Childhood Memories - Aviva Peanuts

Do you remember having any one of these Aviva Peanuts vehicles while growing up?  I grew up watching Charlie Brown & Snoopy cartoons, it was not my favourite but it still made my eyes glued to the screen. I remember playing Snoopy & the red barons video games on Atari as well and I was hooked. My mum only allows me to play video games during school holidays so I treasure the time playing my Atari.

Among all the Aviva Peanuts vehicles, the Charlie Brown racing car is the one I had connections with. I had this when I was a kid and I am trying to collect all the childhood toys I felt connected to. I thought this racing car is made by Tomica then because it looks identical to my Tomica Mazda Sigma MC74. Aviva produced the toy under licence so there are a few Avivas which were Tomicas in disguise. It was an interesting toy to me then because Charlie Brown is on the driver seat of a "Tomica".
  

My cousin had one of these trucks too which I believe was the button wheels version. I believed that our toys were bought together which I couldn't recall at all. I tried to exchange my Charlie Brown with her Snoopy but was not successful. Probably she like Snoopy over Charlie Brown. It is surprising that the button wheel Hiace Truck was made in Japan while the rest of all vehicles here are made in Hong Kong. This is also one of my favorite Peanuts vehicles beside the Mazda Sigma.

Here are some other Aviva vehicles which are based on Tomica casting. I think the Datsun No.1 is missing, any other cars missing which you think I should start hunting?

My Tomica Memories - Compact Cars

During the 80s, it was common to buy fabric to tailor made your own clothes. My mum and aunt often brought me out for their fabric shopping during those days. They would usually go to Beauty World, Chinatown or nearby Boon Lay Shopping Centre. I am totally not interested in fabric for sure and I will resort to ways of cutting the trip short. I will tell my mum that I wanted to go home or any excuses to make things go my way. My "Ah Yee“ (my mum's sister) will usually pacify me asking me to be good and she will buy me toys after their shopping. It was an afternoon trip to Boon Lay Shopping Centre, after their shopping, my aunt brought me to a departmental store where NTUC sits today. I don't have the slightest idea what is the name of that departmental store. Any kind souls who are old enough to recall let me know the name of the store? My dad brought me to the same store to buy my first RC car (actually it's a van). I was welcomed by the 2 Tomica display cases filled up with Tomica. If I remembered it correctly, the cases should be red resembling the one above. The display cases were placed on top of a glass cabinet which displayed RC toy cars made by either Taiyo or Nikko. The sales girl stands behind the counter and I choose the car I want. She will take the car I need from her counter instead of self service today.

As usual, I will need to pick 2 cars which one will be for my brother who isn't there at the scene. The Honda City for myself while the Red Suzuki Cervo for my brother. I usually choose a hatchback over a saloon car when I was a kid. I always had the impression that a hatchback looks more beautiful than a car with a boot. That might explains why I had 3 hatchbacks and never a saloon car as my daily ride. Did you realise that the Cervo and the City comes with black and red box respectively? I believe it was during the transition period from black to red box. I guess it was the mid 80s then.

1984 Honda City Turbo II. This is one of my favourite Honda cars although I am seriously not a Honda fan. I find that Honda made the best cars during the 80s (in terms of styling). To name a few, the '87 Accord Aerodeck, '83 and '87 Civic 3dr and '85 Quint Integra. Note that all are coincidentally hatchbacks. The City is one of the few Hondas which incorporate a turbocharger on their engine.

1982 Suzuki Cervo. Not very sure why I chose this then. I guess it's a hatch and it's a nice little car. I have sentiments on Tomica I used to play as a kid so I have to get a mint version when I can afford them.

Before I picked the 2 little hatches, I pointed this to the sales girl and she told me that it was out of stock. I was attracted to this car because of the unique colour. I was kind of disappointed then as I wanted this Pontiac Firebird Trans AM very much (because of the colour) but never did I imagine I could buy this car when I grow up. Thanks to the creators of eBay that I could buy this some years ago.

Best Tomica of 2013

2013 ended and it's time to do a recap of the Tomica released last year. We saw foreign cars released almost every month. Not a bad thing for collectors who love foreign vehicles but most of the cars are badly made. Is there any good cars made in 2013? Yes, a couple of them but not something I would say outstanding. I will grade them from A to F, "A" being the best of course. Again, this is something I do for fun yearly so please do not get offended if my opinion does not synchronize with yours.

1/66 Volkswagen Beetle, Made in Vietnam

Release Date: June 2013

Remarks: This is the car I have been looking forward but it turns out to be a flop. The Beetle suffers the most corners cut for 2013. In my opinion, Beetle should be scaled between 1/60 to 1/62 instead of 1/66 as this scale is for big saloon cars. The rear window is not spared either. They did it on opening hatch 2 decades ago and they are doing it on rear window in recent years. This is something I couldn't accept for a Tomica. Real Toys and RMZ City can do a proper window for their cars at half of the price.

Award: Most Disappointing Tomica of The Year

Grade: F

1/67 Tokai Challenger, Made in Vietnam

Release Date: April 2013

Remarks: Actually no major faults with this car because I can't really think of any special working features for this type of vehicle. The vehicle is too simple to have any flaws. Why this car is released is a puzzle to people like us who are non Japanese. Most of us will not really appreciate this vehicle and I foresee that it will be another short production Tomica. It is ranked lowly because it is not mainstream and it is not really something which collectors looking forward to buy one. 

Award: Least Popular Tomica of The Year

Grade: F

1/59 Fiat 500, Made in Vietnam

Release Date: September 2013

Remarks: The Fiat 500 came a little late as the actual car was around for quite some time. The Fiat 500 has the worst front end. The headlights and grill are done abruptly without much thoughts. Side windows and rear hatch windows are painted. Car has no suspension as well.

Grade: F

1/64 Chevrolet Corvette, Made in Vietnam

Release Date: February 2013

Remarks: Overall presentation is nice but if you look closer, there are some cost cutting measures too. The worst feature is the big chunk of painted rear window which could have been made of plastic instead. The front headlights seems painted by some primary school children. Paint quality and opening doors save it from being ranked last of the lot.

Grade: F

1/61 Toyota Corolla Field, Made in China

Released Date: January 2013

Remarks: I would rather Tomica made the Corolla Axio like what they did on its predecessor. Side windows are painted, rear hatch has painted window. They could do it like what they have done for the Legacy wagons. If they couldn't do a proper opening hatch, they could have just do opening doors or bonnet.

Grade: E

1/62 Volkswagen Polo, Made in Vietnam

Release Date: August 2013

Remarks: It looked really promising when Takara-Tomy presented it on their official website. I thought we might have a winner until I saw the actual product. Again, there is no plastic rear window.

Grade: E

1/60 Audi A1, Made in Vietnam

Release Date: April 2013

Remarks: The front end is nicely done and that is all about it. Rear hatch problem once again. Majorette done a better A1.

Grade: E

1/65 Toyota Porte, Made in China

Release Date: May 2013

Remarks: Ditch the rear hatch, they could have done a sliding door instead as it is the trademark of the Porte. I seen the actual car and I am quite impress that Toyota made a small car so spacious. Tomica did put in effort on the plastic headlights but it just didn't blend into the car well.

Grade: E

1/58 Honda N Box, Made in China

Release Date: August 2013

Remarks: A well made Tomica although it has no suspensions. I could have rank it higher if not for the rear opening hatch. This should be the best Kei car among all the Kei cars in 2013.

Grade: D

1/58 Honda N-One, Made in Vietnam

Release Date: November 2013

Remarks: No much complains on this car with exception of the rear hatch.

Grade: D

1/58 Suzuki Wagon R, Made in Vietnam

Release Date: September 2013

Remarks: Another nice Kei car made by Tomica except for the rear hatch.

Grade: D

1/59 Mitsubishi Mirage, Made in China

Release Date: June 2013

Remarks: I saw this car roaming the roads in Bangkok when I was there last year. Honestly not really a fan of this car but Tomica managed to do a nice job on the Mirage. It did not win my top vote due to the ugly opening hatch.

Grade: D

1/64 Porsche 911 Carrera, Made in Vietnam

Release Date: January 2013

Remarks: Tomica made the 911 too fat or should I say crude? It managed a better ranking because there is a rear plastic window. A basic feature and it should be there by default but I find it funny that it has become a rarity in Tomica now. 

Grade: C

1/65 Subaru Forester, Made in Vietnam

Release Date: November 2013

Remarks: A little surprise that Tomica made the Forester finally as previous generations were not considered. It seems like painted 3rd quarter side windows are now a trend in current Tomica. Nice model which suffers from budget constrain.

Grade: C

1/69 Nissan NV350 Caravan Fire Chief, Made in Vietnam

Release Date: October 2013

Remarks: The Nissan NV350 is actually a very well made Tomica regardless in the form of a Fire Chief car or Ambulance. If you look at the rear windows, Tomica could have do an extra effort to cut the windows out since they do not coincide with the rear pillars. 

Grade: C+

1/69 Nissan NV350 Caravan Ambulance, Made in Vietnam

 

Release Date: July 2013

 

Remarks: Same remarks as the Fire Chief Car. Take note that the Ambulance has plastic headlights.

 

Grade: C+

 

 

1/61 BMW Z4, Made in Vietnam

Release Date: March 2013

Remarks: Everything looks in place except for front grill not pronounced or sharp enough.

Grade: B-

1/64 Porsche Boxster, Made in Vietnam

Release Date: May 2013

Remarks: I wanted to rank it in top 3 but there are better cars for me to pick from. Overall, it is a well made Tomica.

Grade: B+

1/174 John Deere Combine, Made in Vietnam

Release Date: March 2013

Remarks: There are many John Deere collectors out there. This John Deere doesn't disappoint as a Tomica. As it is made to very small scale, we shouldn't nit pick on the details. Take note that there are many parts made for this vehicles and a few moving features as well. 

Grade: B

Isuzu Elf Sagawa Express, Made in Vietnam

Release Date: December 2013

Remarks: As Isuzu Elf was made sometime ago, I did not rank it highly. Besides, the previous Sagawa truck was much better made.

Grade: B-

1/62 Audi R8, Made in Vietnam

Release Date: July 2013

Remarks: A super car considered very well put together by current standard of Tomica. Just a whisker shy of making it into the top 3.

Grade: A-

1/64 Lotus Evora GTE, Made in Vietnam

Release Date: December 2013

Remarks: Nicely made especially the detailing are mould into the casting. It could be better if it is not white.

Award: Bronze

Grade: A

 

1/66 Mazda Atenza, Made in Vietnam

Release Date: October 2013

Remarks: You will not see a Japanese sedan with opening doors and rear plastic window in the near future.

Award: Silver

Grade: A

1/68 Nissan Cima, Made in China

Release Date: February 2013

Remarks: I would say it's the same remarks as the Atenza. Front and rear end finish is nicely done. It looked better than the Atenza in my opinion.

Award: Gold

Grade: A+

Japan 2013 Toy Car Shopping

I have friends telling me that they would like to go hunting toy cars with me in Japan one day. I can do that according to your schedule if you can buy me a ticket to Japan (strictly Singapore Airlines). Jokes aside, I need to check my own working schedule too because I have my own commitments in life. For the shopping trip this year, Ken Box messed up my schedule totally because they cancelled their Omocha Carnival at the very last minute. I don't have the luxury to amend my schedule for the Wonderland Market 2 weeks later because all flights were full. I planned my trip 3 days before my flight which I took 3 weeks in advance for the previous one. For Ken Box, I was a little reluctant to go to because I had a hard time on my trip last year as I spend 30 minutes looking for them. I am not spared again this time because they shifted to another location. I had tough luck with Ken Box all the time.

If you are really into rare variants or looking for a particular model of a Tomica, Ken Box is a shop you will not want to miss. They arrange all the Tomica according to series and Tomica serial number. The range is just too wide to be true.

You will be able to find Tomica issued by various minicar shops in Japan.

You also find Tomica from the vintage black & yellow box of the regular domestic series.

Besides Tomica, you will also find other brands such as Diapets or Eidai etc.

I bought some Tomica in Ken Box but what made me excited are the 4 Korean toy cars I bought. I can hardly find these in eBay and I don't think I seen the 3 of the models in eBay in recent years. I think the Korean toy cars made me more excited over the Tomica I bought. The most satisfying purchase for the trip. I will do a posting on them soon if I have the time to do so.

Since Minicar-TMT is not too far away from Shu-Stock, we will check what this shop has to offer.

You will be disappointed if you are looking for Tomica because only a few pieces are available only. They have lesser toy cars as compared to my last visit in 2010.

There is a good range of Tomica Dandy and basically vintage toy cars from the 70s to 80s.

There is also a good range of Yonezawa Diapet but I didn't find the cars I need for my collection. We headed to Shu-Stock next after Minicar-TMT. I am surprise that I did not flash my wallet here because we will spend a few hundred dollars on every shop we visit usually.

Because we score almost nothing (well, my friend bought something) in TMT, we are looking very much forward to Shu-Stock because we know there will always be something waiting for us to bring back.

As usual, we were fascinated by the range of Tomica Shu-Stock has to offer. Honest opinion, there are lesser stuff to buy comparing to previous visits. Since the carnival is cancelled, I will spend my money in Shu-Stock. Apologies for the poor photos taken in Shu-Stock.

 

These are just tip of the iceberg. I managed to fill up 2 basket full of Tomica and toy cars of all ranges from 500~5000yen. Finally, I ended up paying more than a grand in a single shop. Felt good and painful at the same time.

You can actually see Minicar Global from the train station and it is a shop which requires least walking.

I bought a couple of Yonezawa Diapet here. Besides Tomica, Diapet started to grow in my collection.

Tomica are sold on consignment basis. This is also a shop I love to visit as you might find some bargains if you are not concern on the condition.

 

There is a wide range of Tomica Dandy in Global.

Time to make final payment and move to next destination, Gulliver.

After greeting Nakata San, we dash off to the cabinets of toy cars which are under consignment basis.

I am actually looking for Cherica (by Yonezawa) as there were abundant of them when I visited in 2010. There were almost gone in 2012 and I hardly see any this trip. I bought many Tomica instead.

II ADO is one of my favourite shop because you never know what you will expect to find. Good for collectors who collect all brands of toy cars.

Although it is a small shop but we spend more than an hour or two in II ADO.

 

If you are into Tomica only, you will be disappointed in II ADO because they have just one cabinet full of them only. I did not buy many Tomica here as I converted my cash into Diapet.

You have to keep your eyes open most of the time as cars are just all over. Ask for assistance if required once you found something you need.

You can find almost any brands here. You name it and they have it. I even saw 2 Mandarin in one of the cabinet.

After 1.5 hours of shopping, I bought many Tomica and Diapet. I am always satisfied with Diapet shopping in II ADO because there are always so many to choose from here.

I bet many collectors especially friends from Indonesia buy from CREAmart. We travelled out of Tokyo to Saitama Prefecture specially to this shop to check it out. This is for all of you who bought from CREAmart. We travel almost an hour from Tokyo to Kawagoe and I use my instinct to walk to the building where CREAmart resides. I am astonished that I managed to find CREAmart in no time without using my google map and this is the first time I visit them.

CREAmart found and it's on the 3rd level.

 

CREAmart is a small shop that you might bump into the cabinet behind you if you have a big ass like me. The online shop looks larger than the physical shop.

Besides Tomica, there are also other toy cars available for sale.

Small numbers of Tomica are found in almost every cabinet. I spoke to the shop owners, a friendly couple, in their early 30s. They hardly speak a word of English and my Japanese is as good as their English but they are very friendly and helpful people. I managed to get the stuff for a friend who requires some TL in his collection.

I found another item for another friend also my boss from Let's Play. Price is 12,800yen for this pumpkin carriage which is way over boss's budget. I am happy that I did not buy this or boss will snap my neck without mercy. If I were to come to this shop again, I must look for places or toy cars shops interesting enough in Saitama before making another trip. My new year resolution for 2014, visit Japan again!