Tomica Vintage Japan
Tomica information is notoriously spotty, as there has not been a very good effort by US and other English based collectors to translate collector books into English. They started production in the 1970's in Japan. The earliest examples can be identified by the wheel covers being two piece with chrome wheel inserts. They switched after some number of years to the slotted style that is most common, especially to this day. Some sporty models came with chrome ring rims with black centers during this time and, again, are still being made. While early models used to be easy to identify as such by showing "made in Japan" on the bottom, some newer cars are now produced in Japan, so it's not as easy as it used to be.
What is really great (to us at least) is the amazing number of JDM cars and trucks that Tomica produced. So many of them literally are only made by Tomica! Old Japanese manufacturers are very interesting additions to the hoard!
Almost every vintage Tomica model has been remade, almost exactly, in the last few years, so as a collector, beware! Japanese production of some models still continues, so know what is vintage and what is modern. Metal bases some of the time indicate older models, but not always. I plan on reaching out to collectors to get more detailed information for this section, so stay tuned! I will publish updates to the blog as I get them.
The Tomica/Tomy/Tomytec Wikipedia page has some information, but it is not all that great.
Eventually, we will have the page organized by number. The early cars were identified by collector number on the bottom, and there is a secondary collector number for "foreign" models that begins with an "F". Those are split out below the mainline pics. We will put way more info on this page about Tomica as it comes to us!
What is really great (to us at least) is the amazing number of JDM cars and trucks that Tomica produced. So many of them literally are only made by Tomica! Old Japanese manufacturers are very interesting additions to the hoard!
Almost every vintage Tomica model has been remade, almost exactly, in the last few years, so as a collector, beware! Japanese production of some models still continues, so know what is vintage and what is modern. Metal bases some of the time indicate older models, but not always. I plan on reaching out to collectors to get more detailed information for this section, so stay tuned! I will publish updates to the blog as I get them.
The Tomica/Tomy/Tomytec Wikipedia page has some information, but it is not all that great.
Eventually, we will have the page organized by number. The early cars were identified by collector number on the bottom, and there is a secondary collector number for "foreign" models that begins with an "F". Those are split out below the mainline pics. We will put way more info on this page about Tomica as it comes to us!
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#002 Toyota Land Cruiser
#007 Fuso Truck Series
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#024 Panel Van
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#005 Toyota 2000-GT
#007 Fuso Truck Series
#015 Nissan Fairlady 280Z T
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#034 Nissan Bluebird Wagon
#047 Cedric Wagon
#057 Nissan Fairlady 240ZG
#066 Fuso Truck Crane
#080 Mazda Savannah GT
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F-series
As stated above, there is a separate series devoted to non Japanese cars designated with an "F" in front of the collector number. Many of these cars were available in the US, so they are typically not as expensive in the secondary market. A BUNCH of them were blown out through KayBee toy stores at a dollar a piece for a single blister pack, but as time has gone by, they are now starting to see some serious cash on Ebay and and other secondary markets.
#F03 Porsche 911S
#F09 Porsche 356 Speedster
#F24 Lotus Esprit
#F25 Renault 5 Turbo
#F39 McLaren M36 Ford
#F44 Chevy Truck
#F51 Porsche Turbo
#F68 Jaguar XJ-S
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#F05 Volkswagen Golf GLE
#F21 Chevrolet Corvette
#F24 Lotus Esprit wheel variation
#F28 Fiat X1/9
#F42 Firebird Trans Am
#F45 Maserati Merak SS
#F53 Porsche 928
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#F07 Mercedes 450SEL
#F22 Chevrolet Chevy Van
#F25 Lotus Europa Special
#F36 Lotus 78 Ford
#F43 BMW 320i
#F48 Alpine Renault A442
#F55 Ladder Chief
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