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.

Tomica Shop Exclusive Model Cars

Pictured from left to right: Toyota Land Cruiser FJ56V Police, Nissan Gloria Police, Toyopet Corona Police, Subaru 360 Custom Police, Mazda 360 Carol Police

These exclusive model cars were made by Tomytec for Tomica Limited Vintage to commemorate an anniversary or a newly opened Tomica shop. They are also hard to get since they are not exported outside Japan. Here is a list of what they have released so far:

2006 Mar - TLV's 2nd anniversary - Daihatsu CO10T
2006 Oct - Tomica Shop opening in Nagoya - Toyopet Crown Fire Chief
2007 Mar - TLV's 3rd anniversary - Mazda K360
2007 Jul - Tomica Shop opening in Osaka - Nissan Gloria Police
2007 Oct - Nagoya Shop 1st Anniversary - Toyopet Corona Police
2008 Mar - Tomica Shop opening in Tokyo - Subaru 360 Custom Police
2008 Jul - Osaka Shop 1st Anniversary - Daihatsu Midget
2008 Oct - Nagoya Shop 2nd Anniversary - Toyota FS45V Ambulance
2009 Mar - Tokyo Shop 1st Anniversary - Mazda Carol Police
2009 Jul - Osaka Shop 2nd Anniversary - Subaru Sambar Mail
2009 Oct - Nagoya Shop 3rd Anniversary - Toyopet Crown Ambulance
2010 Mar - Tokyo Shop 2nd Anniversary - Subaru 360 Custom Fire
2010 Jul - Osaka Shop 3rd Anniversary - Datsun 510 Police Wagon
2010 Oct - Nagoya Shop 4th Anniversary - Porsche 912 Aichi Police
2011 Mar - Fukuoka Shop 1st Anniversary - Land Cruiser FJ56V Police
2011 Jul - Osaka Shop 4th Anniversary - Subaru Sambar Firetruck
2011 Oct - Kichijoji Shop 1st Anniversary - Skyline Van Police
2012 Mar - Fukuoka Shop 2nd Anniversary - Crown unmarked Police
2012 Jul - Osaka Shop 5th Anniversary - Nissan Fairlady 260ZE

Pictured from left to right: Toyota FS45V Ambulance, Toyopet Crown Ambulance, Toyopet Crown Fire Chief, Subaru 360 Custom Fire Chief, Subaru Sambar Mail Van

I was lucky to get a few from Hong Kong and from friends who frequent Japan. I still have a long way to go to complete this. I am still missing 9 model cars.

Honda Ballade

These cars are among my favorite Tomica Limited Vintage release and I must say, they really did a great job. I regret not pre-ordering the first release of the CR-X when I had the chance to do so. The model car was so popular in Japan and Asia that it was sold out even before it even reached the hobby stores.

The Honda CR-X was launched as the Honda Ballade Sport in Japan. From what I read, it was a popular car back in the eighties not only because it handles well on the road, but also because of it's fuel efficiency. It was Motor Trend Magazine's Import car of the millenium for 1990 and was listed as Car and Driver magazine's ten best list for 1985.

Tomica's attention to detail definitely made this model car desirable for collectors. Everything is well replicated in spite of the small scale. The wheels are done really well, along with the side mirrors, which Tomica often forget to include on their cars. No Honda collection would be complete without this iconic car. When Tomica released the second and third wave of this highly coveted model car, I was fortunate enough to get a few pieces.

Beetle replacement

Pictured (from left to right) are the Volkswagen Golf Mark II and Volkswagen Mark II GTi Tomica Limited Vintage cars.

Volkswagen has presented the Golf as a long range replacement for the Volkswagen Beetle. The original Volkswagen Golf was designed by the legendary Italian designer, Giorgetto Giugiaro. The Golf was released in 1974, and up to now, is Volkswagen's best selling model. Every generation of Golf has been a runner up in the European Car of the Year awards, except in 1992, when it actually won the award. The Golf name was derived from the German word for gulf stream. It was sold as the Volkswagen Rabbit in the United States and Canada.

This is the second non-Japanese car that Tomica released under it's Limited Vintage series. As usual, the details on these Golf cars are well done. Everything is well replicated and in my opinion, could probably be the best 1/64 scale Volkswagen Golf to come out of the market, sans the side mirrors. You would never have guessed that this model measures almost the same as a regular Hotwheels toy car. This car has a working suspension too!

The First Generation Cedric

The first Cedric was introduced by Nissan in March 1960. It was Nissan's first big car since the Nissan 70.  The Cedric replaced the Austin A50, which Nissan was building under license from the Austin Motor Company. The styling of the Cedric's windscreen and vertical headlights were inspired by the Tobu JNR 151 commuter train. When it first came out, only the sedan was available from the dealerships. The station wagon and van became available at a latter time.

The Cedric was developed to compete with the Prince Skyline and Gloria. According to Nissan, the name "Cedric" was inspired from the main character in Burnett's novel Little Lord Fauntleroy, who was known as a model of beauty, strength and justice.

Tomica Limited Vintage released this model car in 2004. They made six versions of this car. The first four models were numbered LV01 with no alphabetic designations. The brown with white roof and ivory versions were released in January 30, 2004. The black with white roof and the Tokyo taxi were released in February 2004. There are two variants of the Cedric which were released in May 2004 and are numbered LV01e and LV01f, both had different interiors from the others. The Nippon Kotsu Cedric taxi was released in March 2007 as part of their taxi boxed set.

Vintage Shell Gas Station

Tomica first released their Tomicarama Vintage line in 2010. They started with the police station diorama set, then released the Shell gas station a year after. The details are just amazing. Pictured with the set is a Mazda Familia van, a Shell Subaru Sambar service truck, a Honda S600 sports car and a Honda T360.