2004 doesn’t seem like such a long time ago to me, but then again, a lot has changfed since then. Like the quality of diecast - it has improved in leaps and bounds. Tomica launched the Limited Vintage range in that year, and they were the bee’s knees. But today, we can do better. And so, Tomica have re-cast on of their first Limited Vintage models from 2004.
The blue model is the TLV-02a from 2004 - the Prince Gloria Super 6. And there was not a lot wrong with it as such. Sure, the wheels didn’t seem quite right, but on the whole, it was a big step forward in small scale diecast quality.
Fifteen years later, here’s the TLV174b - also a Prince Gloria Super 6. And you can see the difference right there. The wheels are better, the tampo much more to scale, and the proportions captured better.
At the front, once again more fine detail work has been done - and you can see the 2004 release has the ever so slightly different grill of the S41-2 model.
Round the back, the changes are probably the most obvious. The tail lights on the 2004 model were separate plastic parts, but they were rather too big. Also, the clear part in the middle was missing. That has been fixed - but they are painted now.
Now there’s also a steering wheel in a different color, the air vents on the hood have tampos, and the wipers no longer float forlorn on the wind screen.
So, the better is the enemy of the good, as they say. Only one thing remained pretty much the same - the box design. I’m wondering if that will change soon?
