Mazda T2000 Work Vehicles

The Mazda T2000 is a versatile three-wheeled vehicle. It can be used as a small dump truck or a vacuum truck. The Mazda T2000 dump trucks are used to transport sand, gravel or other materials used for construction. They are equipped with hydraulics at the back to allow the cargo to be deposited on the construction site. The vacuum trucks however are often used for sewer and street cleanup. They are also sometimes used to remove mud and oil spills.

Tomica's attention to detail is amazing. The vacuum truck even comes with a miniature bucket. I think that they are the only model car company who made these obscure trucks in 1/64 scale.

Italian Designed Sedan

Created by Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti (who also designed for Triumph, Leyland and BMW), the second generation Hino Contessa was launched in September 1964, followed by the coupe in 1965. The coupe in particular won a concours d'elegance award (competition of elegance). However, the car had major issues like overheating. This was addressed by putting a radiator at the back of the car to help dissipate the heat.

This was one of the early releases of Tomica in their Limited Vintage line. Though the detail is not at par with their recent releases, I still think that they did a decent job. The green taxi is part of the Toys Club three car set which was released in February 2005.

Dynawedge Patrol Car

The Japanese police force are among the most respected law enforcement agencies in the world. They have tremendous amounts of equipment at their disposal like buses, vans, bicycles, disaster response vehicles and of course, their iconic black and white patrol cars, each one having a specific role to fill.

During the seventies, Mitsubishi tried to export an estate version of the Colt Galant to Europe to be made into a patrol car. Though no Police force in Europe ordered it, the car did receive praises for it's performance, handling, comfort and economy.

The Sixth Generation Crown

This Toyota Crown was the last series to have a four cylinder gasoline powered engine and was the first Toyota Crown to be imported in Germany. In Japan, the Toyota Crown have big rectangular headlights while other Crown service vehicles and taxis have the round headlights. Also, this Sixth generation car was the last Crown to have a two door coupe. A turbo version of the Crown was launched in 1980 exclusively for the Japanese Domestic Market.

More Upcoming releases for 2013 (September to December)

My apologies for not posting in a long time. I will try to update this blog as often as I can. Anyway, the previous Tomica Limited Vintage upcoming list that I made last January has all been released. Here is a short list of what's to come in the next few months. The long awaited Mitsubishi Galant Sigma will be done by Tomica Limited Vintage very soon. I am also excited to see the Toyota Sports 800 and the Isuzu Bellett 1600 GT Type R done in miniature. There will also be another release which is the replica of the van that Japanese actor Yujiro Ishihara used. These cars would be great Christmas stocking stuffers! :

- LV-N84c Datsun Fairlady 280Z-T 2x2 (Maroon)
- LV-N84d Datsun Fairlady 280Z-T 2x2 (2 tone)
- LV-N86a Audi 80 Quattro (gray)
- LV-N86b Audi 80 Quattro (black)
- LV-N87a Mitsubishi Galant Sigma Super Saloon (maroon)
- LV-N87b Mitsubishi Galant Sigma Super Saloon (yellow)
- LV-N88a Mitsubishi Galant Sigma Eterna 1600 SL (red)
- LV-N88b Mitsubishi Galant Sigma Super Saloon (yellow)
- LV135a Toyota Sports 800 (red)
- LV135b Toyota Sports 800 (silver)
- LV136a Isuzu Bellett 1600GT (yellow)
- LV136b Isuzu Bellett 1600GT (green)
- LV137a Isuzu Bellett 1600GT type R (orange)
- LV137b Isuzu Bellett 1600GT type R (white)
- LV138a Nissan Bluebird 1800 SSS (brown)
- LV138b Nissan Bluebird 1800 SSS (green)

- LV-RA04 Isuzu Gemini TBS
- LV-RA05 Nissan Cedric (Nippon Cultural Broadcasting)
- LV-RA06 Nissan Bluebird (Nippon Cultural Broadcasting)
- LV-RA07 Toyota Land Cruiser (Radio Japan)
- Seibu Keisatsu Volume 5 Machine RS-1
- Seibu Keisatsu Volume 6 Machine RS-2
- Seibu Keisatsu Volume 7 Machine RS-3
- Seibu Keisatsu Volume 8 Hakata Minato Kessen (two car set)

- Nissan Civilian Van (Yujiro Ishihara)

All prototype images above were borrowed from the web.

Upcoming 2013 Tomica Limited Vintage cars

There are a lot of model cars that Tomytec have in store for Tomica Limited Vintage collectors this 2013. I sure hope that they continue to make foreign cars as I really look forward to getting the Mercedes Benz 190E and the Audi 80 model cars that I pre-ordered. Tomytec will also release three boxed sets from the 80's television show, Seibu Keisatsu, which is an action packed police drama series in Japan. Also, if you haven't ordered the Datsun Fairlady 2000, now is your chance to pre-order this. Here is a short list of what's to come:

- LV-23f Hino Type RB10 Tokyo Bus
- LV-124c Nissan Cedric Custom Dunlop version
- LV-125c Honda S600 Dunlop version
- LV-131a Datsun Fairlady 2000 (red)
- LV-131b Datsun Fairlady 2000 (white)
- LV-132a Mitsubishi Galant AII GS Miyagi Police
- LV-133a Nissan Cedric Custom Style 1963 (brown)
- LV-133b Nissan Cedric Custom Style 1963 (green)
- LV-N05c Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 (red)
- LV-N06c Subaru Legacy RS (black)
- LV-N44c Hino KB324 truck (green)
- LV-N73c Toyota Celica 1800GT-T (red)
- LV-N73d Toyota Celica 1800GT-T (blue)
- LV-N76a Nissan Gloria Turbo Brougham (white)
- LV-N76b Nissan Gloria Turbo Brougham (blue)
- LV-N77a Mercedes Benz 190E (silver)
- LV-N77b Mercedes Benz 190E (blue)
- LV-N78a Toyota Crown 2800 Royal Saloon (white)
- LV-N78b Toyota Crown 2800 Royal Saloon (white)
- LV-N79a Mercedes Benz 190E 2.3 (white)
- LV-N79b Mercedes Benz 190E 2.3 (red)
- LV-N80a Nissan Bluebird SSS Attesa Limited (black)
- LV-N80b Nissan Bluebird SSS Attesa Limited (white)
- LV-N81a Audi 80 2.0E (white)
- LV-N81b Audi 80 2.0E (red)
- LV-N82a Audi 80 2.3E (black)
- LV-N82b Audi 80 2.3E (blue)
- LV-SM01 Snake Motors Toyota Masterline
- LV-SM02 Snake Motors Nissan Caball
- LV-RA01 Nissan Skyline Van TBS Radio Car
- LV-RA02 Mitsubishi Galant AII Broadcasting Car
- LV-RA03 Nissan Laurel 1800 Nippon Broadcasting Car

TOMICA LIMITED VINTAGE BOXED SETS
- Seibu Keisatsu Boxed Set 1 Nissan Cedric type 230 (Set of 2)
- Seibu Keisatsu Boxed Set 2 Nissan Cedric type 430 (Set of 2)
- Seibu Keisatsu Boxed Set 3 Nissan Cedric and Nissan Gloria (Set of 2)

All prototype images above were borrowed from the web.

Micro Sensation

For something measuring barely two inches, the detail that Tomica put in this model car is amazing. The wheels, the tires, the grills and even the logos are all there. It would be nice if Tomica could make side mirrors for this car. The Suzuki Alto was launched in May 1979. It is the hatchback version of the Suzuki Fronte. It's cheap price made it very popular among motorists.