Tomicarama/トミカラマ - 1/64 Tomica Limited Vintage Diorama Fun!

When I was a kid, where I'm from(Japan), dioramas were pretty popular.  Even if you weren't into plastic models or other scale models, all boys admired them & appreciated them.  Not sure how much of that lead to my fascination with Tomicaramas, but these Tomica-made diorama sets are my favorite backdrop for almost all hot wheels & other minicars.

My first Tomicarama set: Idemitsu Gasoline Stand(Japanglish for gas station) 02b

LV- N71d VW Golf II Cli

LV-92a  Nissan 3.5t Truck Coke Truck

Hot Wheels Ultra Hots '64 GTO

Very, very cool.  I guess the full name of the maker was actually Tomytec Tomicarama Vintage.  *whew*  I want to say that I paid something like $70 for this set.  Unlike the Shell gas station set I replaced this with, this set doesn't come with any vehicles, but it does feature one extra accessory in rooftop sign......  One that never stay upright.  If I was made out of money though, I'd buy this set again.  Sweet vintage goodness.

My Second Tomicarama:  Shell Gasoline Stand 02a

 

Kyosho Ferrari F355 & Porsche Carrera GT

RLC Custom Mustang + SS Express

I replaced the Idemitsu set for this Shell station for two reasons:  

1. I remember owning just one toy gas station set as a kid & it was Tomica Shell "gasoline stand". 
2. Idemitsu had Japanese writing(really old school one at that) on the building, which didn't suit when being used as the background for Western cars.

While this set doesn't feature light-up "Shell" sign like the one from my childhood, it truly has been my favorite backdrop/diorama I've ever owned.  Little Subaru truck in the place of the rooftop sign that refuses to stay upright was a bonus.  :)

My newest set: Parking Lot 03a(Itome Motor Pool)

This purchase ended up being just for the parts.  lol  With my Shell gas station, I routinely struggled taking picture of larger vehicles, such as buses & trucks. 

Tomicarama Parking Lot set was relative cheap($45ish?), and I figured that it would be wide enough to display those larger vehicles for shots.  

Not exactly.

First, I didn't realize that right half & left half were jointed with these connector pieces.

While I was able to utilize the parts to joint the two bases together, with those connector pieces in the way, also with those white painted lines from the parking spaces, I can imagine the challenges ahead if I wanted to take pictures of larger vehicles like the TLV buses, or Greenlight Hitch & Tow sets even on this expanded diorama, but for now, both bases are belong to us.

   *ahem*  Couple of pics of this Tomicarankenstein:

For many months, my minicar pics have featured two same cars in the background.  Green Dodge Viper(hot wheels) with the hood open in the showroom + the white Isuzu Bellett(F-Toys) in the garage.  I haven't decided if the green Chevelle(Greenlight) & beige Charger(M2 Machines) are going to be the regular fixture on the new expanded set, but I will say that they don't look bad. 

Only major issue I see outside those eyesore of the Tomicarama connector pieces are the "月極" on the "P" parking sign.  月極 is a popular term in Japanese parking lots, meaning that you rent the space on a monthy basis(tsuki-gime).  Just like with the Japanese writing on the Idemitsu gas station building, it doesn't fit the theme when displaying Western cars.  :(

 Speaking of the Viper & Isuzu:

To get the light inside the building, I always have the roof off.

Only major issue I see outside those eyesore of the Tomicarama connector pieces are the "月極" on the "P" parking sign.  月極 is a popular term in Japanese parking lot business, meaning that you rent the space on a monthy basis(tsuki-gime).  Just like with the Japanese writing on the Idemitsu gas station building, it doesn't fit in with the theme when displaying Western cars.  :(

One last bonus feature of this post, and good news is, there is no jabbering.  lol  This final Tomicarama belongs to my TLV collector friend(I have like two lol) Jarrod(aka Spacegoat from GTPlanet.  His cars).  

Highway Motors Used Car Dealer/Lot 04a

Kyosho Bentley Continental GT3

Tomica Honda Fit & Subaru WRX

What a sweet set!  Apparently, I lied about no jabbering, because I discovered something when I was looking up the name for this diorama.  "Highway Motors" sounded bit odd to me when I first heard it.

Apparently, this set was a collaboration between Tomytec & 高速有鉛デラックス(Highway Leaded Deluxe).  A classic car mag in Japan, according to Wikipedia(it's in Japanese, don't bother).   Magazine's namesake comes from the time when the leaded fuel was being banned in Japan, exception was made for highway driving.  It's from the internet, so it's legit.  Thanks Jarrod, not just for the pictures, but I learned something today.  :D

P.S.  You can check out more Tomicarama feature on  Lamley.

MAJOR EDIT: I was finally able to score the rare & much coveted police box/station.  Please check it out in this post.

FUN EDIT: