them). The new Tomica model models the updated X-Trail (which has a Mazda CX3 vibe) very well, with no opening features but a nice size and scale, excellent detail and clear lens headlights. The red fire-truck paint is a good choice for the model, overall the effect is quite handsome. If you don't have this model, I'd recommend that you get it!
#13: Toyota Prius in white, #50: I hate Priuses in real life. There is nothing sporty or interesting about them for me. But how much I like or dis-like a car in real life has VERY little to do with how much I like it in 1/64th scale, and this Prius is an excellent example of this. This is a very well done model of a Prius. The new Prius is even more weird looking than the previous versions of the Prius, and the model captures all the weirdness exactly correctly. The model perfectly captures the Prius' nerdiness. Plus it has an opening back hatch... Overall, I probably should have rated it higher than #13 - and if it had been a model of any car OTHER than a Prius, I probably would have!
#12: Lexus RC F in white, # 13: Unlike the Prius, RC F's DO look cool in real life, and this model does a pretty good job of capturing it. It looks fast and powerful. I particularly like the opening doors, the view from the rear end, and have always been a fan of Tomica's cheap "these look like super fast" wheels (also on the WRX). I DIDN'T like the contrasting black paint on the top of the car - I'd have prefered if it was all in white. One of the nicer Lexus' that Tomica has done. #11: Hitachi Wheel Loader in orange, #71: Another hard one to place. On the negative side, it is ultra small scale - even small absolutely relative to the other models here, let alone how large it should have been to stay in 1/64 scale. It is also very plasticky. But on the other hand, the bucket raises AND tips, and the model has a working hinge in the middle of the chassis. There have been so many cheapo 2.75 inch wheel loader models made that had only 1, or none , of the above 3 moving parts, that I had to give credit to the functionality in this model!
#10: JSDF Armored Vehicle in army green, #114: This is a bit of a cheater model, in that I ALREADY have this exact model. I bought a second one since I like it so much, and figured that I needed one to give away to the next little kid that I wanted to give a car to. The detail is over-the-top, the doors open in a really cool way, it has big tough wheels on it, etc. Overall a favorite model. Get it if you don't already have it.
#9: Toyota FJ Police Car in green, #31: I've got this casting in orange and was somewhat impressed by it, so when I saw the alternate police version of it, I quickly selected it. The roof rack adds substantiality to an already substantial casting, such that I like this version more than the civilian version. Opening doors would have been nice and would have moved it higher in the standings.
#8: Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV in gray, #70: Regular readers of my blog know that I'm a sucker for a well-done SUV, even when its a crossover SUV. I like the size of this one - its big and somewhat squared off (in a rounded way). The metal detail-work is well done, it's got separate glass/plastic headlights, an opening hatch, and overall it just looks right. You need this casting if you don't already have it!#7: Alsok Cash Truck in white, #34: Many people will see this casting as just one more standard example of a medium duty commercial chassis with a plastic box on the back, but I've really enjoyed Tomica's medium duty chassis, especially some of the Cantor models, and this Isuzu is a worthy addition to that proud heritage. If you've liked the other chassis trucks, you'll like this one even more. If you haven't liked them, then save your money - you won't like this one either. FYI - the plastic cash box on the back has nothing special about it - the trim is drawn in rather than molded. All of the appeal of this model is in the chassis...
#6: Kobelco All Terrain Crain in teal/white/gray, # 133: In a word... "Wow!". Big, long and heavy! This one feels like quality! Easily the heftiest Tomica I've ever owned. It's got a telescoping arm and a working turntable. On the down side, the arm looks like it should telescope even more. And even as good as it is, it still gets easily beaten by the KDW truck crane that I bought and reviewed 3 years ago. But for a Tomica model, its great. Period.
#5: Acura NSX in maroon, # 43: I'm not a fan of the new NSX, but this one looks GREAT! I really didn't expect to like it as much as I do. I like this one for all the reasons that I didn't like the Viper GTS. Just a great model of a sports car, that makes you want to get out your inner seven year old and get down on the carpet and zoom it around. It deserves to be in a higher position, except that the next 4 models are even cooler!
#4: Hitachi Rigid Dump Truck in orange, #102: Boy, do I love off-road dumps... I have since I first got my yellow Matchbox Lesney Faun dump truck back in the early 1980's along with my Tomica Hitachi off-road dump in green. And Tomica's recently done some great other orange heavy construction equipment, but this newest casting is another winner. Big, tough and heavy, with exquisite detail, a soft-closing dump and big tough wheels. I love the orange paint and the black and white "Hitachi" lettering. If you like dumps, then this is YOUR truck!
#3: Lamborghini Huracan in orange-yellow, #34: I didn't expect to like this model. I almost didn't buy it. On the website it looked flat and boring, similar to the many Hot Wheels Lamborghini models that all feel the same. But in the metal it just FELT GREAT! It's got matte-finish orange paint, traditional Tomica "fast-car" wheels - but this time with a gold rather than silver trim ring on them, a see-through engine window, etc. But none of this is why the casting is so good - instead its just an overall excellent model, done just right. 
#2: Nissan GT-R in bronze, # 23: Tomica's done A LOT of GT-Rs over the years. Some of the Premium GT-Rs are gorgeous models, and this GT-R is just as good. Like the Lamborghini, I almost didn't buy it, figuring that it would just be another GT-R, but instead this one feels special. The metallic bronze paint is beautiful, the opening doors reveal a highly detailed and easy to see into interior, the headlights are glass, the metal trim is spot-on, etc. This car is BEAUTIFUL. Given some of the lame basic Tomica models over the years (including the afore-mentioned RX-8), this one is an absolute revelation. #1: Mercedes G-Class in silver, #35: I had no reservations about buying this one. I knew I wanted it from the time I saw it on the website. And in real life it doesn't disappoint. A wonderful square SUV with EXCELLENT heft. Opening doors. Unusual new tough-looking wheels. Ridiculous levels of metal detail in the casting. I should buy 5 more examples so I can give them away to kids and show them how excellent a model can be. Destined to be one of my favorite Tomica models of all time...
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