Tomica Hypercity (UK) Illustrated Product List

chrisjo · 2022-01-04T04:54:11+00:00

Before we get to the actual products, a note on release dates: On 19th June 2010 you could have read on tomy.co.uk that “Tomica is nearly here!”, that “T...

chrisjo

Just to be clear, the motorised one is not Tomica Hypercity, it was the standard Japanese Tomica version.

As with a number of other examples in the Hypercity Product List, the Hypercity one is a dumbed-down (aka cheaper to produce) version of the Japanese original.

You can see the battery compartment on the roof of the showroom.

This is what the roof of 85305 looks like, you turn the grey knob to rotate the turntable (I think the motorised one can also be operated manually, the knob is white on that one) :

The Hypercity 85305 box illustration shows the motorised version, not the one that's contained within. I will add some relevant text to the entry for 85305 in the lead post in this thread.

Super

Thank you Dr Chris ðŸ˜ƒ

Sharpe-Fan

Plarail Man UK

I often think the reason why Tomica Hypercity flopped in Europe and the UK was mainly because of Hot Wheels and Matchbox having a monopoly in die-cast cars in the UK and Europe alongside European die-cast car brands, and again Trackmaster Thomas, and the flaw of Tomica Hypercity’s die-cast range having a bias on Japanese cars despite the fact the regular Tomica line has a mixture of Japanese cars and non-Japanese cars (Tomica having introduced the Ford Focus RS500 in 2014 just after Tomica Hypercity) that were mainly sold in sets or multipacks (the American edition of Tomica Hypercity was able to sell single packs of die-cast cars). While Tomy attempted to sell Tomicas in America again from 2019 to 2021 on their own, Tomica Hypercity’s failure pretty much killed off the idea of Tomicas being sold in the UK and Europe after Tomica Hypercity was axed in 2013, leaving Mattel, Majorette, etc having a monopoly on die-cast cars, in addition to Tomica Hypercity’s axing mainly leaving model railways with real-life trains in Europe and the UK.

chrisjo

Sharpe-Fan I often think the reason why Tomica Hypercity flopped in Europe and the UK was mainly because of Hot Wheels and Matchbox

An interesting idea, but the cars were a small and insignificant part of the Hypercity sets in which they appeared, so I can’t really agree with your analysis. It was the railway system that failed to catch on.

Sharpe-Fan

chrisjo

I agree with your point with the railway system for Tomica Hypercity not being able to catch on, but still, the cars too failed to catch on as well, not worth helping (yes, the cars were usually packed in sets or four-packs, small and insignificant or not) that Mattel already had a lion’s share of monopoly with die-cast cars (Hot Wheels, and the acquired Matchbox) along with the European-based Majorette, and the fact that Europeans and Americans would probably be unfamiliar with Japanese cars. And even if Tomy UK and Europe went the same approach as the American version of Tomica Hypercity for diecast cars (having some sold in single packs or two-packs), the line will still fail at the end of the day.

But still, Tomica Hypercity’s failure at the end of the day still killed off the idea of Tomica die-cast cars being sold in Europe and the UK along with killing off the idea of motorised real-life trains that are not model railways.

chrisjo

Ah, I can see now where your confusion originates.

Yes, many Tomica cars were indeed sold under the Hypercity brand in the USA, whereas this thread is about the somewhat different Tomica Hypercity range as marketed in the UK - as clearly defined in the title: Tomica Hypercity (UK) Illustrated Product List

I need to be corrected if I’m wrong, but as far as I know no Tomica cars were sold as Tomica Hypercity in the UK or Western Europe, either singly or in sets, except for the Honda 4-pack and the Hino Profia petrol tanker listed in the lead post in this thread. I’m not counting the Hyper Blue Police and so on fictional vehicles.

The great thing about the USA Hypercity cars, for me, is the large selection of Plakids that came with them (re-branded as Tomi-heroes).

chrisjo

Have you have ever wondered whether the train in your hand is the Plarail version or the apparently identical Tomica Hypercity version?

One good clue is that in 2002 in the European Economic Community and 2005 in the UK it became mandatory for electrical goods to carry a symbol of a wheelie bin with a cross through it and a bar beneath it (known as the WEEE symbol) to indicate that the item (usually electrical or electronic equipment) cannot be disposed of with regular household waste and must be recycled separately under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations.

The picture below shows the chassis from the train in the Hypercity 85402 Big City Set, whose Plarail equivalent, without the symbol, is the S-07 E1 srs Shinkansen Max.

Super

chrisjo 2002 in the EEC

What is the EEC?

Destination Realization

chrisjo not only in the UK, some mid-late 2006 US engines also have this, my old Thomas is marked 706 for example and he had the bin thingy in his motor.

chrisjo

Super What is the EEC?

edited post above

Super

So does the trash can pertain to just disposing of the battery or the whole train?

chrisjo

Super
The Directive aims to promote the recovery of useful materials, primarily metals, from the wiring and PCBs in electronic items. In the case of a simple Plarail train, I imagine the only recoverable component would be the copper windings in the electric motor, and it’s very hard to imagine this ever happening. Recycling of batteries is separate.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste_Electrical_and_Electronic_Equipment_Directive

chrisjo

Destination Realization some mid-late 2006 US engines also have this

AI says: ‘While the WEEE mark is not a federal requirement in the US, many electronic products sold in America still carry it because they are designed for global markets.’

« Previous Page