TLV Model Of The Year? Enter The Lancia Delta Integrale

2016 is the first year in which I started to seriously collect TLVs. I bought my first TLV, the Mercedes 190E 2.3, a few years back. It not only put a dent in my wallet but also was an epic disappointment for something I expected to be as spectacular as the sticker price. I could never get over how awful the wheels looked. As a matter of fact, I no longer have it in my collection anymore, having dealt it away in a trade months ago. It was a rather easy decision to make at the time, and I still have zero regret about it.

Then there was the TLV Toyota Supra, third generation. Copy and paste the same story here as well. I've kept a couple along the way: the Toyota Century and the Nissan IDx. Those will stay with me forever.

This year when I opened up to getting diecast off the interwebs, I saw my options suddenly expand not only past my limits but far beyond what I ever imagined. I could now reach out and grab any model, any brand, any scale. The first thing I did was to make sure I got up to date with my favorite maker. I went and nabbed GT-R after GT-R. Those are still, to me, TLV's best efforts, personal bias notwithstanding.

However, there's one that took me by surprise, and it's this little red Lancia.

October Brings Two More Tomica Premium Hits

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.