In the early years, Tomy produced cars with famous characters sitting on them, using the same castings from the regular Tomica line. The first of such was the Snoopy character cars from the 1970s. Tomy did not market and distribute these cars. Rather, they produced these for Aviva, who sold the toy under the Aviva brand name. In the early 1980s Tomy produced models with Muppet characters. Also in the 1980s, Tomy started producing vehicles with Disney characters under the Putica Disney series name. This popular series was made until the late 1990s and was also re-issued in the original style boxes sometime during the 2000s. The earliest Tomica cars had one-piece chrome-plated wheels. Starting in 1971, models were produced with two-piece wheels of various styles, with the one-piece chrome-plated wheels being phased out in 1972 (except that all the models made in Hong Kong had the one-piece wheel design). The two-piece wheels were used until 1977, while newer one-piece wheels of various styles have been adopted since 1976, and are still used today. Other series [ edit ] Long Tomica [ edit ] New long vehicles from the Tomica regular line are a bit smaller than the original Long Tomicas No. 30 Mitsubishi Pajero, issued in 1999, was made in Japan because the model was concurrently issued as a special promotional model for Mitsubishi Motors in Japan. Production moved to China after two months, when the promotion stopped.

Limited production in China started in 1990 with a few existing models in the regular line, like the no. 35 DOME Toyota Celica and no. 73 Isuzu Dump. Large scale production in China started in 1993 with the "British Line" of 36 models that Tomy Company of UK contracted Tomy of Japan to produce by using existing tooling. As a result, regular models of the same castings were also made in China beginning in 1993. Starting in 1994, all the new models in the regular line were made in China, and in May 1995, the production of existing models started to move to China as well. This was done in phases. By July 1997, all regular line Tomica cars were made in China. There were a few exceptions to this rule: Tomica ( トミカ, Tomika) is a line of die-cast toy vehicles (mainly cars) produced since 1970 by Takara Tomy Co. of Japan (formerly known as Tomiyama and Tomy Kogyo Incorporated). [1] Ostensibly, Tomica diecast were an outgrowth of Tomica World, an autonomous toy line of motorized train accessories that Tomy had created based on Plarail and produced since 1959. [2] Similar in concept, Tomica can be thought of as the "Japanese Matchbox", but focuses mainly on Japanese brands. Tomica Dandy cars are larger - about 1:43 scale and were produced from 1972 until 1993. At first they were all Japanese domestic models, but similar to the common Tomicas, the Dandy line also began to offer foreign brand vehicles in 1977 (for example, a Lotus Europa). The numbering system was changed in 1984 based on the nature of the vehicles (e.g. emergency, police, or foreign models). In 2001, Tomy reissued six Tomica Dandy models in limited quantities. A totally new casting. All of these had been produced under the contract of another model company or another business. Their common fate is that Tomy eventually issues them as regular models. Examples include:Tomica started to offer the Tomica Premium Series from April 2015. The Premium line replaced Tomica Limited Series, the main differences being that it uses new molds for the vehicles and are not a limited release but rather in regular production that numbered with the same scheme as the classic line (re-using numbers for unrelated models). They were also aimed at a younger audience.

In 2010, when Technology Tomica was introduced, they were initially made in Thailand. In 2012, production moved to Vietnam. From time to time, Tomy produces shorter runs of cars with sound or light or both, based on castings from the regular series. The first of such series was the Sound Tomica, introduced in 1992. These cars have both sound and light. Upon pressing one set of wheels, the sound and light are activated for a short time. The Siren Tomica series from 1996 replaced Sound Tomica. These are basically the same design except the batteries can be taken out and replaced. In 2000, Tomy came out with the Chat Tomica line. These cars do not have light, but depending on the model, upon activation, "[t]hree types of recorded clips will be played (including the sound of sirens, voices and cries of animals).". [7] Conversely, the Technology Tomica cars introduced in 2010 only have lights. What is special is that they do not require batteries. Rolling the cars produces the electricity to power the lights. This line also represents the only made-in-Thailand Tomica in existence to date. Most recently, Tomy has released the Tomica 4D line. These cars have engine sounds and vibrations. Chan, Danny C.Y., and Vic Davey. 1997. The Complete World of Tomy Diecast. Hong Kong: Northcord Limited. May.

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Also, in 2004, no. 121 was available for a limited period from Mitsuoka Motors. This was a 1/1 scale electric single seater vehicle which featured a retro Citroen H Van front end and side panels. Tomy started producing motorized cars in the late 1970s beginning with the Power Tomica series. This series did not last long. In 1992, it released a new series called B/O Tomica (stands for battery-operated Tomica). This series was renamed Motor Tomica in 1997. They were produced and sold as single models until 2003. All the B/O Tomica are made in Japan, while all the Motor Tomica (including the Animated Motor Tomica) are made in China. To fit on the motorized base, these castings often have altered scales. In general, sport utility vehicles appear in their proper scales, saloons appear a bit bulky, and buses and lorries are disproportionately short. In 2005, a new series for motorized Tomica was released containing generic vehicles such as a police patrol car. This late series targets toddlers and is made of ABS plastic. Tomica has produced a number of special models over the years. These are unique models that are not found in the regular line or the Limited Series. There are four types of special model: Starting from 2004, Tomytec, a branch of Tomy, started producing realistic models - more for the collector market. They are marketed as the Tomica Limited Vintage Tomytec series and are mostly 1950s and 1960s classic Japanese vehicles such as the Honda S800, Nissan Cedric, Prince Gloria and Toyopet Crown. More details are evident on these compared to the regular Tomica models or even the Tomica Limited models.