[REVIEW] Tomica Toyota Hilux Camping Car

Tomica time, Land of the Rising Sun-day, is here again, also opening a new round of boxed model reviews. Today we examine Tomica 108, the Toyota Hilux Camping Car. This casting entered the range in 1988, and is an eye-catcher:

Not many models of a truck with a bed-mounted camper out there, and this has to be as good as any of them. This model is based on the Tomica 61-3 Hilux from 1981, of which I have several examples, a couple reviewed here:

I don’t have many red box models in my hoard, and this is one of the first releases in that series. The old Hilux casting was good enough to update and create a new model. Scale is 1:62, just like the 61-3 it is based on. Like that model, this casting features laudable fine line casting detail, along with the crisp glazing, springy suspension, and snappy door action we all enjoy from vintage Tomica. The paint is a pleasing shade of blue and is of high quality, and the plastic camper also has respectable detail. From all angles, it’s not something you see every day in a diorama or on the road:

Doors open to reveal a detailed interior and accurate steering wheel, as on 61-3:

Front and rear have similar quality, with the grille guard/brush bar and cast-in detail on the camper being nice touches:

The base contains technical and identifying detail like 61-3:

This example is lucky enough to live in its original red box. I’ll guess this dates it to roughly introduction in 1988:

I am pleased to have this casting in my collection. When I first saw it, I had to have it - the color got to me, and the uniqueness of the camper. Not something you see every day:

No surprise, it is difficult to find a similar 1:1, as most are either motorhome style conversions, or simple bed canopies. Here’s something somewhat similar, from flickr: