Tuesday, March 22, 2016

トミカラマヴィンテージ01a 派出所: Tomicarama Vintage 01a Police Box, Station, Precinct, Koban or just "Hashutsujo"

トミカラマヴィンテージ01a 派出所
 Hashutsujo(派出所) is basically a really big police box, or really tiny precinct.  Very common police presence in Japan.  For someone who grew up over there in the 80's, little diorama of hashutsujo building has iconic presence, thanks to this ultra popular manga that has ran since I guess the 1970's to today(I did not realize that it's still going!).  They even included the bicycle!(staple in the said manga lol)  Pics:

Tomicarama Vintage 01a Police station

This is the "01a", meaning that this is the first of the series.  Which equals $$$.  I recall seeing it for $119 on eBay loooong time ago.  It was before I was into TLVs.  I laughed at the price tag.  Last many many months, I looked for such price tag, but no luck.  Amazon had them for $130~$150 range for long time(free ship).  I jumped on it when it dropped to $99-something.  According to Tomytec website, it MSRP'd for roughly $50 new.  I was so happy when mine arrived in one piece!((figure of speech)

Tomicarama Vintage 01a Police box

トミカラマヴィンテージ01a 派出所: Tomicarama Vintage 01a Police

トミカラマヴィンテージ01a 派出所: Tomicarama Vintage 01a Police

Didn't open the tiny accessories consisting of two sets of desks/chairs + two dumpsters.  They stay sealed in the bag!

Tomicarama  Police

Very well detailed building, down to the doors & texture on the exterior walls.

トミカラマヴィンテージ01a 派出所: Tomicarama Vintage 01a Police

トミカラマヴィンテージ01a 派出所

Yard features random rocks & grass all painted neatly.

 Tomicarama   Police

Fences, roof & utility pole installed:

1/64 hot wheels diorama

 Tomicarama Vintage 01a Police station

1/64 diorama

There is a mention of "Highway Motors" again.  Check out my friend Jarrod's Highway Motors Tomicarama set at the end of this post.

 Tomicarama   Police bike

Ah, the bike.  What a nice touch.  Very well made, too.

1/64 bicycle

 Tomicarama Vintage 01a Police station
  
Beautiful Nissan Bluebird included in the set.  I'm told by another collector that the car is exclusive to this diorama set.  Fancy.  :)

Now a guest appearance by RAI'S R32 Skyline police car:

トミカラマヴィンテージ  派出所

 Tomicarama Vintage 01a Police station

Extra look at the Bluebird patrol car:

tomica limited vintage nissan bluebird police car

tomicarama nissan bluebird patrol car

tomicarama police 410 bluebird nissan

Is this set compatible with my Shell gas station set?  Let's see:

  Tomicarama Vintage police 410 bluebird nissan

トミカラマ ヴィンテージ

Daaaamn son!

トミカラマ

トミカラマ

トミカラマ

  Tomicarama Police

1/64 diorama

トミカラマヴィンテージ01a 派出所: Tomicarama Vintage 01a Police

Boy, this was fun.  Thank you very much for looking!  :)

 tomicarama Vintage 01a Police

P.S.  More Tomicarama coverage in this post.

tomicarama
Tomicarama Shell/Idemitsu Gasoline Stand + Tank Lorry

Please check it out!  :)









7 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. This link shows all Tomicarama set by TLV, EXCEPT the "Snake Motors" series: http://www.tomytec.co.jp/minicar/lineup/trv/index.html

      I think they are due for re-release though, Bertrand. It's just my gut feeling, but it's been about a year or two since their last Tomicarama release. If you can wait, you can save some coin waiting for the preorder. :)

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  2. Man, these Tomicaramas are far from being cheap ventures, but if you commit to them, you can create your own mini-Tokyo (or any other major city in Japan, mind you) scenery. Also, I can certainly relate to that famous manga you mentioned; while I do not call it by that long name, Kochikame (as it is known outside of Japan) is a very fun anime and manga to watch and/or read. I can never get enough of the characters' antics and sheer humor that happens in every given episode, and this police box is a great way to bring those memories alive.

    The fact that it comes with an exclusive-to-the-set TLV police car clinches everything about this Tomicarama. A police officer, a police bike, a police Bluebird... What more could you ask for? Actually, I do have to ask something; why did you keep the acessories sealed within their bags?

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    Replies
    1. Very impressed you know of the manga! Yes, nobody calls it by the long name.

      As for the accessory parts, I didn't open one that came with the Shell gas station set either. Too tiny to handle. Very cool Tomytec gives us these things, but I won't bother with them until I really need to. :D

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    2. Well, the anime is still being broadcasted here in Portugal, and has been so many times before. Currently, only the Spanish dub is being broadcasted, but we once had the original Japanese dub... And I bet that the original long name would be a nightmare for translators around the world, which is why it was shortened, I bet. (laughs)

      So you are afraid of breaking something within the set whilst trying to get those parts in place? Well I won't blame you, I'd be scared of doing so myself, haha. But it's nice of Tomytec to add these parts, I can certainly agree with that. They add a great deal of realism to an already accurate set...

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    3. Actually there is no assembly required. They are complete pieces, but just pain to setup due to microscopic size. :)

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    4. Ah yes, fair enough. They are 1/64 scale parts (if not smaller) after all, so I can see why would they be difficult to put in place...

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