Tomica Demand and Supply

I have recently posted Type R for sale again and my stock is running out fast. Orders from local and overseas. So I would like to chip in my 2cents on this situation.

Also like everybody else, I am trying to get my hands on the Limited Edition with rubber tyres. So far my top sellers are Civics, JDSF, Evo Limited and believe it Lamborghini (for USA market!).


If you look at Ebay.com trend, the price of Civic Type R had gone up a lot. My co-collectors said perhaps this is due to shortage internationally as the demand is high. So your diecast has gone up in value!

My friend in Singapore recently showed me a truck which cost a couple of dollars that he had kept since he was a little kid and now the asking price is a whooping USD$100. So keep your "hot cars", your ROI will come in the later years.

What I like about these diecasts are that it just felt like trading stocks, unit trust and commodities. Buy now, sell later for higher returns but make sure you keep the some of the gems for huge return. Just like when the stock market CI was at 600, I remember a chap saying ahh too expensive, cannot commit into the some mutual funds, which the rest of us did buy. Then the market hit 1200, dont care what fund you have, you make the $.

Well, before Sept 16, there may be a change in Government where Pakatan Rakyat may takeover. We always joke that the co-collectors may have to take a break from Tomica and concentrate on stocks. Mr. Lee if you happen to read this..time to buy that Ebbro once the knee jerk reaction comes in the market and we make the $. Ok stopping my blabbling. Here are some pictures of the Civic.

Japan Type R

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The Honda Civic Type R is a very high powered and strong performing, new version of the Honda Civic. Civic Type R continues to become a popular automobile alternative to the much more expensive cars in the world today.

Specifications

Engine Type	4 Cylinder, 16 Valve, DOHC i-VTEC
Fuel Supply System	PGM-FI (Programmed Fuel Injection)
Bore & Stroke (mm)	86.0 x 86.0
Displacement (cc)	1,998
Compression Ratio	11.7:1
Maximum Power [PS (kW) / rpm]	225 (165)
Maximum Torque [Nm (kg-m)]	215 (21.9)
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Euro Type R

2nd Generation

1st Generation

Initial D Toyota AE86 Levin & Trueno

DRIFT KING - AE86

Why is there so much excitement among the hot blooded male with Initial D ? Well checkout these videos and crank up your PC speakers !!!

AE86 vs R32



Initial D Movie - Introduction




Initial D - Tomica Style - I like this!

So here my latest collection, my very own all time favourite AE86..... bet most guys wants to drive like the AE86 driver.


ASAHI X KIRIN 1/72 INITIAL D REAL MODEL COLLECTION

TOYOTA AE86 Levin.

Descrption from seller:

RARE ITEM, Sold only in Japan - OFFICIAL LICENSED PRODUCT FROM INITIAL D - FEATURING CARS FROM FAMOUS CHARACTERS

MANUFACTURER
	JAPAN

Initial D Movie Pic

My next hunt is Initial D AE86 Trueno ! Anybody has one for sale ? I am looking for a Scale : 1/27 or so AE86.

Toyota Corolla AE86: Facts

The Toyota Corolla AE86 is a classic drift car suited to rally and drifting motorsports due to these attributes: Rear wheel drive limited slip differential configuration, low vehicle weight, good balance, a 5-speed manual gearbox, ventilated disc brakes, MacPherson strut style independent suspension in front and a four-link live axle with coil springs for the rear, stabilizer bars (sway bars) at both ends, and a relatively powerful and easy to tune 4-cylinder engine.

AE86 Levin

Both the Levin and Trueno AE86 variants were offered with either a 2-door coupe or 3-door liftback, or hatchback, body style. Both the Levin and Trueno were generally identical, apart from fixed, rectangular headlights on the Levin and pop-up headlights on the Trueno. Minor bodywork changes were made in 1986 which resulted in different tail lights for both Levin and Trueno models, along with the coupe and hatchback styles.

Toyota AE86 Trueno

Ferrari vs Kia

Just to share amusing differences between Ferrari and Kia cars that I got from a friend....

Ferrari......

KIA......

Honda Civic Type R and Evolution X Limited

I have just got back from overseas. My day after office time was spent hunting for Tomica! What else ? The locals in the foreign country went along for the search. The advantage of knowing where to lookout for "good" stock is always in the hands of the local boys.

Some of the imported stock

Hey, thanks MR. T for the assistance and hope we can swap cars in the future. Above are some of my "new stock" that arrived for this week. I am letting go some of the CTR so mail me if you're interested. Yeap Civic Type R is still red hot in the market.

Customs at the airport searched my hand carry as they found unusual small little boxes during the scan. The lady custom officer looks a bit puzzled when I showed these little boxes are actually Tomica toy cars. She did not know what to do and had to get her superior. Wondering if they want to confiscate my Tomicas. NO WAY ! Been spending nights searching for them, you're not taking it.

Any way, things cleared up and my new found Tomica stock will soon have a place in my already cramped cupboard.

My all time favorite. Well until my AE86 arrived anyway.

Tomica just recently launched Mitsubishi Evo X Limited edition with rubber wheels, nice side mirrors and more details than the previous regular model. Great to collect yours now before they run out of stock. By the way, was informed Singapore is selling this for SG12.95, pretty steep price.

Tomica JSDF Light Armoured Vehicle

Tomica JSDF Light Armoured Vehicle had reached our shores !! It is not easy to find this Tomica War machine. I had been hunting high and low in Malaysia and at last got them from overseas market. Further, was informed there isn't any left in the local market. A fellow collector sold 2 units at RM60 each !!! This must be gem.

Anyway kinda of refreshing Tomica toy model instead of all cars and trucks. Hope they also produce Panzer Tanks.

This is Tomica Model No.114 and Scale is 1/66.

JSDF patrolling the streets of Holland ?

JSDF stands for Japan Self-Defense Force. This JSDF vehicle is part of the military ground force (army) of Japan. The largest of the three services of the JSDF, the Ground Self-Defense Force operates under the command of the chief of the ground staff, based in the city of Ichigaya, Tokyo.

A peek at the JSDF vehicle....

Mitsubishi EVO Custom Wheels

EVO X Custom Wheels

Been looking around and noted it's cool to modify your cars and I always wanted Need For Speed modified cars with crazy decals, vinyl and huge nitrogen tanks and wheels.

Here is my attempt at swapping Hot Wheels tyres with Tomica's. I guess the new set of wheels looks pretty neat on the Evo X.

This Hotwheels tyres actually belong to an ex-Volkswagen Touraeg V10.

Next to the 2 Evos is a HotWheel Pickup which I initially intended to swap tyres but after second thought, it doesn't look like it can fit into the Evo.

I will try later on using Acrylic Paint to customize some of the cars here. This gonna be interesting project and hope it turn out to be good.


Here is a closer look at the Tomica Evo X. Looks like theme here is red...red.

Closer shot at the cars. I need better cameras. Canon DSLR 400D will be good enough I think. Oh by the way my Civic Type R stocks had arrived!

The larger Evo in the middle is a Saico Evo VII. I like the rear of the car. A friend commented I like Evo. Yeah baby, that's true. Now if fortune were to smile at me, perhaps I can get the real thing well maybe the Mitsubitshi GT will do.

In Malaysia, there is an epic political battle between the ruling Government and Opposition which had just recently gained more Parliment seats. They may even take over as the ruling government under a charismatic leader, Anuar Ibrahim.

This ongoing battle made the Malaysia stock market ride like a roller coaster. Well the stock market players may have a chance to buy low and sell high if it comes to all out Do or Die battle between these 2 titans . Ah my GT may come true if I am lucky in the market.

Saico EVO VII

EVO X The Real Thing

Mitsubishi GT - this is more down to earth. Maybe some decals will look great on this RED one.

Preserve Tomica Cars with Thirsty Hippo!

I am convinced that high demand collector cars will go up in value after a while just like antique items. So how to keep them in mint condition ?

FYI...some of the "hot" cars sold increased in value 500% over the orginal price. Research shows Evo and RX8 is now getting in demand, great to collect now.

My 2 collector mates said to use Thristy Hippo which will suck up the moisture from air and will assist in keeping the cars in their original condition.

This is what I am doing,

1) Wax the cars with Turtle WAX. Use only micro fibre cloth. Once they are shinning and up to your standard.......

2) Place them in their original box. Bubble wrap them for extra protection.

3) Seal them up in a box with thirsty hippo!

4) Of course I have also models displayed in my Ikea Billy Bookcase and not everthing in the sealed box. I need to use up the 2nd book shelf at the rate the cars are coming in...

You guys have any other ideas to preserved the cars ?