[REVIEW] Tomica Mazda Savanna RX-7 Racing

Tomica time is upon us again, always a nice way to observe Land of the Rising Sun-day. Today we examine a piece of the 80s that will no doubt have some fans. This is Tomica 74-3, the Mazda Savanna RX-7 GTU-style race car. This casting entered the range in December 1981, remaining until August 1984. One can just see something like this zooming down a track during that part of the 80s:

Much of the fun here is in the details. The fender flares, tampos, spoiler, stance, wheels - one can’t help but look at it. Scale is claimed to be 1:60, likely accurate. Casting detail is exceptional, and this casting almost wants to come to life - you can even faintly hear wear on the apex seals as the engine revs and revs. The tampos are crisp and realistic, the fun one being the rotor shape at the front of the hood. Paint quality is high, the pearl white adding depth. This was peak Tomica, and this model features the crisp glazing, springy suspension, and snappy door action we all love from the brand. From all angles, it is excellent:

Doors open to reveal a detailed interior, maybe not fully seen with the contrast here. One will notice this is a LHD car, perhaps suggesting a car that was in competition in North America (IMSA?):

Front and rear also feature high quality casting detail, and show off the tampos:

The base is plastic, as was a trend at this time, and has plenty of detail:

I am quite pleased to have this in my collection. I’ve liked the early RX-7 since I was a little kid, when a neighbor had one, and it was kind of a dream car for me, I was always thrilled to ride in it. This is a fun contrast to stock RX-7 castings (with which it appears to share nothing), and is a throwback to the time when these were seen in competition. My reference book shows several variants of this casting, all on wide/racing wheels, as it should be. This is an unboxed survivor which has traversed the past 35 years unscathed. I am pretty sure this one was sold as a Pocket Cars, and is not rare, if you want one, it won’t break the bank. A must-have for anyone who likes RX-7s or race cars of this era:

And a similar 1:1 from supercars.net - I found no images of a car with this paint style, and assume the tampos are created by Tomica: