In tune: Tommykaira & Top Secret Skylines from Mini GT

(I picked the cars in this article up from Diecast 1/64 who are definitely worth checking out. Also find Mini GT Tommykaira diecast on eBay here, and Top Secret here)

If any of you have paid any attention to my writing in the past four years you’ll have a pretty good idea of how I got into Japanese cars, the tuning culture and some of the brands that have defined my automotive interests and, subsequently, collecting. I’ve talked to you about Top Secret before in my look at the Hot Wheels Nissan Z adorned with the company’s livery, but I’ve not yet introduced another tuner that played a big part in shaping a young Alex: Tommykaira.

Tommykaira was founded in 1986, based in the Minami ward of Kyoto. The name is a composite of the two founders; Yoshikazu Tomita and Kikuo Kaira. Their first project was a modfied Mercedes 190E which took on the name “Tommykaira M19”, closely followed by a reworked W124 era 300E, the M30E.

In 1987 the company turned it’s attention to modifying it’s first domestic car; the R31 era Nissan Skyline GTS-R. Binning off the RB20DET 6-cylinder for a bigger (but naturally aspirated) RB30 and adding a raft of other parts, they created the M30. This was the vehicle that firmly put Tommykaira on the map and afterwards the brand only dealt with modifying Japanese domestic market models, building strong relationships with the big mainstream manufacturers in particular Nissan and Subaru. By the late 90s they were making their own sports car, the Nissan SR20 powered ZZ which rather strangely was built in Norfolk, England! The ZZ sadly failed to make a big impression despite being a very capable machine, but by this time Tommykaira were a well known name in the automotive industry.

I’d developed a limited knowledge of Tommykaira via a combination of supercars.net, Gran Turismo games and another equally well know video game franchise; Need for Speed. Not the “Underground” series that may have immediately jumped in to your heads but the earlier titles, more specifically 1999’s Need for Speed: High Stakes.

I had this game for PC when I was about 12 or 13, and played it relentlessly. A Tommykaira car didn’t actually feature on the game but High Stakes had a big following and there was an endless variety of downloadable vehicles made by fans. There was everything from a Reliant Rialto all the way to Le Mans cars and anything you can think of in between. Some were glitchy, poorly rendered polygonal messes and were deleted in a hurry. Some downloadable cars would crash the game, cause odd glitches or be corrupt and riddled with viruses. A Gillet Vertigo actually did something inexplicable to the family computer that caused a call out my parents friend who worked in IT. That was a fun day. But others were slick, well designed, and slotted perfectly in to the game. One of those was the aforementioned Reliant, which my dad used to enjoy bouncing off pursuing BMW M5s on the “Celtic Ruins” track. Another was a beautifully finished Tommykaira RZ. And it became my favourite car to use on the game.

The RZ was Tommykaira’s take on the Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R and in the Japanese car world, it’s a real unicorn. Of 34 Tommykaira R34s ever made, only 11 were finished in RZ spec. The Skyline’s legendary RB26 engine was enlarged to 2.7 litres and treated to a host of other upgrades which gave the RZ rather healthy 530bhp. External changes included reworked front and rear bumpers and a more than adequately sized adjustable rear wing.

Until recently, a Tommykaira in 1/64 & 3-inch territory wasn’t a common sight. Past a few rare Tomica specials and their ZZ-II (the successor to the aforementioned ZZ), the only real Tommykaira miniatures were 1/43 scale. Thankfully we’re in a boom era of 1/64, with one of the leading brands being scale masters Mini GT. They’re proving capable of doing everything from Le Mans cars to American classics via Italian supercars. And capable of doing it well. Their recreation of the RZ is a superb model.

This example finished in Active Red with gold “Pro-R” wheels is the same spec I used to blast around on Need For Speed, so there’s instant nostalgia for me.

The finish is fantastic and there’s great details included such as the rear wing, which has decals representing the bolt holes that owners of the real RZ would use to adjust the mainplane. I don’t need to tell you how well it rolls; it’s a Mini GT so it goes without saying.

And if Active Red isn’t your preferred shade of Skyline, you can pick Midnight Purple…

Or maybe Millenium Jade is more your colour?

Whatever choice you make you’ll not be disappointed; this is a genuinely solid model. And if you’re just a fan of modified Skyline GT-Rs in General then again Mini GT won’t let you down. They also produce replicas of the incredible creations of tuning giants Top Secret. As mentioned earlier I’ve covered the company history before so there’s no need to dive in again, not when there’s some very cool diecast to look at. One of which is an R34 GT-R finished in probably the most well known of Skyline colours: Bayside Blue.

The car isn’t based on an actual Top Secret demo car (that I know of) but more of a customer car adorned with bits from the company catalogue; G-Force bodykit, carbon fibre bonnet, trademark gold RAYS Volk TE37 wheels and Fusion-R and ORC stickers. It’s a small scale Daikoku PA regular.

And joining it is the brutal looking R32 finished in Dark Blue Metallic.

This one has equally aggressive aero with a very well replicated rear splitter, and the gunmetal Volks work perfectly with the blue paint.

Whether Tommy Kaira or Top Secret these are all seriously good models; superb paint, wonderful detail and free rolling accurately replicated wheels. Sharp, well placed decals and clear lenses on the front and rear lights, heck even the heated rear screen element on the R32 is visible.

I recall an era when Googling “Top Secret R34” or “Tommy Kaira RZ” wouldn’t bring up any diecast related results. We’re now in a golden era in diecast and subsequently spoilt for choice. And with brands like Mini GT doing work like this, I couldn’t be happier about that.

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