Tomica vs Realtoy - Nissan Skyline GT-R R35

The Godzilla Skyline was released some years ago and my comparo came some years later. Maybe it is due to no worthy contenders then. I was in TRU last week searching for Tomica new release of the Reventons. They did arrive early this time but they have been totally swept by the usual Hotwheels and "fast car fans" scalpers again. Yes, both first colour and regular Reventon, all gone! Darn! To my disappointment, I turn to the buy 2 get 1 free Realtoy instead. So, I found these.

Realtoy are kind of underrated in the die cast world. They do look quite ugly a decade ago but they have improve quite a fair bit in recent years. They have made quite interesting road cars especially 4 doors sedans but mostly are European (especially German) cars. It will be a great idea if they can consider making Japanese 4 doors.

Realtoy do come in all kinds of packing like the Fast Lane series in TRU. Tesco do have their own packing too and I believe that there are many more Realtoy contracted to different departmental stores. It is similar to what GM has done to Daewoo and some of other makes under their umbrella. There's another edition which is packed in a clear plastic display and they are selling at Tomica prices which I don't think I will buy them. I will rather buy a spare Tomica at that kind of pricing.

My first impression when seeing both Realtoy and Tomica side by side. The Realtoy looked really impressive as it look really proportional if you were to compared to the Hotwheels version. The Tomica is in right proportion but instead of using a set of 20" sports rims, it is using something much suitable for a Nissan March so it looked a little out of place. Well, this can be forgiven by a Tomica lover as this is Tomica tradition of using either button or dish wheels. If you asked me, I still have a slight preference of the Tomica over the Realtoy.

Proportions:

Realtoy: 4.0 / 5.0

Tomica: 3.5 / 5.0

Casting:

Realtoy: 3.8 / 5.0

Tomica: 4.0 / 5.0

If you were to ask me to describe Realtoy, I would say that it is a great alternative to Matchbox (current day) if you are not accessible to Matchbox. We had this problem in Singapore too. Matchbox are scarce almost everywhere. Realtoy and Matchbox share almost the same scale and they produce road cars rather than cars that are imaginary. If there is a die cast Top Gear TV show, I bet Jeremy Clarkson will name Realtoy as the reasonably priced car. Only exception that Stig will not be able to race in it. I must say that the decals and detailing used on Realtoy are above expectations. It is even better than those used on Matchbox. I wouldn't recommend Tomica to go into the same direction because I like Tomica the way it used to make Tomica. I just can't accept detailing by decals although this is the trend now. I know I am a little stubborn in this. I just felt that the making of the casting if much more important. I don't need decals to tell me that it is a Nissan or a Skyline.

Detailing:

Realtoy: 4.5 / 5.0

Tomica: 4.0 / 5.0

The downside of Realtoy is that it doesn't equipped with suspension like Tomica did. Suspension means a lot to me as I always had lots of fun on toy cars that comes with suspensions when I was young. Tomica also did come with opening doors. The Realtoy had nothing but it doesn't really matter if nothing opens. I do understand that some kids or even adults do appreciate doors that opens because they think it has much better play value.

Play Value:

Realtoy: 3.0 / 5.0

Tomica: 4.0 / 5.0

General quality of Realtoy is above average, some models can be term as good but definitely not excellent. If you asked me if I will consider buying more Realtoy, my answer will be positive if there is a promotion of buy 2 get 1 free. I am actually thinking of going to TRU tomorrow while writing my post. I wanted to buy more Realtoy mainly because they made nice road cars. Paint quality of Realtoy is close to Tomica quality. Tomica felt more mass when you hold it comparing to Realtoy which felt a little "hollow". Worth mentioning is that Tomica uses clear plastic in its headlights which is a nice touch. Realtoy beat Tomica in the interior department which I think Realtoy spend a little more effort which Tomica lags these day. Realtoy had "blink blink" wheels in some of their cars which is a total turn off. The wheels in the white and gray Realtoy doesn't look attractive to me too. I still prefer Tomica wheels even though they are a little smaller.

Overall Quality:

Realtoy: 3.5 / 5.0

Tomica: 4.0 / 5.0

What Realtoy should do in order to be a Tomica and Matchbox beater. Get some suspensions and change the design in the wheels. I would suggest laser wheels used in some Matchbox. They look great in any cars. Let's check if the cars are made to scale. Realtoy is scaled down to 1/60 while Tomica to 1/61. I got the real car measurements as 4655mm (L) x 1895mm (W).

Realtoy 1/60:

77.70mm (L) x 32.00mm (W)

After Blown Up: 4662mm (L) x 1920mm (W)

Difference: +0.01 (L) x +1.32% (W)

Score: 4.9 / 5.0

Tomica 1/61:

75.69mm (L) x 31.03mm (W)

After Blown Up: 4617mm (L) x 1893mm (W)

Difference: -0.82% (L) x -0.11% (W)

Score: 4.9 / 5.0

It's a surprise that Realtoy are build so close to scale. Tomica are also close to the real thing but it's kind of within expectation as Tomica is a Japanese mini car specialist. I gave both cars the same score since the results are almost neck to neck.

Verdict:

Total scores for Realtoy: 23.7 / 30.0 = 79.00%

Total scores for Tomica: 24.4 / 30.0 = 81.33%

The results is almost on par which I say no real winners. It's just a matter of perference but kudos to Realtoy which is not expect to excel. Although they are priced below Hotwheels, Matchbox and Tomica but certainly give a good run of money in terms of value and quality.