It's safe to say that Tomica has figured out what to do with its Premium line.
After an uneventful start to the line, marked by a few hits but mostly misses, Tomica has realized that the proper casting choices dictate how well their models sell. Sounds like common sense, but it took months of dull releases for them to realize this. As a huge fan of Tomica Limited back in the day, I wept for nights on end when they announced the cancellation of one of my favorite diecast product lines. As a direct successor to the Limiteds, the Premiums have yet to live up to its predecessor's glory, in my opinion. Ask anyone who collected the Limiteds and they would tell you the same. But the Premiums are getting really close.
The Premiums are brand new castings from Tomica, and they fall somewhere between children's toys and adult collector models. The details, done mostly through slick printing and tampos, are up there with the best. But the castings themselves resemble those of the regular Tomica line, lacking the sharp edges and curves of the TLV's. And it makes sense that Tomica purposely makes them like that, such as not to compete with itself.
When you look at some of the recent models, you are guaranteed to find something that interests you. Then, you look at some of the upcoming releases, such as the 300ZX, NSX Type-R, Mk.IV Supra, and a Skyline GT-R of some generation. That's when you know it's time to start getting into Tomica Premium, as I have just recently done so myself. The Lancia Stratos in Alitalia livery and Skyline 2000RS in Machine RS-esque red-with-black two-tone shown here are the two most current releases, and they are impressive to say the least.
