We are in a sea of Nissan GT-R riches with Tomica Limited Vintage…

So we might be getting to the point of too many 1:64 Nissan GT-Rs.

I have no idea who jumped in the pool first. Maybe Hot Wheels? It was a dream to see Nissan’s latest Godzilla in a Hot Wheels blister, well before the time that JDM blew up. Since then? Realtoy, Majorette, Maisto, Oversteer, Kyosho, Tomica, Tomica Limited, Greenlight, and on and on. That is a lot of GT-Rs. I am sure there are some completists out there who are looking to acquire all, and good luck. You can do it, but it will probably require a lot of international shipping.

Or you simplify things and go solely for the Tomica Limited Vintage GT-Rs. There are now nine, and those nine will leave you with little desire to acquire the other brands.

It started with the Nismos. I don’t know why TLV decided to do the GT-Rs, especially since the brand is so closely associated with vintage – and stock – Japanese cars. They have of course wandered into Europe a bit with Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, and now Alfa Romeo, but all models are replicas of vintage, or vintage-ish, cars.

That changed with the Nissan IDX Concepts. My guess is Nissan wanted replicas of their 510-like Concept, and had to figure the folks at TLV could make the best version. Good call. The rule at TLV is they will not produce a replica of a car they cannot have on hand in the shop. They don’t want just specs, or design notes, or great photos. They want the car, and they want to sit in it, inspect it, and learn it. The feeling is they can’t make a perfect replica of a car they can’t touch and feel.

So Nissan clearly brought the Concepts and the TLV team together, and maybe at that point the discussion moved to the GT-R. At the time Nissan was rolling out the Nismos, with their Nurburgring-shattering speed, huge spoilers, and red trim, and who better to replicate them than TLV.

So out came the Nismos, and they are stunning. First the standard Nismos, then the extra-tall spoiler-wearing N-Attack. Then more. After a few months TLV collectors were ogling over six different Nismo GT-Rs.

Well now we have more, and the spectrum has broadened. In the February 2016 Batch, TLV has released a Premium version in blue, an Anniversary Edition in gold, and a police – yes, police! – version from its new Abunai Deka line. The Nismo trim is gone, the spoilers are now standard, and the models are beautiful.

I guess we start with the Abunai Deka. This is they another Japanese Police serial where the cigarettes dangled from the bottom lip, the guns didn’t stay in the holster long, and the cars most definitely blew up. The series was from the 80’s I think, and there have been a series of movies and specials since. Hence the very modern GT-R.

This model is an instant fave. I am a sucker for police cars, especially unique police cars, and this unmarked beauty looks amazing with its large rims and orange interior.

The Premium and Anniversary Editions are also happily welcome to the party. Gold is great, blue is beautiful.

I don’t know which of you readers are collecting all of these, but kudos to you if you are. Collecting TLV is a very expensive proposition. Thankfully we have Japan Booster who allow for free shipping, making buying from Japan not feel like buying from Japan. But still, with the price these models command, it is best to pick and choose. Choose the GT-Rs…