Category Archives: minicars
The Toyota Celica Supra and Mazda RX-7 make amazing transforming robots
You will soon be able to get highly detailed toys of two iconic Japanese sports coupes that transform into robots. Incredibly faithful to the 1980s Transformers they’re paying homage to, these recreations have super realistic automobile likenesses. However, due to … Continue reading
Posted in minicars
Tagged a60, ferrari, Leonardo Fioravanti, Matasaburo Maeda, mazda, Pininfarina, rx-7, sa22c, supra, toyota, transformers, XTransbots, Yukihiko Yaguchi
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3DBotMaker’s JNC Tournament Final Round
Well, here it is the final round of 3DBotMaker‘s Japanese Nostalgic Car tournament. Who’s going to win? It’s the moment you (or at least we at the JNC water cooler) have all been waiting for. The two top finishers from … Continue reading
3DBotMaker’s JNC Tournament Round 2
Round Two of 3DBotMaker’s JNC tournament has aired and, man, I am disappointed in myself. By all accounts my Toyota 2000GT should have been fast — it was painted like the Yatabe record breaker after all — but I didn’t … Continue reading
3DBotMaker’s JNC Tournament Round 1
Round One of 3DBotMaker’s JNC tournament is here, and it’s a nail-biter. We have a beautiful lineup of, by coincidence, color matched classics with a heavy white, blue and red theme. The race is run four times, with cach of … Continue reading
3DBotMaker’s JNC tournament qualifying round
Here it is, the qualifying round for 3DBotMaker’s Japanese Nostalgic Car tournament. This race will set up the brackets and provide an idea of how fast the cars are. We had no influence on the tournament other than selecting the … Continue reading
3DBotMaker’s JNC diecast racing tournament begins this weekend
We at JNC are excited to announce a partnership with 3DBotMaker, the premier diecast racing league. For the next four weekends, every Saturday the 3DBotMaker YouTube channel will be broadcasting the Japanese Nostalgic Car tournament, in which all the Hot … Continue reading
MINICARS: The Kaido House Datsun 510 begins Jun Imai’s next chapter
Jun Imai is a pivotal figure in the diecast world, having transformed the most “hot rod” of diecast brands into a leader in Japanese minicars. For that he became a star in the collectible car world, and ever since he … Continue reading
Inside the world of Kimono My House, one of the oldest Japanese hobby shops in the US
Before anime and Japanese sci-fi became mainstream on US shores, a small hobby shop in Emeryville, California filled that niche for those in the know. Kimono My House is probably the oldest Japanese toy store in the United States, its … Continue reading
Posted in minicar, minicars
Tagged diapet, Initial D, Mazinger Z, minicars, tomica, Ultraman, wangan midnight
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Transformers to release an updated, more realistic Honda City robot
The character named Skids was not a very memorable one from the original Transformers lineup. We honestly can’t remember anything he did in the cartoon series. But, he was a Honda City hatchback in car mode, something we didn’t really … Continue reading
RIP Ryu Asada, Hot Wheels designer, 1978—2021
Ryu Asada, beloved designer of Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars, has passed away after a hard-fought battle with cancer. He was 42 years old. Ryu was immensely talented and instrumental in bringing a multitude of well-loved cars to the Hot … Continue reading
MINICARS: There’s a very good reason why this Toyoda AA model from the Toyota Automobile Museum costs ¥3,350
If you’ve been to the Toyota Automobile Museum’s gift shop, perhaps you’ve seen a 1:43 scale model of the company’s first production car, the 1936 Toyoda AA. It’s available in two colors and you can buy it for ¥3,350 (approx. … Continue reading
MINICARS: Help us identify this grotesque Datsun 240Z toy car
Recently we received a bizarre toy that has us puzzled. It looks like a Datsun 240Z or S30 Nissan Fairlady Z that, instead of rolling on four wheels (which it has), walks on human feet. There are a few markings … Continue reading
This is the most detailed Seibu Keisatsu DR30 Skyline model ever released
The DR30 Skyline from the television series Seibu Keisatsu is the latest car to undergo transformation into a super-detailed 1:8-scale subscription model. When all is said and done, it’ll take almost two years and ¥200,000 (about $1,930) to complete the … Continue reading
MINICARS: The Nissan R390 GT1 Road Car joins the 2021 Hot Wheels lineup
The Nissan R390 GT1 Road Car has been a dream machine for so many. Nissan made only one to homologate for Le Mans in 1997, and never put it up for sale. However, come 2021, you can buy it for … Continue reading
MINICARS: This 1:150-scale Toyota Crown is one of the smallest R/C cars we’ve ever seen
There are minicars and then there are minicars. A Japanese radio controlled car builder has constructed one of the smallest R/C cars we’ve ever seen. It’s based off of a 1:150-scale Tomytec Toyota Crown, but all its guts have been … Continue reading
MINICARS: The Hot Wheels FC Mazda RX-7 will be recolored in white
The Hot Wheels Mazda RX-7 FC3S was already one of our favorite new castings of the year, but the next recolor really cements it in our list of all-time greats. As revealed by the Hot Wheels Dream Team of Mattel’s … Continue reading
MINICARS: How to turn a Hot Wheels Nissan Skyline into a kaido racer
There’s a whole subculture of customized Hot Wheels and, as it happens, an ever-growing list of Japanese castings. That gives ample opportunity to create something cool from Japan’s rich car culture, like this Kenmeri Skyline kaido racer. It’s hard to … Continue reading
MINICARS: The classic Tomica Building playset updated and re-released for 50th anniversary
Originally released in 1971, the Tomica Building was one of the most popular and iconic playsets from the diecast company’s early years. The palm-sized diecast cars that had debuted in 1970 had turned out to be a big success, so … Continue reading
50 YEAR CLUB: Tomica
Fifty years ago today, car culture in Japan was forever changed with the introduction of Tomica, the country’s first authentic diecast miniature cars in the 3-inch range. Launched on August 18, 1970, they quickly became the most popular diecast toys … Continue reading
