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.

Getting Introduced to Tomica Premium, with the Mitsubishi GTO Twin Turbo

Today's feature is Tomica Premium release number 18: the Mitsubishi GTO Twin Turbo. That's eighteen. That's how long it took for me to finally step foot into the money pit that is Tomica Premium, the bridge between the regular "kiddie" Tomica and the hardcore "grown-up" collector TLV. That says a lot considering that Tomica is my number one brand when it comes to diecast.

Upon its release, I was never really happy with the Premium releases. I've been a long fan of its predecessor, the Tomica Limited series, which took castings from the regular line (Series, as they call it) and spiced them up with extra details, molded wheels to match the real cars, and rubber tires. The Limited line was a stepping stone for me into the expensive, high-end diecast world. The Premium line uses brand new castings, never before used by Tomica, and gives essentially the same detail and treatment as the Limiteds, minus the rubber tires. So why the hate?

For one, I didn't like the selection of models. The first few releases were a mix of seemingly randomly chosen models ranging from sports cars to fire trucks to space vehicles. The very first release, the NISMO R34 Z-Tune, got my attention but I was never able to find it in stores. Everything afterwards was a snooze-fest for me. The horrendously modified FD RX-7, the lame aforementioned fire truck and space vehicle (both shelf warmers, by the way), a couple VW's that don't interest me, and a poorly executed Lexus race car. Looking at the most current releases, I think Tomica has finally gotten things together, and my perspective towards the Premium line has brightened up a little.

I chose this GTO to be my first because of the rare subject matter. Outside of Matchbox, I haven't seen this car done in 1/64 scale, and Matchbox did the convertible. Therefore, I quickly ordered this model off the bay and officially made it the first Tomica Premium in my collection.

As I mentioned, the wheels and tires are the major difference between the Limiteds and the Premiums. These use a two-piece plastic wheel/tire combination, and the wheels look a tad oversized because of the thin tires. The Limiteds were quite the opposite - too much tire and not enough wheel. The narrow and cambered wheels are really its downfall, but it isn't as bad in person as it looks in these photos. The Limiteds suffered from the same problem. I wasn't complaining back then, and I won't do it now either. For the price (~$10), you could probably find better. Tomica have always been expensive; that's just the nature of the beast. However, I do like this model very much, and I wouldn't mind getting a few more of these Premiums.

 I'm looking at you, 22B and R34's.