In my online store I carry over 45 different brands of diecast. With all those brands competing, then is there a clear winner for your choice of diecast cars? This will ultimately be up to the collector. Those higher end brands really do put in the extra details brands like Hot Wheels is lacking. Now, remember this, Hot Wheels will always be king of the 1:64th diecast world. Hands down the logo and name brings kids running into the store. The number one thing I hear is "It's a store full of Hot Wheels." While this is somewhat true, only about half my stock are Hot Wheels cars verses the other half of higher end brands not a lot of people have heard about and they aren't found in your local Walmart. So lets take a better look at some
As you can see from the picture above 4 different brands of the same exact car, Honda Civic Type-R in white. Now, before I say anything, I will say 3 of the 4 are basic cars. Clearly the Hot Wheels is a mainline and the Tomica is the basic Tomica. The best one in the above picture is the Mini GT by far! Just the detail in the wheels kills the others. Mini GT is the only one to have the black vent behind the front fender also. So in this case Mini GT is the clear winner. But, does the quality equal a sale? Some people are all about Hot Wheels only! So no matter how good the Mini GT is, they will always go for the Hot Wheels car. Tomica will be a clear choice winner for the Asian market. Majorette, well, let's be honest, who's buying them? So why wouldn't people want the Mini GT if its the clear winner? Two things, cost and loyalty. Mini GT's typically go for about $15-$20. Hot Wheels $1.25-$4.00. Tomica is from $6-$15. Majorette about $4.00. Mini GT I consider high end but mid level cost. Here are some Mini GT examples
Right off the bat you can see the immense detail and quality from Mini GT's. In my opinion they are just as good, if not better than Tarmac Works, Inno 64, and Ignition Model. So are they worth the $15-$20? Absolutely! Mattel has even been copying some of Mini GT's cars they have been releasing too. Safe to say Mattel has noticed Mini GT. So what about those other brands like Tomica for example. Tomica, just like Hot Wheels, has tiers to their quality. Hot Wheels makes mainlines, premiums, then RLC cars. RLC cars costing the most right around $35 with tax and shipping. Their premiums run about $6, which isn't bad. But even their premiums are left without details for the higher cost. So Tomica is basically Hot Wheels competitor in the Asia market. Picture #1 shows the Tomica Honda Civic as the basic model. The also have a premium tier and also a high end tier called their Limited Vintage Series. Prepare to have deep pockets as most start at $30. Note I said START AT! Their LVN series is as good as it gets! Opening doors, hoods, engine bays, etc. One downfall is most need to be ordered online as most USA dealers don't carry them. I personally carry them and a wide selection. https://www.rddcmarket.com/Tomica The LVN series are based off of Japanese cars ONLY. Yes its a Mazda RX-7 but it will be a Japan version only. Pretty cool stuff
Pictured above is Hot Wheels Koenigsegg Jesko by Hot Wheels (Left) and FrontiArt (Right). Again, you can see a clear night and day difference between a $1 car and a $350 car. Now, to be fair the FrontiArt is a 1:43rd scale car so much more detail will be present vs the 1:64th scale Hot Wheels. But the difference is there and so is the price. FrontiArt not a lot of people have even heard of this brand. It's about as high end as you get considering $350 for a 1:43rd scale car is a bit pricey. Its most likely resin and not actual diecast metal. Peako Models cost this much also but you are getting photograph quality cars! But, for the average consumer, $1 is far better than $350.
Here is an example of a Tomica Limited Vintage Neo vs a premium Hot Wheels Car. The car on the left is the Hot Wheels Premium from the Gran Turismo set. It's the Nissan Concept 2020 Vision GT. Very cool looking car! Just comparing the two cars above I can see the wheels are completely different. There's writing before the front wheels also. Black hood vents and black rear view mirrors are present on the Tomica model vs the Hot Wheels model. So again, its really not a fair matchup. Hot Wheels premium car is fine for most. The Tomica LVN will only be for the diehard collector. So the Tomica will sit on the shelves a lot longer than the Hot Wheels just due to the price!
Let's just take a look at some other brands really fast so we can get an idea of what's high end that's out there if you happen to see them and wonder why they are so expensive:
Ignition Model: https://www.rddcmarket.com/ignition-model
Tarmac Works: https://www.rddcmarket.com/tarmac-works
Tomica Limited Vintage Neo: https://www.rddcmarket.com/Tomica
Well, you get the idea. So now down to the question at hand, are higher end diecast cars worth the extra money? In my opinion yes! I love Hot Wheels and that brand carries a special place in my heart. But, when it comes to several models that I personally collect, Hot Wheels just doesn't do it right or just don't make it. In all honesty, my BMW diecast collection is 97% Hot Wheels, 2% Matchbox, the rest off brands that I like. Sometimes you just that little bit extra in your diecast model. Unfortunately that extra cost extra but it doesn't have to break the bank. Yes, Hot Wheels are a buck but they look like a buck. Keep that in mind! In my online store I carry all these brands and more so take a look. So are you a high end collector or are you budget friendly where more is better vs quality? Let me know in the comments below. Don't forget to add me to IG: RDDC_Market