[REVIEW] Tomica Nissan Bluebird SSS Coupe

Tomica time again, also Land of the Rising Sun-day. Today we examine a casting with a little historical significance. This is Tomica 1-1, the Nissan (and Datsun) “New” Bluebird SSS Coupe. This is the first model in the initial 6 castings launched in the Tomica product line, in September 1970. This casting remained in the lineup until September, 1974. Being a number one, this is kind of where it all began, and is interesting for this. It is also a nice casting:

The platform for this car is better known as the Datsun 510, an iconic cult car in much of the world. I am pretty sure North America never received this notchback coupe, instead receiving a 4 door sedan, 2 door sedan, and wagon.

One can see some traits of these early models (like on the Sunny I reviewed a while ago here):

Aside from the “old wheels”, these older models tend to have thicker paint, and only have glazing at front and rear - not on the sides. The door action is firm, but not really snappy. However. the suspension is springy, and the glazing is crisp, foundations for ideals we know and love about old Tomica. Scale is a claimed 1:60, as usual, likely accurate. The casting still has good detail and proportion, a quality item. “Inliner” spotted this in my preview post, so I thought I’d bump it up to be reviewed early in the set:

Doors open to reveal interior detail and an accurate steering wheel:

Front and rear have consistent detail - one can easily see the 510 grille:

As with all early models, the base is metal, and has realistic detail:

This example is fortunate to live in a crisp original box. These earlier boxes have glossier printing than later examples. This particular model was old stock - not the cheapest example on the market, but you don’t find them like this much anymore, so I had to buy it while I could:

Definitely a model I am glad to have in my collection. It is an interesting piece of history, showing how the brand evolved while keeping some ideals through time. It’s also an attractive and somewhat uncommon (not extremely rare) casting:

Some 1:1s from nissan-global.com and innermobil.com, - not easy to find pics of unmodified cars, as these begged to be tuned. I notice the original hubcaps are very similar to the “old wheels” design: