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.

The Story of the Century

This is a story about the time I saw the real car and then bought the miniature of it just a couple hours later. In fact, I must add that I was on my way to the shop to purchase the miniature when destiny called and the real thing showed up in front of me. No, I'm not talking about seeing a Civic, or a Mustang, or something you see every day on the streets. That would be far too easy and not worthy of posting. I'm talking about seeing what is essentially a unicorn, and then purchasing a 1/64 scale version of said unicorn, the unicorn being the Toyota Century.

It was this past summer and I was in Tokyo. During the trip, I had pretty much caught up on all the Tomica releases I wanted, except for one. This one. I had just arrived at Tokyo Station, late afternoon, en route to the Tomica Shop, specifically looking for the Tomica Limited Vintage Toyota Century. I walked out of the exit and was greeted by not one, not two, but three of these beasts.

 I'd never seen one before in person and I may never see one again. They were there, waiting to pick up the Emperor from Tokyo Station. I couldn't see very clearly through the swarm of people, but the one in the very front, parked directly in front of the entrance, may be the Century Royal, which is a one-off specifically for the Emperor. Knowing I'll probably never have the opportunity to see this again, I anxiously stood and waited about an hour for him to show up, wave at the crowd, and be escorted away by the motorcade.

Later at the Tomica Shop, I successfully found what I was looking for. Well, not quite. I really wanted the black one, but they were already sold out. I settled on this one, in a dark grey metallic. What a fabulous piece it is. The detail on the wheels is especially incredible, each individual spoke molded out perfectly. The chrome trim skirts are individual parts. I only have a handful of TLV's, but this one easily takes the top spot.

Much like the Nissan IDx from a few posts ago, this one comes with fender-mounted side mirrors that you have to attach yourself. With this one, I tried to do it but I couldn't. There are no inserts or holes in the bodywork as guidance. The positioning is completely dependent upon your hands-on skills. I still have the mirror pieces stashed somewhere. When I get the confidence to do it, I'll give it another shot. Adding those little details would definitely make this model even more superb, but it's a shame it didn't come like that already.

What Makes TLV so Great? A Proof of Concept

I've said before that Tomica is my favorite diecast brand, bar none. I'll probably say it again and again in future posts, so much so that it may start to become irritating. One of the product lines that it is best known for is the Tomica Limited Vintage (TLV) line, which has taken the diecast-collecting world by storm, ever since classic Japanese cars became a thing. The TLV's are said to be the absolute best 1/64's available out there. Let's see if that's the case...

Here, we have the Nissan IDx Freeflow Concept. Nissan's homage to the ever-popular Datsun 510 and a concept that may just be that, a concept. There's been no indication that this will ever make it to production. However, Tomica makes one, in 1/64 scale, and you can have one for yourself if you so desire. They also make the Nismo Concept edition of the same car, with a more aggressive and racy look. Truth be told, I actually prefer that one, but I couldn't find it. If that's option 1A, then this is option 1B.

I'm not a huge TLV collector because their models are very pricey, but I will splurge on occasion and pick up one that I really like. Being a Nissan fan, an IDx was a no-brainer inclusion to my collection. Suffice to say, this one was well worth the money. When you spend more than twenty dollars on a tiny 1/64 scale model car, you expect perfection. That's essentially what this is. The details are both superfluous and sharp. Heck, the car even has disc brakes, which you can see in the lead photo. That's not something you see everyday at this scale.

If there's one minor complaint, it's those fender-mounted side mirrors. You have to actually install those yourself. Depending on your dexterity, this can definitely be a pain to do. I'd like to think I have pretty capable hands myself, so it wasn't so bad for me. Still, for the money, I don't see why Tomica couldn't have done it themselves.

If you haven't yet jumped on the TLV bandwagon, perhaps now is the time to give it a try. Find a model that you really like, eat up the cost, and enjoy the next few months of having something awesome to stare at while you work at your desk. The demand for these is ever-increasing. Believe it or not, a lot of the models actually go up in value over time. That's quite ridiculous considering their already high starting prices. But as I always say, buy the model because you like it. And I like this one, a lot.