I still clearly remember how overjoyed I am when Takara Tomy announced the launch of Tomica Premium line more than 5 years ago. This series is a perfect balance between the Tomica Red Box and Tomica Limited Vintage (TLV) with the affordable entry price similar to Dream Tomica.
The Premium series also shares some characteristics from the Red Box and TLV. The castings come in various scale to accommodate into the regular large box unlike the TLV in true 1/64 scale. Although the wheels comes in plastic, this is a major leap into realism territory considering the Red Box series comes mainly in āButtonā and āRacingā Wheels that irks many new collectors. The Premium answer that.
Realism is definitely the winning factor for the Premium Series. Quite a few times I mistook a handful as a TLV. The paint work is perfect, great stance with the suspension gone for majority of the castings and well executed opening features without compromising the realism including clear plastic headlights for some.
There are a few categories of Tomica Premium. They consist the regular black box, the Commemoration version (ēŗ売čØåæµä»ę§), Takara Tomy Special which are online and Tomica Shop Exclusive, Event and Lottery version including Premium RS in 1/43 scale.
Except for the RS. I have faithfully collected every single release and for 2020 quite a nice assortment of castings such as the pair of Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera, Nissan Skyline GTS-R (R31) including the legendary Fairlady Z.
Takara Tomy Special Nissan Fairlady Z
The Nissan Fairlady Z is easily my top 3 most favourite castings in my Tomica Premium collection. The Z was a star on the track and shined in treacherous rally stages in the early days and Tomica replicate this casting beautifully. The first Premium 09 Fairlady Z which was released in 2019 was a big hit with collectors because of itās color scheme similar to the Devil Z in Wangan Midnight. It looks really sharp on photography with accurate features and itās legendary.
This time the Japan exclusive ferocious Fairlady Z comes in nice combination of premium high gloss orange paint with an opening matt black hood to reveal the detailed engine compartment. Iām also very impressed with the plastic head and rear lights with no manufacturing shortcut at a affordable retail price range including a suspension.
The downside is the fairly huge scale at 1/58 which is inconsistent to fit into the regular box and also the missing side mirrors. Both Z no doubt make a perfect pair which are showcase in my unboxing video here.
No. 04 Nissan Skyline GTS-R (R31)
Similar to Tomica and TLV, Tomcia Premium also covers a wide range on the Nissan Skyline family. This GTS-R R31 Skyline is the predecessor to the R32 Skyline introduced in 1987 as a special edition with Group A specifications. At 1/62 scale this ready-to-race track car is close to the real deal which is now a gem considering not many made.
The body comes in a dark shade of blue very close to black in high gloss finish. Opening door features on both side without compromising realism and accurate livery. I really like the clear plastic front and rear lights including the wheels which I feel is worth my buck over the Dream Tomica at the same retail price range.
No. 33 Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera with Commemoration version
The 1/62 scale Premium Lamborghini Superleggera is definitely a very nice addition to the wide range of Tomica Lamborghini family. Both have beautiful body paint in pearl finish especially the regular in signature green color. Although no opening features or suspension, the front splitter, rocket panels and engine cover adds up to the realism and make the casting looks aerodynamic.
Overall I do really enjoy collecting the Tomica Premium series with a wide and diverse range of castings including tank, armoured car, fighter jets and even a satellite.
Stay tuned for the next Tomica feature meanwhile you can find Hot Kustoms in IG or you can check out my unboxing video.
Love that GTS!
Thank you for noting the scale. I won’t buy anything unless it is 1/64 so knowing the scale from a reliable source is a big help with online buying.
Tomica actually don’t do flush/64 a lot, as they generally scale to either the box or the wheels (they do state scale on the box, though, so it’s easy to spot). That said, they do have 1:64 cars, even on the basic Red Box variety. Their 2017 Ford GT, for one, supersedes Hot Wheels’ mainline version in spite of the Type 2 Sport wheels, and so is their SRT Viper and C7 ZR1, and all three are built in flush 1:64. Generally, 1:62 to 1:65 is safe enough to collect–they match HW in size and are at times more robust. 1:66 below is too small, though, and 1:61 and up is a little too large to fit in most scale collections. That said, don’t count them out–Tomica has been making splendid castings of models that Mattel missed out on, and they make it well.