Granchan Collection 1/64 Tuning Machine Minicar!
December 19, 2008 by Adam Zillin
Filed under Latest Articles, Odd Spot
One thing that really sets Japan apart from other countries is the pace of things. Now, I’m not talking about out in the country side of Japan, but rather the sprawling metropolis that is Tokyo. You see, no matter how long one stays in this town, everyday can be a discovery of something new. It doesn’t have to be a big discovery either as I found out…
By ‘little discovery’ I mean these totally cool little ‘shakotan’ style Racers from Aoshima! I came across these while doing the most dreaded of acts, paying my phone and electricity bills at my local Sebun Irebun or, more commonly known as Seven Eleven. In Japan, the convenience store is like the cornerstone of any neighborhood. Open 24 hours a day, you can do anything from pay your bills, grab something to eat or grab the latest ‘Option’ Magazine. If you’re like me though, you also check out the little toy section to see what they’ve got. Usually its anything from the latest kids fad to airplanes, but this toy was by far the coolest.
And here they are. These “Granchan Collection” 1/64 Minicars come packed in the above box so you never know which one you’re going to get. Though they do come in four distinct flavors.
The first, and as pictured is the HGC210 4 door “Japan” Skyline from ’77. I was so excited when I saw these that I bought two, only to get the same car but in yellow. There are 3 other models though, including a ’70 RA20 Celica 1600GT, an ’82 GX61 Mark II and a GC110 Kenmeri 4 door Skyline.
These models are extremely detailed for their size. Of the two I have, one has a wicked purple colour with rainbow mica through it and the other an off yellow. Both sport a crazy low ‘shakotan’ stance almost scrape along the ground when removed from their holders. In the front they have the classic ‘snow plough’ diffuser and in the rear a wing for ‘extra downforce’. At around 525yen, they’re not the cheapest toy available from the conbini (convenience store) but definitely one of the coolest.
