Model: Tomica Mooncraft Special
Line: Tomica mainline
eBay link: Tomica Mooncraft Special
Why I am featuring it: This has to be one of my all time favourite Tomicas, and one I discovered thanks to my love of Japanese motorsport.
For those into their Japanese cars, Mooncraft might be a name that sounds familiar. The motorsport engineering company have been involved with some notable race cars over the years in many Japanese series. The famous Team Kunimitsu Raybrig NSX, the JACCS JTCC Honda Accord and Civics, and a large number of single seater and prototypes have all had Mooncraft involvement over the years. The team even built its own car for the GT300 category of the SuperGT Championship in 2006, the highly controversial Shiden, named after a 1970s Mooncraft racer and based on a Daytona Prototype.
The original Mooncraft Special debuted in the late 70s in the Fuji Grand Champion Series. Effectively an F3 single seater with a prototype body dropped on top, variations appeared with Mazda Rotary, Cosworth, Yamaha and BMW power.
I picked up on the Tomica version after searching for a scale model of the Eva Racing Shiden from the 2012 Super GT. Among the eBay listings was this, and I fell in love. I loved the Cibie colour scheme (lifted off a 1980 RM-1 car) and the shape of the thing. Once it arrived I opened it instantly and spent a while admiring it. It’s brilliant. I was lucky to get hold of a boxed model too for the ultimate package. I can almost hear the high pitched buzz of race engines when I open the box. I really adore this one. There are loads of different colour schemes available on the Tomica Mooncraft, including an Advan livery, but I think this is the pick of them. If you like your Japanese motorsport then find one, get one, and have fun digging round the Japanese websites for background history. You’ll come across some seriously cool stuff.
