Unboxing Tomica showcases the love and passion for my hobby of collecting Tomica (line of die-cast toy vehicles produced since 1970 by Takara Tomy Co. of Japan). In 2020, Tomica celebrated its 50th Anniversary. Time really fly as I have been pursuing the Red-White regular releases for many years. It's a hobby, it's a passion, hopefully my blog site give fellow collectors an accurate presentation on the collection of Tomica.  

On this cover page as you scroll down you will be able to find:

(1) Brief History of Tomica

(2) The Beginning of the Red-White box era for regular Tomica

(3) Reading product information printed or embossed on the box storing the Tomica

(4) Protecting, storing and displaying Tomica

(5) My collection focus in brief

Tomica Promotion Videos (Click to watch the Video)

The birth of Tomica diecast vehicles began in 1970 under the nurturing hands of Eijiro Tomiyama, the head of the Tomy Kogyo Company, Inc of Tokyo, Japan. 

From the beginning, high level of detailing, bright colours, quality construction and good craftsmanship has long distinguished Tomica from other diecast vehicles. 

Tomica started its world of diecast in 1970 with a humble line of six models namely 

(1) Datsun Bluebird SSS Coupe, 

(2) Toyota Corona MkII, 

(3) Toyota Crown Super DL, 

(4) Toyota Crown Police Sedan,

(5) Toyota 2000GT and 

(6) Datsun Fairlady Z432. 

while the seventh was issued later in the year

From the modest beginning, the number of vehicles started to grow and by 1976, 128 models were released. By 1979, it grew to 180 vehicles and in 1980 the total number of different models peaked at over 260. 

In the early 1980s, Tomy encountered financial difficulties and in 1983, the domestic model line was reduced to only 80 models. These models were mainly package in picture boxes that had black background with yellow flaps. Later, new models came in a box with red and white background (which is what we see today). Existing models issued before 1984 kept using the older style box until 1988, when all boxes were updated to the new style. 

Over the years, due to economic reasons, Tomy consolidated and streamlined the production of Tomica to 120 different models (which has been consistently offered since 1987). Tomy keeps the collection interesting by replacing a few models every year and replacing them with new exciting ones. Till date, Tomy has created around 500 different models since 1970 and there are thousands of different variants of Tomica to collect. It is indeed a boundless pool to pursue the hobby so collectors need to know one budget and scope to make the hobby sustainable. In 2000, a 30th Anniversary Pure Gold Tomica was released with a price tag of 1 million yen. 

Reiterating on the history of the Red-White box. In the 1970s and early 1980s all models were packed in boxes that had black background with yellow flaps and they were exclusively produced by Tomy in their local factory in Tokyo, Japan. However, Tomy had outsourced some production to another country with cheaper labour cost. By mid-2003, all production were outsourced and Tomy no longer produced any Tomica in their own factory.

Hong Kong was the first place outside of Japan where Tomica were produced. The production in Hong Kong only lasted a few years and as such these pieces are gems for Tomica Collector. The 6 models issued were issued in 1971 and 1972 and they are as follow. (They are not on my radar as I only collect Red-White release.)

There are 4 categories of the Red-White box releases:

(1) Made in Japan with red Tomy label (before 1993, rare and pricey for some models),

(2) Made in China with red Tomy label,

(3) Made in China with blue Tomy label and 

(4) Made in Vietnam with blue Takara Tomy label (from 2009 till today).

Prior to 1993, production of Red-White box Tomica was in Japan . In 1990, #35 Dome Celica Turbo was the first model to be made in China. All newly issued models, however, were still produced in Japan. 

In 1993, Tomy UK contracted Tomy Japan to produce a line of Tomica. To save production cost, these models were produced in China. After 1994, Tomy used the China factory to produce new models and in May 1995, many regular models production have been diverted to China. This was conducted in phases and by July 1997 all regular Tomica were manufactured in China. While production in Japan ceased in 1997 for regular models, Tomy kept producing special models in Japan until 2003, using old castings not used for mass production of the British line, regular models or gift sets. The Subaru Legacy from 2003 was the last Tomica ever produced in Japan.

But there were some models which were still produced in Japan as listed below.

In 2009, production of Tomica was shifted to Vietnam which exists till today. Unlike the move from Japan to China during which no new regular models were made in Japan (except for a few), during the second transition period, new releases came from both Vietnam and China until in 2013 where all Tomica came from Vietnam.

Below show some YouTube videos of the production of Tomica in the factory base in Vietnam (Kien Thuy District, Hai Phong City).

(Videos courtesy of TheTJIANG)

This is only applicable for recent years release and does not apply to the older boxes with Red Tomy or Blue Tomy label.

To gauge the year of production, simply look at the back of the box. Double digit indicate models released after the millennium year (i.e. after year 2000)

The Big Bold "ST" on the left states the START year of production (i.e. the original year of production), in the above example ST 13 means 2013 was the year the model was first introduced into the market. 

The faint emboss on box shows the production month, date and year.

A to L indicates the month. (i.e. A stands for January, B for February so on and so for), the number 25 indicates the date while 13 stands for the year.

In the above example (B0723), it shows February 07  2023.

So A1214 mean January 12 2014, L2512 means December 25 2012.  

So how about F0615? Go try it out.

For models released between 1990 to 1999, the year is indicated as a single digit instead of a double digit. The example directly below shows that its start year is 1997 (top box) and 1995 (middle box). Earlier box, however, did not reflect the year.

As Tomy has a long history producing Tomica, some of the base plates were reused and in such cases, the "year" marking on the Tomica diecast can be inaccurate. One need to gauge from the emboss on the box to gauge the "age" of a particular release. 

Collectors take due care when opening the box to ensure that there are no unnecessary tear on the delicate card box.

I have tried many ways from using disposable plastic knife, flat pen knife, metal ruler and ice-cream stick. But one tool happen to be the best and that is the 'slim file' feature of a Swiss Army Knife. It does not have any knife edge so you are pretty sure you won't accidentally cut the box or yourself. This simple and trustworthy tool can also open a stubborn plastic casing commonly used by collectors to protect the box housing the even more precious Tomica.

Once the box is opened, the Tomica is usually wrapped in a plastic bag. Gently remove the Tomica and admire the beauty before wrapping it up with the humble tissue paper. If there is ample space in the tight box, a normal piece of tissue will do, if not, simply ply the tissue into thinner pieces before wrapping it up. If space is a constraint, wrap the Tomica in tissue and discard the plastic bag. Reason why I frown upon storing Tomica in plastic bag is simple, over the years in storage, there may be chemical interaction  (Van der Waals forces of attraction) between the plastic and the paint job causing the plastic bag to stick onto the Tomica leaving an ugly sight which is definitely a "no-no" for me.

Once the Tomica is wrapped up like a Egyptian mummy and placed back into the paper box, the whole content is placed into a plastic case (as seen in the photo above) and we are done in protecting the Tomica. 

For some hardcore collector, they may stored their Tomica in dry boxes, some will place silica beads into each individual box or silica pack/dessicator in the storage box. For me, only the more expensive models get the royal treatment of storing in electrical dry boxes and they do get rotated to be displayed (which is the fun of the hobby right? Why spent the money and then tuck the Tomica into the storeroom or underneath the bed where they will never see daylight?)

One of the wall of Tomica at my place which showcase my collection. It is away from direct sunlight and moisture. Most importantly, my sons walk past this wall everyday.

Another place which I display the Tomica released in the current year. You can see T-Kun and Tec-chan in this "Shrine". This shrine reminds me how fast the year past and to treasure happiness, health, friends and family.

When displaying your Tomica, common sense will tell you to avoid direct sunlight as the free radicals from the harmful UV rays will deteriorate the paint on the model or printing on the box. For those with display cabinet, do not store directly underneath LED lights as prolong exposure will have damaging effect on the print out of the boxes. I have seen one of my friend's display being ruin by these LED light. Other than that LED light is fine as long as it is not too near to boxes.

My collection is mainly based on Red-Box regular release (from 1988 and beyond). They can be Made in Japan, China or recent years Vietnam. I am glad to say I have the complete collection of regular red-box from 1985 to 2024 (as some pre-1988 release did make it to being feature as a red-box regular). I am still hunting for a piece or two which are rare from 1980s. Hopefully I can complete all red-boxes in years to come. 

Recently, Premium Tomica were added to my collection when they were introduced to the market. Along the way some models or box sets that I fancy also did made its way to my collection.

Old town sets appeal to me. I won't deliberately hunt for them but when the opportunity comes along I will acquire them. These town sets were be bought at a reasonable price from Toy R Us, Kiddy Palace and other major departmental stores like Metro, Isetan, Robinsons in Singapore. Some were bought overseas from Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan and even from Taiwan. 

You can see more of my town set collection in the near future as I have yet to find time to unpack them for photography.

(Site updated on 18 June 2024 )

(All photos are from my collection unless otherwise acknowledged)