[REVIEW] Tomica Nissan Bluebird 1800 SSS-XG Turbo

Tomica time is here again, always ideal for Land of the Rising Sun-day. Today we examine a model that fits perfectly with this theme day. This is Tomica 17-4, the Nissan Bluebird 1800 SSS-XG Turbo. This casting entered the range in January 1981, remaining until May 1984. As one can see, it is a perfect example of the 80s, both in Tomica qualities, and the car itself:

One can see the details that make this a prime example of 80s Tomica - period correct color scheme, sharp tampos, gold button wheels, accurate interior, and the best part, a sunroof. Scale is right on the nose at 1:64, and I have no reason to believe this isn’t accurate. This model also features silver trimmed headlights, which create a nice effect. Of course, this casting has the crisp glazing, springy suspension, and snappy door action we all know and love from vintage Tomica. From all angles, it is a great vintage piece:

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

Front and rear have similar quality, the headlights being a nice touch:

The base is metal, which adds heft, and contains ample detail:

This example lives in its nice original black box:

This is definitely a model I am glad to have in my collection. I really like the “sunroof Tomica” models, as I call them, and I remember the 1:1 examples of this car, as they were sold in NA - including wagon and diesel variants, andbadged as 810/Maxima. This casting is also fairly common - sold as Pocket Cars, and black box examples are far from rare too - compared to many period Tomica, this is an inexpensive model. Can’t go wrong with a sunroof:

And a couple 1:1s from favcars.com and flickr, along with some pics of the badging on a NA spec car from classicmotorsports.com. Before these were simply badged Nissan Maxima, they had odd transitional badging - wearing both the 810 and Maxima labels as well as “Datsun by Nissan”. This was interesting to me when I was a kid: