[REVIEW] Tomica Toyota Crown 2600

Tomica time, Land of the Rising Sun-day, is here again after a short break. Today we examine Tomica 32-2, the Toyota Crown 2600. This casting entered the range in December 1975, remaining until July 1979, and is a representative piece of Tomica quality:

A Toyota Crown, a nice mildly upmarket yet everyday car. This is exactly the kind of model I like, something that would be seen on the street in normal traffic. I never really cared for exotics and turned my nose up at fantasy castings - realistic models of normal cars have always been my first choice. This couldn’t be more normal. As expected from golden age Tomica, this is a quality model: plenty of fine line casting detail, and the expected amenities in the form of crisp glazing, snappy door action, and springy suspension. Scale is claimed to be 1:65, likely accurate. From all angles, this is small scale excellence for any era, more remarkable that the casting debuted nearly 45 years ago:

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

Front and rear have similar quality, with a nicely cast grille and rear area:

The base is metal, which adds heft, and contains ample technical and identifying detail. Note the multiple model numbers, for police/fire/taxi liveries:

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

No surprise I am pleased to have this model in my collection. It is the type of everyday car I enjoy, and as one expects from Tomica of this vintage, of the upmost quality:

A same bodystyle 1:1 from ninjagarage.blogspot.com- apparently these sold reasonably well in UK and Oz (but I don’t believe made it to NA):