Model of the Day: OEM Factory Series 2 Porsche 911 Carrera S (991)...

With the sexiest of all cars, the Porsche 911, celebrating the big 5-0, let's celebrate with one of the best 1:64 renderings of the current 911.

One important rule for all diecast car companies is this:

Do the 911 a lot, but never screw it up.

Thankfully, screw-ups don't happen a lot, but they happen.  I can think of a couple of Hot Wheels versions that didn't look like they could.

Thankfully, the 911 (991) coming out of the OEM factory is flawless.  This matte black version is my fourth, along with one in gold, one in orange, and one in gulf colors.  I like it.

I will let the photos explain why.

(Find the Porsche 911 at Daboxtoys, including the Gulf exclusive...)


OEM Porsche 911 Carrera S (Series 2 Matte Black):

First Look: Tomica Limited Vintage Neo Nissan Fairlady 280Z-T 2by2...

There is a funny thing that happens at the Matchbox Gathering.  I talk Matchbox, I think Matchbox, I listen to all kinds of things about Matchbox, and I photograph Matchbox.  But I come home with a lot of other brands.

In my car on the way home from Albuquerque were the Gathering models and the prepro I won at auction, but they were surrounded by some Hot Wheels, a couple of 2013 Super Treasure Hunts, and a load of Tomica Limited Vintage.

The only message to read into that is that sometimes you can get current Super TH's you don't have for a good price ($10 in this case), and I will do anything I can to get my hands on Tomica Limited Vintage.  It has nothing to do with Matchbox, but there are very few models I don't have that are on my want list.  So I come home with a lot of diverse stuff.

The last two years it has been all about the Tomica Limited Vintage.  There is a side of me that wishes I hadn't discovered these, because $15 to $25 a pop adds up quickly.  But man they are worth it, but if you follow this blog at all you know I think that.



Being late to the game on TLV's means there are many I have missed.  While I don't need to go after all of them, there are a few I hope to acquire eventually.  That was what this meeting was all about.  Thanks to Japanese collector Takuo Yoshise and US seller Jeff Koch, I was able to acquire some extremely elusive models like the Datsun 510 Wagon and 79 Corolla, which I will show soon:

A nice bunch eh?  There are quite a few I am looking forward to showing.

But let's start with the newest TLV's.  So new that I think I can do my first Lamley "First Look" on a Tomica Limited Vintage.  They are those two over on your left, the Nissan Fairlady 280Z-T's.  One in black, one in white.

Second-generation Z, completely JDM with the Nissan badge and Fairlady ID, and apparently power windows because it is the "T".  A perfect TLV: familiar, but a little off the well-beaten path that most diecast-makers take (even with JDM).  As more and more of these models come out, and as TLV is started to expand into cars from other continents, it gets more and more exciting to see what is coming.

When execution looks like this, your want list gets expansive...

(Find the TLV 280Z on ebay or over at Daboxtoys...)


Tomica Limited Vintage Neo Nissan Fairlady 280Z-T 2by2:

Model of the Day: Tomica Limited Vintage Datsun Bluebird Estate Patrol Car (and other TLV Police cars)...

This weekend will be all about Matchbox.  The Gathering to attend, models to preview, models to buy, collectors to intermingle with, Mattel Design and Marketing to chat with, and so on.  This is a great weekend for yours truly to put on his geek hat and do all things Matchbox.

But with all that Matchbox-ness, there is a little sideshow that happens with yours truly.  With all the Matchbox to talk about and buy, I might come home with more Tomica Limited Vintage than anything else.  TLV guru Jeff Koch will be there, as will a friend from Japan who has helped me acquire a nice amount of models that are very hard-to-find here in the States.  Corollas, Subarus, Toyotas, Skylines, you name it.  I will be in JDM heaven (and I will be broke).

But there is one model I am looking forward to having more than any other.  I will finally have the red Datsun Bluebird Estate (and the silver will be following shortly).  Combine my love for JDM with my love for station wagons, and mix in a little personal nostalgia, and you have a model I have been looking high and low to find.



Up until this weekend, the Datsun Wagon Patrol Car has tided me over.  And it has done a nice job.  I have already professed my love for the simplicity of the Osaka Police livery, and that it looks good on just about anything that falls in the "vehicle" category.  The Datsun Wagon is no exception.  Better, I will let you be the judge.

The Bluebird Patrol Car is part of the exclusive Tomica Shop line.  They are only sold at the Tomica Shop in Japan as a store promotion.  I don't know much more than that, but it appears that the Tomica Shop exclusives favor a police deco.  I have five Tomica Shop exclusives, all police cars, all but one in Osaka livery: the Datsun, the Skyline Van, the Land Cruiser, and Porsche 912.  The last, a Toyota Crown, is an unmarked police car.  If you want, you can see them all below...

Alright, I will go back to thinking Matchbox for the next four days, but I will reserve a little spot in the brain for TLV...

(There is one TLV Datsun Patrol Car on ebay right now, but I would also check out this seller who has some fantastic TLV Police models [and I have used him before]...)


Tomica Limited Vintage Datsun Bluebird Estate Patrol Car (Tomica Shop exclusive):

With the 510 Sedan

The Lamley TLV Police Collection:

Datsun Bluebird Wagon

Nissan Skyline Van

Nissan Fairlady 260Z

Toyota Land Cruiser FJ56V

Nissan Cedric

Porsche 912

Toyopet Crown