Ranking a new batch of 30 Brand New Tomica cars received in the mail today!

A few years ago I wrote about a similar subject, of opening a new box of Tomica cars that were mailed to me from Asia.  And today, as I unboxed this set, I got so excited that it just felt good to do a similar post.  

Here are 30 (thirty!) brand new Tomica (well, 28 Tomica, 1 Mini GT and 1 Hot Wheels) cars that just arrived in the mail.  Most of them are newly released cars.  All 30 are new to me, though 1 or 2 are color variations (the yellow Skyline coupe, the Hot Wheels M3) of castings that I already had.  And included within the 30 are three sets of 2 color variations (the Toyota Century in black and white, the Tesla Model X in black and white, and the Honda CRX in red and black).  

It's hard to tell how much I'll like a car just from an Internet image.  Sometimes they look great on-line, and I get it only to find that its not as great in the metal, too large, too clunky, boring, etc.   And sometimes the opposite is true, that what seems like a so-so car online ends up just being so "right" and perfect when I have it in my hands.    

So here's how this set of 30 cars actually ranks out...

I'll start with the duds of the shipment, the cars that I almost regret buying:

#30 (last place):  Deicing material spreader NWS60BC5.  Yep, the name alone should give you pause ...  "NWS60BC5?!?".  But actually, what really gives me pause is the 1/120 scale of this piece, making it hard to pair with standard 1/64 cars.  This truck is TINY!  However the amount of cast-in metal detail on it is actually quite impressive, and it comes with TWO snow play attachments.  In fact, if this truck has been made in a true 1/64 scale, it'd probably be in a much higher position!

29:  Yamaha Pup firefighting motorcycle quick attacker.  This was another hard one to decide where to put it, but it has the same (or rather opposite!) problem of the snow plow, in that it's off scale, but in this case, WAY too large.  The included rider TOWERS over the other cars.  All of Tomica's motorcycles are out of scale, but this one is the MOST out of scale.  Aside from the scale issue, it's a nice casting, with plenty of nice detail.  The spokes on the wheels in particular are really nice. 

28.  Daihatsu Hijet JAF road service car.  I've got previous castings of the Hijet, and had the same issue as this one, of just being too big.  It's 1/55 scale.  It has some nice and important points, like the opening hatch, and the separate glass headlights, but still... ... Taken altogether its just not a compelling casting. 







 

I separated the 30 cars into an initial set of multiple groups (Love it, like it, pretty ok, not so ok, etc.).  These first (last?) 3 were the only ones in the last place group.  From here on up are all cars that I at least don't have regrets about...

27.  Hino Poncho bus.  Tomica deserved credit for consistently making buses.  They almost are never my favorite castings, and are always scaled too small, but compared among themselves they've had some nice castings, and a few winners (the recent Toyota Coaster comes to mind).  This one's ok, but won't be a winner among the buses.  The choice of pea green paint is a bit odd, the casting appears plasticky (even the metal parts!) the clear plastic sides don't differentiate windows from metal (what should be metal) structural elements, and the interior seats are too small.  All in all, it's just not very compelling.

The next set of cars are all clearly ahead of the Hino bus, and it's difficult to rank them.  

26.  Hitachi Loading Shovel EX8000-7.  I have LOVED some of Tomicas recent heavy equipment painted in this orange color, and I WANT to love this piece too...   ...but somehow I don't love it.  It has tracks which roll, and a bucket that moves, but...  ... It just isn't very compelling to me.  In fact, it's possible that I ranked it even this high just due to my loyalty to those previous pieces.  

25.  UD trucks Quon:  Tomica's large trucks like this frequently aren't favorites of mine, and I picked this truck up more to fill out my collection than out of intense desire for it.  The back of the truck opens up, and it's not actually a bad casting.  Not much more to say on this one.

24.  UD trucks Quon mixer car cement mixer.  It's a reasonable piece!  The mixer rotates and it looks nice, the boring slate blue paint notwithstanding.  I feel bad that I've ranked all the trucks so low, and I'd like to move this one up higher, but, I can't decide which car to move below it.  Which means that it stays here, at #24, just above the previous Quon truck.  It should be noted that this is actually an OLD casting, that's been out on the market for a LONG time, I just never bought it before.  Please note that the grills of the cabs of the 2 Quon trucks are quite different.  

23.  Honda Accord.   This one was a tough one for me.  I love the shape of the real life Honda Accord, and so was excited to get the Tomica model.  But somehow the model fails to replicate the exciting lines of the real car.  It's proportions are also off, it's a little too long and too narrow to my eyes.  Couple the poor proportions with blacked out wheels, and the result is a car that is solidly "meh"...

22.  Seino Kangaroo Truck Transportation.  How did this truck get the 22 spot, when the UD Quon with the opening back was # 25?  I'm not quite sure, perhaps the yellow paint and the aero roof?

21.  Daihatsu Rocky Police car.  Another one that I wanted to like more than I actually liked.  I generally like the look of a Rocky, and appreciated the glass headlights in the model.  But somehow it just didn't have enough wow factor to get it above 21st place.  With opening doors or an opening hatch (you'll hear that refrain several times in this post!) it might have placed higher.  

20.  Tesla Model 3.  I dislike the model 3 in real life, I think of it as a misproportioned model S.  But the Tomica model is actually more likeable.  I'm quite happy to have it in my collection!

19.  Daihatsu Taft.  I like these small and boxy Tomica SUVs.  I like the painted headlights and the huge sunroof.  20 years ago Tomica would have had opening parts on most of these, and opening doors or an opening hatch would have pushed it higher up the list.  

18.  Honda Freed.   WE NEED MORE OPENING PARTS!  I'm a big fan of Tomica minivans, and this is a handsome example.  I like the paint color, The front of it, and the length/proportions of it.   It's a cool car, just needs an opening hatch or sliding door...

17.  Nissan GtR, Dr. Yellow.  I've got WAY too many castings of Tomica GtRs, but....   ... Something about the yellow color just really does it for me.  I actually debated placing it much higher in the rankings.  

16.  Daihatsu Move Canbus.   The 4th (and highest placing) Daihatsu casting in this mail call, and the nicest Tomica Move that they've done.  The 2 tone paint job is beautiful, and the painted headlights and painted chrome strips are a nice touch.  An opening door or hatch would have pushed it even higher!  

15.  Toyota Corolla Levin.  The best placing car out of this non-top-tier pack.  I was never fan of the real life mid '80s Corolla hatchback, but the premium details on this premium casting forced my hand to give it a top spot.  Particular highlights include the accurate wheels, the opening doors, the glass headlights, the details, more details, and even more details.  Wow!

And that brings us to the top 14 cars, 14 fantastic cars where the rankings got really hard...:

14.  Toyota Towne-Ace Mister Donut Mobile catering truck.   I love canteen and food trucks, and Tomica has obliged me with an amazing assortment.  This is a favorite but in a new (improved!) color scheme.  Cool car, just not as cool as the following cars! 

13.  Nissan Skyline Police car.  Handsome car.  Opening doors, a slightly larger size, and non Police livery would have made it unbeatable, but nice as it as. 

12.  Toyota Century in black.  This is one of 3 castings that arrived in 2 colors.  While  black paint is nice, it still hides detail vs. a lighter color (like white!).  The other version is in fact in a pearl white - and is indeed nicer.  The Toyota Century sedan is one of my all time dream cars in real life, I can't wait to see this new SUV version in real life. 

11.  Honda Ballade sports CR-X in black (premium).  Again, a casting in 2 colors, the black is nice but not as nice as the red.  The CRX was never my favorite car (it was tough to compete in the turbo-charged sports car market of the 1980s without a turbo-charged engine!), but this casting is small like the real one.  The correct wheels are a nice touch, as is the metal base which gives it a nice heft.  Overall a gem of a car.

10.  Toyota Century in pearl White.   Big, imposing, beautiful pearl white paint.  With opening doors this would've been a contender for the top 5.  Maybe even #1...

9.  Mitsubishi Starion (premium).  This was literally a dream car of mine - I almost bought one used once.  So I couldn't wait to get the Tomica Premium model.  It has opening doors and movements pop-up headlights.  The only real downside is that it's a little on the large side (and it's black).  A really nice casting, just not as nice as the ones ahead of it.  

8.  Honda Ballade sports CR-X in red (premium).  With no opening doors and no moveable pop-up headlights, a car that I didn't like as a kid still beats out the Starion that I liked as a kid.  How'd it do that?  It's just a great model!  

7.  Subaru Sambar (premium).  I didn't expect to like this one as much as I did, but the detail on it is just so impressive.  Note the detail on the sides of the bed...  

6.  Tesla Model Y (in black).  Speaking of cars I don't like in real life, the Tesla Model Y is a car I have no interest in...  The best-selling car in America, but yet...  ...Elon...  

But I LOVE this model.  Go figure. 

5.  Toyota Crown.  The Toyota Crowns have been some of my favorite Tomica models ever done, especially in white, and this sleek sedan is a worthy successor to those wonderful models.  It's big and imposing and beautiful...

4.  Hot Wheels E46 BMW M3 premium.  I didn't expect a Hot Wheels to make it into 4th place, let alone of a model I already owned but in a different color.  But it's such a great model that I couldn't put it anywhere lower than 4th.  

3.  Tesla Model Y (in white).   As I mentioned for the black car, I love this hated car.  And when I opened it up in white, I intended to put it into 1st place.  It's that good.  But...   ... There were 2 other cars that I decided I liked even more...

2.  Mini GT Subaru Impreza WRX'98.  Mini GTs are typically great models, but this one is phenomenal.  I love the size (on the smaller end of 1/64).  I love the incredible detail, and how accurate of a model that it is.  There's only 1 car here that I like more...

1.  Nissan Fairlady Z 300zx (Z32) (premium).  Definitely not the car I thought would be in first place, but it's that good.  Opening doors, adjustable pop-up headlights, metal base, correct wheels, quality metal trim, beautiful paint, etc. etc.

In conclusion, at least 27 of the 30 cars I got in this mail call are worthy cars to own - particularly the higher ranked ones (21 and down!).  There are a few real jewels in this set!