[REVIEW] Tomica Oldsmobile Toronado XSR

Tomica time comes a day early, as tomorrow I am taking a little road trip in the fintail, and am not sure how much online time I will have during the day. You, the lucky reader, get to see another disco-era Tomica gem a day early. Here we have Tomica F54, Oldsmobile Toronado XSR, which entered the range in 1978. It's a diminutive sounding 1:78 scale, but as the real car is a battleship, the model itself isn't small. I believe the casting was only offered in this nice pearly metallic white, and it suits this cruiser well - put some Donna Summer in the 8 track and hit the road on a sunny 70s summer day:

Unlike the ZX, these T-tops are real:

Historical footnote - the "XSR" was a concept car, with T-tops that slid into the center of the roof rather than were manually removed. I think only one or two were made. However, the "XS" with the wraparound window, was a production car, limited, but they are out there. "XS" is a fitting term for this luxury coupe from the days of domestic, well, "excess".

From all angles, this is a well-proportioned model, with fine detail typical for Tomica:

This car was noteworthy not just for size and style, also for the wraparound rear window, which featured hard angles instead of curves. There's one of these in my town, white even, and the rear window is striking in real life, too:

Accurate steering wheel and seat design:

Large doors open smoothly and shut with the trademark Tomica snap:

Nice undercarriage too, as to be expected from Tomica of this era:

I like how Tomica hit its stride in the US during the malaise era, and made barges like this, in such good detail. Another admirable model on my shelf, goes well with the Continental and Fleetwood.