(Updated photos) The dearth of Minivans in the die-cast world... so thank goodness for Tomica...!

Minivans....  One of the most ubiquitous types of cars on the road, but easily the most under-represented type of car in die-cast. 

If you ignore the VW vans (which due to the coolness factor of VW Transporters are the most modeled minivan brand), and the full-size vans (again which have a slightly higher coolness quotient), there are VERY few mainstream castings of minivans such as Ford Windstars, Kia Sedonas, Nissan Quests, etc....

1.  Matchbox did the original '84 Dodge Caravan (the car the launched and still defined the actual mini-van market in the USA) in the '80s.  My casting was the black one to the right (actual example from my childhood collection - though now I've also got it in white), and it was an important piece of my collection, in no small part since my family had an '85 Plymouth Voyager (identical to a Caravan).  This casting was a pretty nice casting, with a working sliding side door (Matchbox' first and possibly only ever sliding door).  Plus it had the chunkier truck wheels on it, giving it a bit more of an SUV/off-road look, which was a whole lot nicer than the factory K-Car wheels with plastic wheel covers that our real family car came with... 

2.  Hot Wheels brought out a slightly customized late '90s Dodge Caravan in the late '90s.  The one I've got is in maroon with heavily tinted windows and overly radical 3 spoke alloy wheels, not sure if it came in other colors.  While it's not a favorite casting of mine, it still is a decent effort and worthy of mention in this severely under-done segment.   

3.  And a recent addition, the Matchbox Ford Transit Connect.

From the mainstream Matchbox and Hot Wheels brands over the last 30 years, that's it for non-VW-minivans...  Very sad! 

If we expand to other toy brands, we get:

4.  The late '80s Pontiac Transport from Majorette (in blue on the right), which unfortunately had the un-realistic see-through roof that robbed the car of realism... 

5.  The Toyota Hi-Ace from Majorette, which came with an opening lift-gate. 

6.  Maisto had a beige European-market Ford Galaxy, that was done in typical Maisto cheapness, but was at least another entry into the list...   

I can't think of any Johnny Lightning or Greenlight or Racing Champion models...

7.  I think I've got a late '90s Ford Galaxy/VW Sharon (same car) from Siku buried some place in the collection, but I'm not sure I'm able to pull it out quickly... 

In sum, 7 castings, from all but 1 of the major die-cast producers, over the 30 years since the original Caravan/Voyager came out!  The point I'm hopefully effectively making is that for such a popular car type, it is amazingly un-modeled in the die-cast world. 

Enter the minivan savior...  ...Tomica! 

In the last 25 years, Tomica has produced well over 25 distinct minivan castings, with multiple spin-off variations that could be considered unique models on their own, like the police, road crew and ambulance variations.  If I include the recent slew of hard-to-categorize cars that might be small minivans or tall station wagons (Toyota Ipsum, etc.), the number could easily pass 35....  On top of that, most of the castings have opening features - usually a sliding door or an opening tailgate.  Wow.  In short, if you're a collector who wants a diverse slate of car types, and who values unique and well-modeled castings, you NEED to consider expanding your Tomica collection. 

As has been mentioned earlier in this blog, one of the really impressive things about Tomica is that they are constantly updating their castings.  I've got 3 unique Toyota Alphards, all amazing in a crème white, representing 3 different generations of Toyota Alphards (shown at right in order of release, with the black the most recent).  Even if the Alphard changed its looks dramatically over those 3 generations, that would still be shocking attention to detail from any other toy-maker.  However the Alphard DIDN'T change it's looks dramatically with each re-fresh.  But Tomica STILL felt the need to bring out a new casting for each generation...  For context, Matchbox NEVER updated their Caravan casting, continuing to sell the original casting after Dodge had re-freshed, and then entirely re-designed, the real Caravan...




I've got 3 different castings of Honda Stepwagons, with the oldest (light blue below) casting in 3 colors and the newest (dark blus below) casting in 2...  ...And that doesn't count the other Honda minivans, including Odyssey and Elysian...

1 of my favorite Tomica minivans of all time (and one of the first that I found - which might explain my fascination with it) is this Mazda Bongo.  I think I like it so much due both to the boxy (VW Eurovan-esque) shape of it, as well as the Eurovan-Westphalia-esque pop-up roof (maybe another comparison test is in order - again with the Hot Wheels "Sundowner" Vanagon matched up against this Bongo in the battle of the pop-up roof minivan campers!).























Tomica has done 2 generations of the Nissan El-Grand, both of which come in both normal consumer (I've got the old one in white and the new one in black) as well as yellow safety car guise, allowing this crazy photo of 2 generations of El Grand safety cars (newest on the left).  While the older El Grand's large size made it a favorite of mine (I have it in white - and it looks so nice against the equivalently sized Alphard!), the new El Grand is noticeably smaller (though it claims to be in the same 1/64 scale) and has no opening features, making it a bit of a disappointment.






















Another favorite Tomica minivan is the Mitsubishi Dilica - just a cool looking van, sporting silver and sage-green paint in my collection.

The Mitsubishi Grandis isn't quite as nice looking, though it is still a worthy effort and a good model.  I have it in white and light blue.

I have 2 generations of Nissan Serena's - the older in silver and bronze and white, the newer in an eggplant purple.  I like the older one a bit more - there is more detail in it.

My least favorite Tomica minivans are these Toyota Estimas.  I might dislike it so much due to the bland beige paint that I have it in...  Amazingly, Tomica offered the newer one in almost the same color of off-putting paint, allowing me to not like it in both generations....





This Honda Elysion (in light blue) is another highly regarded Tomica minivan of mine...











These Toyota Noah's come in 3 colors, though one of them is tagged as a Voxy instead - with a unique number on the baseplate.  However they are all the same identical casting.








A Mazda MPV (in red) and a Toyota Wish (blue) are 2 additional reasonable minivans by Tomica.  The detail is nice and they are definitively collectible, though I don't like either ENOUGH to make them favorites of mine (even though I actually owned a real MPV for a while).





Then there are these 2 unfavorites from Honda - the Airwave (blue) and the Odyssey (white).  Mostly I dislike their size - they seem too low for a minivan.










As I get to the end of this amazing list, I wanted to show another favorite casting, the Toyota Probox, in 3 different versions...  I like the looks of this casting a lot, and really appreciate the 3 versions.







And finally, no discussion of Tomica minivans would be complete without the most prototypical of all Japanese minivans, the Toyota Hi-Ace...  I could only find 2 castings of the Hi-Ace, though I'm willing to be that I'm missing a few...  In fact I know that I'm missing at least one, which is on order and being shipped from Japan as I type...

Well, that's close to a wrap on the die-cast minivan situation.  A remarkably under-represented segment of modeled cars by the major toy makers, with Tomica utterly saving and utterly dominating the market.  And if anyone from Tomica is reading this - then here is my request for you to do the Hyundai H1 - a ubiquitous and cleanly styled minivan seen everywhere in the Caribbean and Latin America....

P .S.  There is one other minivan producer - from a quality toy maker that I often forget about due to their complete lack of a US presence...  ...and that of course is Norev.  On a trip to France around 2010 I picked up every Norev that I could find, including several minivans...  All were models of French vans - Renaults and Peugeots.  But this discussion of Norevs is probably worthy of its own post someday...

The 2 Matchbox transitionals that might be less preferable in superfast vs. regular wheel form

Superfast transitionals are my favorite Matchbox cars.  Period.  End of statement.

The best designs of the golden era of Matchbox...  ...but raised up to modern (and realistic) heights, with silky soft suspensions...  What's not to love...?   When I first took up Matchbox collecting as an adult, I was thrilled to read Dana Johnson's Matchbox price guide and find out that being newer, transitionals were worth less than the older regular wheels....   ...Except until I realized that Dana Johnson was wrong and that traditional demand (high) vs. supply (low) economics dictated that prices for the superfasts were rising...

For the next 20 years of adult collecting, I actively sought out the superfast transitionals, until I finally completed the collection just prior to turning 40 years old.  So, now that you know how much I love transitionals, what's up with this post....?  Are there actually transitionals that are less preferable than the regular wheels versions?

Well, no, *I* still always prefer the transitionals...   ...but there ARE 2 models where the transitional version loses functionality relative to the regular wheels versions, so *YOU* might make a different decision...

The first one is the Foden Concrete truck.  The regular wheels version has a wheel-driven gear to turn the concrete drum when the truck is rolled.  However while the superfast version gaines the superfast wheels, it LOSES the gear.

A side note...:  I find the heavy trucks to be the least appealing of the transitionals.  The regular wheels versions have equivalent size wheels, such that the transitional vs. regular wheel height differential that you get with the cars goes away.  In addition, most of the heavy trucks don't get the silky "superfast" suspension, although they are still tagged as superfast. 

The 2nd model that loses functionality is the model that is widely regarded as the rarest (and hence most expensive) of the superfast transitionals, the Pontiac Grand Prix (GP) sport coupe. 

(Another editorial note...:  Having sought out and found all of the transitionals, I personally think that the Iron Fairy crane, the Fire Pumper and the Land Rover Fire Truck are all potentially rarer than the Grand Prix, although the Grand Prix's muscle-car-driven popularity might drive a higher demand and hence a higher price).

Regardless of its rarity, the Pontiac Grand Prix is a nice model, and I like the purple paint color more than the bright red of the regular wheels.  So what functionality did it lose...?  Well, the regular wheels one has opening doors.  The superfast's are cast shut... 

I've wondered for years why Matchbox chose to cast the doors shut...?  Was it that the suspension got in the way with the spring for the doors?  Is it possible to do a base plate swap, ending up with a red version with opening doors but the superfast suspension?  Are there actually a few legitimate purple cars with opening doors? 

In conclusion, there ARE 2 models that lose functionality in superfast form, giving potential rise to the argument that the regular wheels version is better...  But for me, the choice is clear.  It's always Superfast...! 

Corgi Error! "Porsche" BMW E30 M3...

This is a nice casting, an E30 BMW M3 race car, by Corgi, in bright orange. 

The wheels are unfortunate - standard ugly cheap-looking Corgi wheels, and there is no paint detail (taillights, etc.) other than the Canon, Castrol and #44 tampos. 


But the metal casting has nice and clear detail, clearly showing the kidney grill, lights, etc.  And its a somewhat unusual subject - while enthusiasts love the 1st generation M3, it's not a frequently modeled die-cast car. 

But what makes this casting so unusual in my eyes, is what it says on the bottom...  "Porsche"! 

Really Corgi?  I know you were a British company, but still, Germany's not that far away...   You didn't know the difference between a Porsche and a BMW? 

I don't know if this is a 1-off example, a known-error, or whether all of these M3s were labeled as Porsches...  I have 2 Corgi collecting books published by Schiffer.  The Dr. Force book ends prior to the introduction of more modern toys like this BMW/Porsche.  The Manzke guide goes up past the Mattel era, but makes no mention of this individual casting (or the possibility of an error on the baseplate). 

I have some error cards, where the blisterpack card mis-labels a car.   For instance, I think I have a Matchbox Chevy Tahoe (like the one featured in my "Battle of the Full Size SUVs part III") still mint on card, where the card says that its an ambulance...  But I've never seen a casting baseplate error like this before! 

Can you spot the common (but uncommon) theme among these vintage die-cast models?

What you see before you are 4 vintage die-cast models from the 1960s (and in one case, the 1980s).  A Matchbox by Lesney Mercedes 300 SE, an Impy Roadmaster Rolls Royce Silver Cloud, a Road Champs C4 Corvette, and a Topper Johnny Lightning Cadillac Eldorado.  With the exception of the Road Champs Corvette, all are highly regarded and sought after castings... 

But do you know that there is a common - but actually very uncommon - theme that unites these 4 castings?  Can you guess what it is? 

These castings unusual trait that they all share, is that all have 2 types of opening pieces - both doors and trunk/hood! 

It wasn't unusual for die-cast cars of this era to have an opening part.  In fact, most models had something on them that moved.  For Lesney era Matchbox, it was typically opening doors.  When Mattel's Hot Wheels burst onto the scene, they ushered in the mainstream era of opening hoods.  But in almost all cases, there was just ONE opening item, not doors AND hood or trunk... 

This may not seem unusual today, when M2 Castline models have hood, doors and trunk that all open.  But while that seems nice in theory, the M2 Castlines - and other premium cars of today - just don't have the heft and allure, and are never are able to capture my interest and imagination the way that the vintage toys do.

This Matchbox Mercedes is the ONLY Lesney era (and non-Super-King) Matchbox model that I know of with 2 opening features!  And even more interesting, once it converted from regular wheels to transitional superfast wheels it gradually LOST its opening doors.  Therefore the gold transitional model is available both with opening doors and with cast shut doors (though the trunk still opens on both - see below photos).  If you are ever shopping for this transitional superfast car, be aware of the difference, and try to find the one with the opening doors!  

The car was also available in a superfast "Staff Car" army green version, with NEITHER opening doors nor opening trunk.  This is actually a model that I don't have... 

I prefer the classy blue paint color of the regular wheels model to the more gaudy Harvest Gold of the superfast - it just looks more aristocratic and elegant - befitting of such a high-end car....  The regular wheels car is also available in green - though the blue looks nicer!

Some of you readers may know that while the Matchbox Mercedes is unusual in it's line for offering 2 opening features, the Impy Rolls Royce is unusual in IT'S line for ONLY offering 2 opening features.  Many of its stable-mates actually had opening doors, trunk AND hood...!  (At some point I'll do a post just about Impy's so you can see this....). 

I hope you enjoyed this post.  Let me know if anyone actually guessed the common theme before reading about it...!

Can a new Matchbox "Superfast" late '60s Cougar beat the original Superfast Cougar?

What a comparison opportunity...  The new Matchbox "Superfast" casting of a 1st Generation Mercury Cougar, in a pea-green, with super-fast-esque wheels and painted trim.  A pretty nice car...!

Except, that oddly, Matchbox had already made a "Superfast" casting of a 1st generation Mercury Cougar in almost the same pea-green color - 40 years ago.... 

2 almost identical castings - made by the same company - 40 years apart...  Sounds like an ideal opportunity for a comparison test.  Can the new casting compete with the vintage casting...? 

Of course, you all know the answer...  There is no possible way that the new casting can compete with the vintage casting, made in the golden age of Matchbox models.  But its still a fun comparison.

While the new one looks nice on its own, with nicely painted backlights and headlights, when it's set side-by-side with the vintage model the inadequacies jump out...  What once looked nice now doesn't anymore.  The new one is larger than the vintage original, with a plastic base, plasticky grill, cast shut doors, cheapy-wheels, etc.   This all in stark comparison to the proper scale, metal based-vintage car with heavy gauge die-cast grill, opening doors, and the sweet "Superfast" suspension and wheels.  There is just no comparison, at all.  Except that the 2 cars are both castings of the same model, in the same color, by the same toy brand...  

Price-wise, the new-ish one isn't cheap, with prices at $2.99 or higher.   But on E-Bay if you hunt, you can probably find a fair-to-good condition vintage model for about $5-8 plus shipping.  Trust me, while the new one looks nice in pictures, the vintage one is way nicer in actual feel - and easily worth the upcharge. 

Matchbox also released new castings of other previously done 1960's cars, such as Lamborghini Miura, a Lotus Europa, a VW transporter, a Jaguar E-Type, a Cadillac Ambulance, a Ford Mustang, etc.  These new models are all fine models (except the Cadillac - which feels SO plasticky that I just can't stand it).  But in 100% of the cases, you'd rather have the vintage original superfast (or in the case of the E-Type, the regular wheels version since it didn't come in a Superfast variant).   Trust me.  You want the original.  And they aren't that hard to find on E-Bay...