TomyTec Car Collection Surprise

[cfritschle]

DM Toys is showing two TomyTec car collections as new.  I missed any pre-announcement of these models.  The following links will take you to the N1 and N2 car collections on the DM Toys web site.

https://www.en.dm-toys.de/produktdetails/items/Tomytec_287476.html

https://www.en.dm-toys.de/produktdetails/items/Tomytec_287483.html

While the models in the collections are 1:148 1:150 scale, some may be suitable for “stand-in” vehicles that could either “blend” with 1:160 vehicles, or be strategically placed to “disguise” that they are oversized. 

Each collection includes one each of the following vehicles:

Nissan X-Trail - A compact SUV that has grown in size over the years.  The model appears to represent the second generation X-Trail that was introduced for the 2008 model year.

Nissan Gloria - A station wagon version of the early 1980s Nissan Gloria 430.  The early 1980s Gloria has some styling similarities to a 1980s Buick Century.

Nissan Serena - A minivan that has been around since the early 1990s.  The TomyTec model represents the fourth generation Serena, which was introduced for the 2011 model year.

Nissan NV350 - A large van, the NV350 replaced the Nissan Caravan in mid-2012.  The 1:148 1:150 version of the NV350 would probably be very close in size to a 1:160 scale Ford Econoline E-150.

Edit:  I have been looking at too many Oxford Diecast models and wishing those were 1:160 scale.   

[Ed Kapuscinski]

If anyone gets these and has no need for the Nissan Gloria wagons, I will HAPPILY take them off your hands.

Thanks for the heads up!

[cfritschle]

Here are links to some better images on the Hobby Search website.

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/image/10502515

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/image/10502517

[MK]

Great details!  Look at the wheels!

[Mark5]

Such a shame that TomyTec doesn't make 1:160 vehicles.

[peteski]

Such a shame that TomyTec doesn't make 1:160 vehicles.

They do. 
Most of these look fine on American 1:160 layouts.  Now the 1:144 scale models from British manufacturers do stand  out as being out of scale, but most Japanese prototype cars blend in nicely.

I think their buses are 1:160.

[cfritschle]

They do. 
Most of these look fine on American 1:160 layouts.  Now the 1:144 scale models from British manufacturers do stand  out as being out of scale, but most Japanese prototype cars blend in nicely.

I think their buses are 1:160.

Peter,

The answer is both 1:160 and 1:150 for the buses.   

The TomyTec North American prototype bus (https://www.walthers.com/north-american-gmc-tdh-4512-bus-unpowered-world-bus-collection-yellow-green-white) and the European prototype bus (https://www.en.dm-toys.de/produktdetails/items/Faller_974545.html) are 1:160.  All of the TomyTec Japanese prototype buses are 1:150, and there are a lot of those!

[wes_sutton]

They do. 
Most of these look fine on American 1:160 layouts.  Now the 1:144 scale models from British manufacturers do stand  out as being out of scale, but most Japanese prototype cars blend in nicely.

I think their buses are 1:160.

In theory the Oxford line are 1:148.

Graham Farish (Bachmann) did a very nice range of British buses that were supposed to be 1:148, but when they were unloaded off the boat it turned out they were all 1:160 

[Philip H]

Those SUVs look close enough for me. And how about the light bar on that one station wagon? Those would be really easy to convert for 1980’s use on American cars. Dont suppose they can be bought separately?

[Mark5]

They do. 
Most of these look fine on American 1:160 layouts. 

They are noticeably larger - at least to my eye. They made an awesome 240z, but it is as large as a mid size car next to 1:160 models.

I think Carter posted some pics a while back that illustrate this.

But if they look good to you - use em!

Mark

[peteski]

They are noticeably larger - at least to my eye. They made an awesome 240z, but it is as large as a mid size car next to 1:160 models.

I think Carter posted some pics a while back that illustrate this.

But if they look good to you - use em!

Mark

They are larger - that is indisputable. But (also as Carter mentioned), many Japanese vehicles are smaller than similar types of American vehicles, so even in larger scale they do not dramatically stand out. Especially, if they are not placed closely to the 1:160 scale vehicles.  However 1:150 scale of some easily recognizable smaller vehicles, like the Datsun 240Z, will clearly look out of scale next to 1:160 scale models.

[cfritschle]

Just in case anyone missed this when it was first put out on the web five years or so ago, the N Scale Vehicle Association website has comparison photos of the TomyTec 1:150 scale vehicles from the car collections with common (at least at that time) 1:160 scale vehicles.   http://nscalevehicles.org/resources/tomytec_collection_p1.php

Page 2 of "The TomyTec Collections" is missing the vehicles from collections 6 and 7, and has duplicated the sets 11 through 14 that are on page 3.  I will see if I can get the web master to fix that.  Edit:  This has been fixed!

And, the two N basic sets just released would have logically been part of Car Collection 16.  I wonder why TomyTec choose not to introduce these as a package of 24?

And as Mark posted, the TomyTec Z cars were the size of 1:160 scale Corvettes, not 1:160 scale Porsches as they would be in "real life".   

Which only goes to confirm, "Blending is in the eye of the beholder."   

[cfritschle]

I finally got around to taking some comparison photos.  For starters, the dimensions of the 1:150 Nissan X-Trail are very similar to the dimensions one would expect to find for a 1:160 scale Nissan Pathfinder.  Here are a couple of comparison photos of the TomyTec Nissan X-Trail with an Atlas Ford F-150.



And here are some comparison photos of the TomyTec Nissan Serena with the Atlas Ford F-150.  I am not sure what the Serena will work for as a stand-in, but the size is about right for a 1:160 scale van.



Next we have a couple of comparison photos of the TomyTec Nissan Gloria station wagon with the Atlas Ford F-150.  The Gloria would look a lot better if the rocker panel was sanded so the doors were nearly flush with the bottom of the car.



I had no expectations that the TomyTec Nissan Caravan might work as a stand-in for anything 1:160 scale.  And, I still don't, as is evident in these two comparison photos.



I will try to get some more comparison photos the TomyTec N Series vehicles with some other 1:160 scale models this weekend.

[peteski]

Very interesting and handy visual comparison - thanks Carter.
I agree that the Nissan Caravan is sure an oddball, not well suited for American roads.  But the other ones look pretty good. Nice to have some new, and fairly inexpensive (and rather well made) modern vehicles which should look good on U.S. based layouts.

[cfritschle]

Very interesting and handy visual comparison - thanks Carter.
I agree that the Nissan Caravan is sure an oddball, not well suited for American roads.  But the other ones look pretty good. Nice to have some new, and fairly inexpensive (and rather well made) modern vehicles which should look good on U.S. based layouts.

Peter,

While the Nissan Caravan is certainly an oddball, it is surprisingly similar in size to the Busch Mercedes Sprinter.  The 1:150 scale Caravan is not quite as long or as tall as the 1:160 scale Sprinter, but both are approximately the same width. 

And, I did get some more comparison photos.  For this group, I thought it might be interesting to shoot some photos of the TomyTec vehicles with some 1:160 scale vehicles that are offered by the German manufacturers.

Here is a comparison of the TomyTec Nissan X-Trail with a Busch Mercedes ML Class SUV.  I consider the Mercedes ML a mid-size SUV.


And next we have the TomyTec Nissan X-Trail with a Busch Land Rover Defender. 


Moving on, we have the TomyTec Nissan Serena and a Wiking Volkswagen T5 GP.  These two vans are nearly identical in size.


Another comparison photo of the TomyTec Nissan Serena, this time with a Lemke Volkswagen T3.


And for the final comparison photo, we have the odd looking Nissan Caravan with the Busch Mercedes Sprinter.


What perplexes me is that TomyTec is able to produce these models so they can retail (in Japan anyway) for approximately $23.00 (U.S. dollars) for the four-pack.  If Walthers does import the N sets, I imagine we will be looking at retail price of probably a little more than $30.00, which still is not not bad for four model vehicles, if you can figure out a way to use them.  One thing I did notice with this set that was not on some of the older TomyTec basic sets I have is a label on the package that states:  "NISSAN / OFFICIAL LICENSED PRODUCT"

I am guessing this could be one reason they are slightly more expensive than some of the earlier TomyTec basic sets.