Bosozoku.
We are sure a good number of you are familiar with that term. If you are not, think Mad Manga, the Hot Wheels model we famously named our Model of the Year for 2012. Bosozoku is the most extreme of Japanese car scenes, with their mind-boggling exhausts, chin spoilers, shark noses, and less-than-subtle colors.
A car culture like that had to start somewhere, and it wasn't an "oops, I dropped chocolate in this peanut butter and holy shit that's good" moment that started it. It had to start with something that made car fans giddy. Giddy enough to start replicating it with their own cars, soon moving from replicating to evolving, and then creating a whole scene in and of itself.
So where did it start? It started with the Super Silhouettes, a class of Japanese racers in the early 80's that were as over-the-top looks-wise as they were fast. The Group 5 racers were part of the Fuji Grand Championship Series from 1979 to 1983, and had to follow some very strict rules.
Those rules? The race car must have the same silhouette as its street-driving counterpart, and pretty much anything else was allowed. So the modifying began, and the results are nothing short of complete 80's automotive excess. The cars were wide, sported enormous spoilers, and always led with bulldozer-inspired front spoilers. And these cars became the dream cars of the car obsessed Japanese youth.
And none more so than Masahiro Hasemi's Nissan Skyline, sponsored by Tomica. Google the term "super silhouette" and some of the first images you will see will be Hasemi's flame-belching behemoth in red and black.
These cars are legendary, and that is why we are so happy Tomica Limited Vintage decided to take them on a few years ago. There is no diecast maker more qualified to do a 1:64 replica, mainly because there is no better 1:64 diecast maker, and also because they sponsored the damn Skyline.
And we are lucky enough to have one, thanks to Japan Booster. Actually lucky enough to have three, with another coming. One Skyline, and two Bluebirds, and we want to showcase them here.
So we are going to start with the Skyline, and return later to showcase the Bluebirds. The Skyline, as our friends and Japanese Nostalgic Car have said, along with the Bluebirds may be the most detailed 1:64 models around. We don't know what could be better.
So yes, mix 80's excess with a kid-worshipped car, and it give it looks like the Skyline, and you have an obvious Cool is Cool is Cool...
The detail means these models don't come cheap, but we have asked our friends at Japan Booster
to list a few and they said they would, as well as honor the free shipping deal on any orders over $50. It is well worth it...Tomica Limited Vintage Nissan Skyline Super Silhouette:
