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MB vs, Tomica: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X British Police
Topic Started: Mar 30 2011, 10:20 PM (2,739 Views)
Dragnet_Supporter
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SUV
First off, lets take a look at the actual car these castings are based on so we have a reference point.

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And now, let's see what sort of a job these two diecast companies did. The top picture is the MB version, the bottom one, Tomica. I'll keep it that way in all the comparison shots.

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Right off, you can see both companies have done a comparable job on the overall casting. The MB has a closer match to the wheels of the actual car, while Tomica gives us slightly smaller wheels that seem to be more basic fare. However, MB gives us a clear plastic light bar, while Tomica gives a more accurate blue one. I gave one point to MB for the tire, and one to T for the lightbar...making my first glance a pretty even score.

Looking at the side windows, however, MB has a clear plastic seperation/frame between the front and rear windows, while T has a nice black frame. One point for Tomica on that score.

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Moving on to an above view, it seems MB is missing the "Police" tampo across the front of the hood. This gave Tomica one important detail up on MB.

However, I took a closer look at both cars, and discovered MB has tiny wipers molded as part of the windshield, while Tomica decided to ignore the wipers and mold a tiny rear-view mirror on the windsheild instead. I gave this one a toss up as being fairly equal, though different in detailing.

Then I noticed MB had some tiny details molded on the upper part of the dash. Gazing further inside, MB had a nicely molded steering wheel, while Tomica gives us a flat round disc like many of the HWs interiors. The rest of the interiors were pretty equal, but these details gave MB an additional point, evening up the score once more between the two castings.

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The rear view put Tomica ahead by a point for the attention to proper detailing with the tampo work. The orange and yellow bars are something you see on many British police cars. And having the rear lights painted makes for a nice touch as well.

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Coming around to the front, we see some little chrome details, like the Mitsibishi emblem on the upper part of the grill, but on the MB version, there's actually a fine honeycomb texture molded into the grill. So I gave each one a point for fine detailing here.

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Of course, Tomica has opening doors, which I love, so I awarded them another point for that. This put T ahead by three points on overal attention to detail. Those who wondered about this fact concerning their buyout of the JL line can see the evidence of their paying attention to overall design.

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Other observations show that both cars did get the steering wheel on the proper side, unlike some JL British Invasions that did not always do this.

Also, we have to consider what MB is giving us for a buck here. It may be lacking a few details, but it was a very close race. And when you consider the wheels and interior being more accurate on the MB, I think it's safe to say Mattel did a much better job than, for example, JL did with their recent Yorkshire police car.

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Swifty
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The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
Thanks for the comparison!

Normally I would give the comparison to the Tomica, but oddly enough I think Matchbox has slightly changed the overall look of the real car (roofline/rear fenders) and made it look better than Mitsubishi did!

So the comparison still goes to Tomica for accuracy but I have to give credit to Mattel for being better at car design than the staff at a major automaker!
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Dragnet_Supporter
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Swifty
Mar 31 2011, 01:09 AM
Thanks for the comparison!

Normally I would give the comparison to the Tomica, but oddly enough I think Matchbox has slightly changed the overall look of the real car (roofline/rear fenders) and made it look better than Mitsubishi did!

So the comparison still goes to Tomica for accuracy but I have to give credit to Mattel for being better at car design than the staff at a major automaker!
Makes you wonder about some of the inaccuracies we frequently see in diecast. Most of them get called out as bad because they don't follow the original car exactly. But I can see many designers working out their fantasies on how they would've improved the car, or just trying to put their own stamp on casting so they can call it, "My version!"
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QuicksilverDC
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After looking at both and the actual car my 1st impression is that the Matchbox captures the car better than the Tomica, the Tomica looks stuffy and the Tomica wheels just aren't making it to me, however both are are nice and glad to have Mitsubishi represented.
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Black Wind
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Midsize
Very nice comparison. However, I would like to make a few notes about the MB version which might bring it's score up a bit. First, the MB version has side mirrors which the Tomica does not have. Second, the MB Evo has that little 'radio antina' thing on the roof, just above the rear window. And third, the MB Evo has a Mitsubishi logo on the boot, under the third brake light, which the Tomica lacks. Also, MB's Evo has a better overall finish IMO. I hope I helped with this one!
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NoirGuru
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Renesis
May 23 2012, 09:45 AM
Very nice comparison. However, I would like to make a few notes about the MB version which might bring it's score up a bit. First, the MB version has side mirrors which the Tomica does not have. Second, the MB Evo has that little 'radio antina' thing on the roof, just above the rear window. And third, the MB Evo has a Mitsubishi logo on the boot, under the third brake light, which the Tomica lacks. Also, MB's Evo has a better overall finish IMO. I hope I helped with this one!
Welcome to the board!

Those are very valid points, I always found it interesting to see which brands make what details stand out.

Personally, I like more tampo hits versus the casting details, but I did have a bit of an issue as to why didn't Tomica put the Mitsubishi badge on the back? (It's a prominent detail in a relatively flat spot!)
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Black Wind
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Thank you for welcoming me! I am a huge fan, and collector, of Hot Wheels and Matchboxes. I friend gave me links to this site and I immediately registered as I found this site to be very nice and informative. I am looking forward to help more into the site.
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Swifty
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The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
Welcome to the Garage! :)
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JustDavid
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Welcome Renesis! Great group of folks here.
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