Recently, Tomica’s ’50 Billionth Year Anniversary’ has become a trending topic on Japanese Twitter. You may be wondering, ‘Why 50 Billion?’ In reality, it is Tomica’s 50th anniversary this year, and this new ’50 Billionth Year Anniversary’ is just one part of this big new celebration, complete with special limited edition content and products.
A Short History of Tomica
From when Tomica first started production of its line of mini cars in 1970, it has sold over 670 million products! At the time that Tomica was first established, small-scale mini cars were mostly replicas of imported foreign brand cars. With a deep understanding of this situation, Tomica went against the trend and started selling high detail mini versions of Japanese brand vehicles.
The name Tomica is a reference to the 3-inch mini vehicles which were the main product of the company. At the time a company called Matchbox mainly led the field in the mini vehicle market. Mini vehicle sizes at this time varied, but over time the scale was unified and the products began to be referred to by number.
The amount of detail expressed in various facets of Tomica cars, such as the chrome-plated wheels with aluminum foil pressed on via a technique known as ‘hot stamping’, suspension mechanisms, and manipulable doors, bonnets and trunks are all features carried over from the Matchbox cars of that time. Tomica has since become a popular brand worldwide, with various series such as Japanese domestic cars and foreign cars, Tomica Limited, and Tomica Premium.
Celebrating 50 Years of Quality Mini Cars!
A special “Tomica 50th Thanks Festival” has been scheduled to be held at a commercial venue. Events such as a display featuring the history of Tomica, a huge diorama, and a ‘Tomica 50th anniversary photo spot’, and a greeting event for characters from the new anime series, but some related events have been canceled or postponed due to the current coronavirus situation.
As of this April, a new anime series,’Tomica Kizuna Gattai Earth Granner’, is also being broadcast to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Tomica. It follows twin brothers Raiga and Kuga as they work together with the Earth defense team Earth Granner to combat the alien force Dark Spinner, which is after ‘Earth Energy’ created by the earth’s rotations.
In addition to all of these wonderful celebrations, Tomica has collaborated with various famous car manufacturers this year for a 50th anniversary celebration project.
The first limited edition mini vehicle, released in April as a result of this collaboration, is the “Tomica 50th Anniversary TYPE R Honda Civic”. The second vehicle, set to be released in June, is the “Tomica 50th Anniversary Toyota GR Supra”, and the third vehicle, set to be released in August, is the “Tomica 50th Anniversary Commemorative Nissan GT-R”
Tomica 50th Anniversary TYPE R Honda Civic
The first of the collaborative limited edition mini car products to be released this year. A special creation with original decals and designs, you can immediately notice its celebration of Tomica’s 50th anniversary from the ’50’ decals along its surface!
Entering the World of Mini Vehicles!
Whether you have been collecting mini cars from brands like Tomica since the original Matchbox days, or you are interested in making this your new hobby, it has never been easier than now to build up your Tomica mini car collection, even from outside of Japan! Check the link below for a great selection of Tomica goods from various stores!
