Thursday, November 27, 2008

Collection: Tomica Limited 0074 Honda City Turbo II & 0093 Toyota Corolla Levin

TL0074
TL0093

I managed to get this pair of cars on one of my rare rounds to Puchong. Although Puchong is relatively near, I don't make a trip there as often because there is a need to pay toll everytime you go and come back to my area.

However, the one time I decided to make a trip there I was not disappointed. I got two pieces of Tomica Limiteds that I did not have to add to my collection, and they were not found near my area.

The Honda City Turbo II is not like the one you see on the roads today. It was nicknamed "The Bulldog" and its not hard to see where it came from. According to wiki, this car is produced from 1983 till its retirement in 1987. This casting my Tomica includes a little motorbike (which I mistaken for a radio at first) at the back when you open the back door, which is not detachable from the car though. :-P

The Toyota Corolla Levin is the brother to the more famous Toyota Corolla Sprinter, both of which are called the AE86. They are differentiated by their headlamps: the Levin with the fixed rectangular and the Sprinter with the pop-up. The AE86 was a choice model for both rallying and circuit races when it was in production, which kind of shows that it somewhat has a racing pedigree. Today, the AE86 can be found on drift circuits due to its FR configuration.

TL0074
TL0093
levin city
levin city

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Collection: Tomica Limited 0059 & 0060 JGTC Supras

TL0059
TL0060

I managed to purchase these exquisite pieces of Tomica Limited Japan Super GT Series from Mr. Jonathan, a collector that I have mentioned many times on my blog I believe. So much so that I can say that a portion of my collection comes from him.

Since a few months ago, I have switched my collection focus to Tomica Limiteds. True, I have been featuring Hot Wheels collection sets, but they lost their appeal due to lack of detailing. Plus I have managed to complete the models I am looking for, so I would leave the Hot Wheels to be used for customizations as they are cheaper. :-)

So then, these are my first two JGTC Tomica Limiteds. The TL0059 and TL0060, Esso Ultraflo Supra and the Yellow Hat YMS Supra. The JGTC cars are special compared to other Tomica Limiteds in the sense that even though they follow the running production numbers of other Tomica Limiteds, they have a slightly longer box, better design and drivers pictures on it. And of course, the cars are all better detailed as you will see from the photos below.

There are 105 Tomica Limiteds produced up until now, and I have 9. Looks like another 96 to go! :-P

TL0059
TL0060
supras
supras
supras
supras
supras
supra

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Spotted: Hot Wheels Hot Bird Wave

19/11/08

The Hot Bird wave has finally arrived. Managed to grab this from a local TRU and a similiar wave was spotted at another TRU. Others have spotted them in Giant outlets too.

However, the cars in this wave that is new is only the Hot Bird T-Hunt. Other cars included in this wave are those we have seen before: Tooned Enzo (Black), Lotus Esprit, Nissan Skyline (Gold), Nissan Z (Silver), etc.

So for the 2008 line up, Malaysia still has Rockster, 16 Angels, Qombee, Camaro, and Drift King waves to go. There are 12 T-Hunts in a year, supposedly one wave and T-Hunt for each month. We have one month to go and 5 more waves left to collect.

Well done, Mattel. Well done.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Kustom RideZ: Hiway Hauler


The hauler is done! It is owned by Mutt, whom I previously mentioned was a forumer and friend from LYN. According to the base chassis on this truck, it is first casted in 1992. Since its first appearance in the basic cars line up in 1992, then in 1994 and subsequently in 2002, it has never made it back to the basic cars line up. However, it has been produced under other series, such as last year's Holiday Rods and various 5-Packs.

truck custom


When Mutt handed me this truck to be customized, I was quite lost as to how to go about customizing it. He didn't give any specific instructions as to how he would like it to be customized, he just simply told me to use my creativity.

Mind you, this was my first time customizing a truck. So I decided to play it a bit on the safe side.

custom hauler
custom hauler

First off, the usual process of drilling off the rivets and paint stripping for the hauler cab. Then the hauler cab is sprayed on a coat of primer. While the paint stripper is used for removing paint, thinner can be used to remove tempo. Just a splash of thinner and a bit of elbow grease helped me remove the tempo on the container. However, try not to scrub too hard or too long, because if you are not careful the plastic will be scrubbed out as well.

custom hauler
custom hauler
custom hauler

Next is selecting the wheels for the truck. I have requested for Mutt to source for the Custom Chevy Super T-Hunt wheels to be used for this truck. I adjusted the axles to suit the truck, and the rims and container were sprayed chrome silver.

While the chrome dried, I proceeded with parts fabrication. Using metal wires, floppy disc and ball point pen ink tubes, I made the exhaust pipes, spot lights and rear lights.

custom hauler
custom hauler
custom hauler

Next, painting the cab. I sprayed two coats of red (one thick and one mist), and then another coat of clear to protect the paint. After the chrome paint dried, I also produced the tempo for the container. I chose red for the cab because it goes well with the Spitfire logo, and the Spitfire logo was chosen because that is Mutt's avatar picture in LYN. :-)

The fabricated parts were painted next, and while it was drying, the chassis, wheels, body and container were glued together. The fabricated parts were glued on thereafter, along with a bit more tempo and detailing. My apologies as I do not have the production photos for these processes as it was late at night and I did not have my phone or camera nearby as I was working on it. :-|

So finally, it is done and the pictures of the final product are below! I took out the previous custom VW Golf and the restored DD to join this photoshoot. :-)

Custom #5 - 21/11/08
Custom #5 - 21/11/08
Custom #5 - 21/11/08
Custom #5 - 21/11/08
Custom #5 - 21/11/08
Custom #5 - 21/11/08
Custom #5 - 21/11/08
Custom #5 - 21/11/08
Custom #5 - 21/11/08
Custom #5 - 21/11/08
Custom #5 - 21/11/08
Custom #5 - 21/11/08

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Kustom Restoration: Toyota AE86 Corolla

restore ae86


Surprise! I know the next custom is supposed to be the hauler, but hear me out. A friend of mine, told me to help him finish up detailing his AE86 in exchange for a favour, as he helped me drilled out the rivets off the cars.

When I asked what he wanted me to do, all he said when he handed the body to me: "Tofu car."

To those Initial D fans, I guess you already know what it is. To those who don't, Initial D is an anime that revolves around the world of drifting on mountain passes in Japan. Go Google it up. :-)

So all I had to do was detail the body and add the black bits on the AE86. So I began by masking up where the white bits of the body are supposed to be.

restore ae86
restore ae86

Then black paint was sprayed on, and left to dry for a day. After that, the masks are removed.

restore ae86
restore ae86

Then details such as the rear lamps and indicators are painted on. It wasn't easy, because there are many small areas to be painted, it was a real test of patience. And then some more paint touch up is done because the masking tape that I used has produced jagged edges, which was quite annoying. >:-|

2 layers of clear coat (one thick, one mist) and a tempo addition later, its done! Ready to be shipped back to my friend for him to finish up the rest of the car. :-)

But before that, I took some photos of it along with the Tomica Limited Corolla Levin and Tomica D1 Trueno Sprinter. Enjoy the pictures, and I hope to do a full Tofu Car custom in the future.

Restoration #3 - 20/11/08
Restoration #3 - 20/11/08
Restoration #3 - 20/11/08
Restoration #3 - 20/11/08
Restoration #3 - 20/11/08
Restoration #3 - 20/11/08
Restoration #3 - 20/11/08