[REVIEW] Tomica Nissan Skyline 2000GT

Tomica time is here, Land of the Rising Sun-day it works. Today we examine an iconic car and one of the numerous gems of my Tomica collection. This is Tomica 21-1, the Nissan Skyline 2000GT. This casting entered the range in May 1971, and remained until November 1975. As one can see, this is a lovely little model:

This is something of a legend, the car from which the GT-R was born, this is the “Hakosuka”. This model dates from the early days of Tomica production, but the quality attention to detail was already there - one can see the fine casting lines, cast-in nameplate scripts on front fenders, and excellent proportions. The door action on these early cars is not as snappy as later models (but it still there), and this model features the crisp glazing and springy suspension we know and love from vintage Tomica. Scale is a claimed 1:62, and I see no reason to doubt this. I believe this model was only made with “old wheels”, as it predates what I recall regarding button wheel production. The model which replaced this, a racing Hakosuka Skyline, had flared fenders and other mods, and I believe the original casting was modified and lost for this. From all angles, this is an excellent car:

Doors open to reveal the expected detailed interior and accurate steering wheel:

Front and rear feature similarly good detail:

The base is metal, which as far as I know was the case for all of the earlier models, and contains more than sufficient detail:

This model is lucky enough to live in its immaculate original black box:

As the Thanksgiving holiday is approaching in the US, I am thankful to have this little jewel in my collection. It is not the easiest one to find, and one must be patient to find it as a relatively reasonable price (and it will still be expensive). I am also soon to finish my vacation, and am thankful to have been able to take another trip. I’ll be coming home to my hoard, with just a few new additions, and I am grateful for it all. This sweet little model brings home the point:

And some 1:1 images: one from nissan-global.com, and a couple from welovecoolcars.com - really hard to find these cars remotely close to stock these days, this one is close: