I want to do a thing for my dad.

"Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna" (lukielauxd)
10/27/2013 at 19:14 • Filed to: bluebird

My dad is a car person. And he made me a car person. Sometimes when I see videos and hear stories about how someone finds a car for their relatives or parents that have some sort of significance (wow, that was terrible vague) like the story of how a son found a Plymouth convertible for his parents since that was the car they got married in or something similar to that, so I just wanted to ask the Oppo community if you guys know where I can find this car.

It's a Bluebird SSS, specifically a U12, from the research that I got from it. I don't know any more about the specific model or anything other than it's an SSS and it might be a Limited.

Actually saw this little toy car on my trip back to Hong Kong and I told him to get it, I remember that even after converting the HKD to USD, it was pretty expensive for a toy car. And he gave me a long lecture about how his had pillarless windows. It was the car that my dad drove when he met my mom and sadly a drunk driver totaled it right a year or so before I was born which made my birth car into a Ford Mondeo instead. (Yeah, all this was in Hong Kong. He also got an Accord SI-R after the Mondeo, does that give him Jalop points.)

So yes, long story short, I've searched a lot of places and I realized that this will 100% have to be imported from another country and I've had the most luck finding examples but not exact match enough in Japan and New Zealand and I was wondering can anyone help?

Thanks.

DISCUSSION (4)

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna
10/27/2013 at 19:26

SSS Bluebird's came with either a CA18DET or an SR20DET (I think the vast majority were CA18DET's, I never personally saw an SR20 powered one), both had early versions of the AWD ATTESA drivetrains.

I used to have the Australian Pintara so the Bluey's were always the hero car that I thought I could get one day. I got a drive in one but that was about it.

Good luck finding one, not many left Japan.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna
10/27/2013 at 19:30

Just to be certain, you're looking for the model car, not the real one, correct? If so, I might be able to help, at least with some information about the company that makes it.

Anyways, I'm not sure if they're actually limited in quantities, but the Limited Vintage line is the top dollar line offered by Tomica. They're precisely modeled at 1/64 scale and I don't know of many other companies capable of cramming so much detail into a car that small. Seriously, this line is crazy, completely insane, it doesn't get much better than that in 1/64 scale. I think only Kyosho, also from Japan, and Autoworld, an american company that just began making diecast, can match it in detail, and neither one has the kind of model selection Tomica has. They're expensive, yes, but well worth the price, not only for detail, but also because they're very well built models and won't start chipping off with time like some other miniatures do.

Off the top of my head, I think the best place to start looking for them is Daboxtoys, an online store from Hong Kong. It's very well known and, while I have yet to buy from them (money being the issue), I've heard nothing but good things about them:

http://www.daboxtoys.com/collections/tl…

They have a red one of those listed right now, by the way.

Another great place to look for these is on ebay, of course, and since you mentioned Hong Kong, there are lots of great shops over there which carry these and offer international shipping.

Finally, if you need any more information on the line, what models are available and where to buy, it's always a good idea do contact John Lambert from the Lamley Group blog:

http://lamleydlm.blogspot.com.br/

He's a huge fan of the TLV line and I'm sure he'll love sharing information.

Hope this helped, and good luck with your hunt.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard
10/27/2013 at 19:36

http://www.boostclassifieds.com.au/advert/2293590…

That looks like a HNU12, they're the pillarless ones.
RNU12's have the B-pillar like the toy car you have.

Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion
10/27/2013 at 20:24

I'm actually looking for a real one but thanks for all the information on the toy car :D I'm also a toy car collector, on my last day during my summer trip to Hong Kong this year I traveled to a couple of shops there to look at the cars and they're amazing.