[REVIEW] Tomica Mazda RX-500

Tomica time, Land of the Rising Sun-day is upon us again. Today we examine something a bit different. This is Tomica 34-1, the Mazda RX500. This casting entered the range in June 1972, remaining until August 1979, and couldn’t be more unusual:

In my last Tomica review, I pined on about how I prefer castings of normal street cars. The RX500 is anything but. A particularly batty concept car from the 1970 Toyota Motor Show, the RX500 was a showpiece of off-the wall design and Rotary technology had by Mazda, which was really just coming into its own at the time. The casting itself is excellent, as expected for this brand. Fine line casting detail is everywhere, and it appears to have accurate proportions. Scale is claimed to be 1:62, likely accurate. Nothing opens on this model, but it features the crisp glazing and springy suspension we all admire about old Tomica, and the interior bits are also well-detailed. From all angles, it is unlike other cars:

Front and rear feature similar quality detail, the fine casting on the rear section being remarkable, and the spare under the rear glass section adds appeal:

The base is metal, the standard of the time, and has technical and identifying detail:

This example is lucky enough to live in its original black box. With “old wheels”, this example would be from the first half of the production run:

I am pleased to have this unusual model in my collection. If I recall right, I got it for a fair price, and it is something unusual, from a time when concept cars could be daring:

Some 1:1 images from wikipedia,topcarrating.com and wheelsage.org: