Are you collecting Tomica Premium? Jay Kho is…

One of the brands we are going to start covering on Lamley is Tomica Premium. Thankfully Tomica changed the name from Tomica Limited to Tomica Premium to not confuse the line with Tomica Limited Vintage. The line is more like Tomica than TLV, and has a lot more variety in the types of castings used. I have been looking forward to featuring these, but looking at the piles of models that have grown in my collection, I have asked Lamley contributor Jay Kho to take over, considering he is collecting these anyway. Jay gets his Tomica Premium from Japan Booster and while the latest batch is on its way, here is his showcase of the previous batch.

Thanks Jay.

(Find Tomica Premium at Japan Booster)

It should be no surprise to all that we love our Tomica Limited Vintage, these wonderful 1/64 scale castings that are bar none the top in quality to have ever rolled on my kitchen counter top. And yes, of course they couldn’t possibly just charge a buck after the great lengths it took to create these gems. Much like real cars, real quality comes with a price.

This might be the reason some of you haven’t really jumped in on them, and I don’t blame you. It might put you on a budget of ramen meals for days, trying to save money so that you could buy more and more. But once you get one…its game over, you will get the bug.

Scared yet? Well, the smart people at Tomica created a line that will get you eventually to the promised land. An in-between’er from the regular Tomica to TLV, and yes, with an in-between’er price too.

Previously they were called Tomica Limited, or TL for short, but were eventually discontinued, only to be resurrected a few months back and be called Tomica Premium.

Tomica Premium debut with a wide array of cars and trucks. Take a variety of new and old cars, throw in a satellite and a tank, and you have diecast for people of all interests. In comparison with the regular to the premium line, these diecast have received a better paint and tampo treatment, as well as running prototypical wheels instead of generics. I must admit that I’m biased with the old TL as they had rubber tires and replicated some nice legendary race cars during its time of existence, but looking at this new line, I can’t complain much. The line is heading in the right direction for sure.

For example, creating the FD3S Re-Amemiya RX7, the legendary beast that blew out your ears with its very loud rotary engine on the racing circuit. Or the mellow two-tone Volkswagen Type 2 pickup on some moon silver hubs and whitewall tires, giving you that California love feel – minus the tinted windows. But my favorite out of the bunch is – nope not the Godzilla – but the Lotus Europa Special, which looks wonderful and gives me nothing to nitpick about. This tiny mid-engine car is so well proportioned in my eyes, and Tomica Premium has definitely captured that in this minicar version. I wasn’t all surprised that they have chosen to create it, as they are well beloved in Japan and continue to have a cult following today.

So after seeing these photos I urge you to come see our friends at Japan Booster who not only offer the best price for Tomica Premium, but ships it to you for free if you order $50 or more, straight from the land of the rising sun. Do so, you won’t regret it, believe me…

Oh wait! My ramen is done.