[REVIEW] Tomica Honda Civic GL - Rally

Tomica time is here again, perfect for Land of the Rising Sun-day. Today we look at a neat little car equipped in a way you don’t see very often. This is Tomica 83-2, the Honda Civic GL. This casting entered the range in October 1977, and was in production into the mid 80s. As one can see, it isn’t the kind of thing you see on the road every day:

One may recall I reviewed the Pocket Cars variant of this casting nearly 2 years ago:

A variant that has a sentimental connection for me, as I had one when I was a little kid. Today’s example was never sold as a Pocket Cars, as far as I know. However, it is a variation of this casting, with added detail. Scale is the same, claimed to be 1:57, and this is believable - this is a tiny car in real life, and needs to be scaled up a notch to fit in a box. Even with this scale, it definitely doesn’t feel large. This variation has more competition-style rally decoration than the Pocket Cars style, with a racing number, and supplies on the roof. The gold button wheels (the only type for this variant, I think) are a hint at future rallying. Note the spare on the roof also mimics the button design. Like the Pocket Cars version, this has stickers rather than tampos - maybe something about the shape or size of the car. A quality item, this casting is accurate in proportion, with fine casting line detail. As expected, this model has the snappy door action, crisp glazing, and springy suspension that makes period Tomica beloved by many. From all angles, the point is clear that this car wants to compete:

Doors open to reveal a detailed interior, and accurate steering wheel:

Front and rear have similarly high detail, with cast-in badging, and the same bumper as the Pocket Cars variant (chrome instead of black), with the cool foglights:

The base is metal, which adds heft, and contains ample detail. Notice it has a 1974 copyright - 83-2 is a modified 83-1, which debuted that year:

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

I am definitely happy to have this in my collection. The Pocket Cars version is a fun memory for me, and this just builds on it. I also seem to recall I found this at a fair price, which makes it that much better:

And a few 1:1s from pinterest, allracingcars.com and pinterest again - I don’t know if there were many actual rally variants of this car back in the day, I didn’t do much digging. But in relatively modern times, some have been modified for fun: