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| Kyosho Nismo GT-R at Japan Booster |
Yeah, I know, another Nissan GT-R. And on top of that, a couple of Skylines. Yay.
A few years ago, Hot Wheels released a Nissan GT-R. Then RealToy. And Majorette. Of course Tomica. And Tomica Premium. And Jada. Tomica Limited Vintage. Norev. Kyosho would clearly do one or seven. Oversteer. And there are undoubtedly numerous others.
And that doesn’t count the Skylines. We could go several more paragraphs on those. If you don’t like GT-Rs or Skylines, I am sure you are sick of them. Even if you do like them, you might be a little overexposed. But I hope not. This is a richness of Japanese car diecast, and if you love cars, you have to love all the variety.
Two ways to look at it. One, we are just catching up. And if the Skyline is Japan’s Mustang or Camaro, we still have a long way to go. A Hot Wheels R33? A Matchbox DR30 Police or Prince Skyline? I can envision a lot of goodness.
The other way to look at it is that most of this diecast is made and marketed to Japan, so of course we will continue to see a lot of GT-Rs and Skylines. I love Japanese diecast and will always show what I can, but being the US means I can only barely scratch the surface. Have you seen photos of toy stores in Japan? Mercy…
So keep churning them out, Tomica, TLV, and Kyosho. And I will keep snagging them. But if you currently mired in a GT-R slump, might I suggest you take a good, hard look at the just released Kyosho Nismo series. The set is available right now at Japan Booster, and is a serious stunner:
Kyosho Nismo GT-R at Japan Booster
Kyosho will always release series, dedicated to one car or carmaker. Alfa one month, Bentley the next, Mazda after that. And then sometimes they go more specific, like in this case. Nismo GT-R is the theme, showcasing Nissan’s high performance division. There are four cars in the series, each in two colors (with a special third livery on one as well). Two of the models are R35 GT-Rs, along with the 400R and Z-Tune from years past. These castings are all new, and stellar.
“But if you have seen one GT-R, you have seen them all!” Right? Nope. There are two R35s in this set, the Nismo N-Attack and the Nismo GT3. Souped up, we will say. The N-Attack celebrates the Nurbergring-thrashing GT-R and the GT3 is of course its racing version. We have seen the N-Attack in diecast before, released last year by Tomica Limited Vintage. In fact, shall we get the comparison over with?
TLV on your right.
Yeah, the TLV has more detail, but of course it does. It is TLV. The Kyosho totally holds its own, and from a silhouette perspective looks exactly the same. That is what you expect from the obsessive Japanese diecast makers. It is evident between these two.
As great as the N-Attack is, it is the GT3 that makes this set a must have. I haven’t seen a GT-R GT3 done in 1:64, and after seeing the Kyosho, I don’t need to see another. This is one mean machine, and Kyosho killed it. One of my favorite diecast releases of the year, this one:
And it fits in nicely with other racers, which I think is Kyosho’s bread and butter. If I could only keep a few Kyoshos, these would be included:
And don’t forget the last two. The famous Z-Tune R34 and the legendary 400R. The Z-Tune is every fanboys dream, and it is thrilling to see Kyosho do it, but how cool is it to see the 400R? Again, I don’t have the 400R in 1:64, so it is most welcome.
Not familiar with the 400R? Ok, let Evo Mag help.
So yeah, four Nismo monsters, done perfectly by Kyosho. Available by lottery only in Japan. Yeah, lottery. Thank goodness for Japan Booster:
Kyosho Nismo GT-R at Japan Booster
why is everyone so hot shit on Skylines?
My thoughts too. Maybe it is the old legend of a super sports car not available outside Japan. But for some reason they don't do much for me. That said these are beautiful models. The yellow could find a home just to say i have a GTR in my collection.
my oh my, that GT3 is a stunner.
And to those who don't understand the fascination with Skylines, to each their own. I don't find most US muscle cars as appealing as a mean looking Renault 5 Turbo, but that doesn't keep me from appreciating the significance and heritage of a vintage Ford Mustang, or a brand new Chevy Camaro.
I can't wait to open mine next Tuesday. (If Canada Post don't screw up…) Astonishing models, to say the least. GJ Kyosho.
And to those who don't get it; See it this way: If you put a stock Skyline against most of factory cars the same age, it'll likely win every time ! Just Google GT-R's racing history and see for yourself. (The R32 even got banned in a series because it won too much.)