Mazda 787B

I reviewed the Mazda 787B before, but that was the TLVN casting of the number 55 car. This Mazda 787B is from Hot Wheels bearing the number 18. Though the number 18 car did not take the 24 Hour of Le Mans trophy, it did finish 6th overall. The number 18 car also did not come in the loud orange Renown livery but a simpler white Mazda livery.

Mazda 787B

Out of all the Circuit Legend cars in this set, the Mazda 787B is probably the one that needs the least introduction. It still holds the record for being the only Japanese manufacturer to win the 24 Hour of Le Mans and probably will be the only one to win with a rotary engine. While the number 18 car is the lesser-known sibling of the 787B family, this is still a very desirable casting from Hot Wheels. It manages to stay close to the original in terms of livery. Though the rear wing did have an issue of being bent out of shape from the packaging. I managed to fix this by following a suggestion from one of the forums to dip it in hot water and straighten it while it was warm. It worked for me. The only real drawback here is that the wheels may never get the same accuracy as the TLVN versions. This is most likely because Hot Wheels won’t have those wheelsets anytime soon. This car makes do with RRAs in front and RREs at the back. While looking close to the original, it isn’t an actual replica of those wheels.

Mazda 787B

The saving grace though is the removable rear cowl of the car. Doing so will reveal the engine bay which is (sadly) half covered by the strut brace. And there is no detailing on the engine bay here in terms of paint. It is a plain black plastic mold. Again, this isn’t any fault at all for the price that this car is going. While the easiest comparison would be against the TLVN, they are actually on different levels.

Mazda 787B

Make no mistake, this casting is a very good representation of the Mazda 787B. It would be unfair to compare it with the TLVN which costs 8 times as much, but it is actually flattering for the Hot Wheels.

TLVN Mazda RX-7

There’s no hiding that I am a Mazda fan. It should be no surprise then that I have taken to the new TLVN FDs like a moth to a flame. There are now seven variants of the said TLVN to date, and I am happy to say, that I have them all.

The first two are the Infini Type Rs, TLV-N174a and TLV-N174b. Silver and Yellow, respectively. I was very excited about these as these were the first releases, not to mention it came in yellow, the colour of Keisuke Takahashi’s FD in Initial D. The FD3S is counted as series 6 in Mazda’s stable, also counted as the third generation RX-7. This Type R is considered as a lightweight sports model making 255 PS and 294 Nm of torque. The nice thing about the TLVNs is that they come with the correct scaled down wheel designs, and despite not being the prettiest wheel design, it is what makes this car an RX-7.

The two Type Rs was followed by one red model under the guise of The Era of Japanese Cars 13. This came in a special box with a bit of history on it. Unfortunately, I can’t read Japanese. But this is basically the same car, with the same wheels, the same interior, but comes in red. So, yes, it still comes with detailed side markers, twin tailpipes, blacked out taillights, RX-7 and Infini badges, and a pair of side mirrors. Side mirrors that you need to install by yourself. So, yes, mine is still in the box because I’m too scared to tack them on.

The next ones that came out are the Type RS (TLV-N177b) and Type RZ (TLV-N177a). The Type RS was on the higher-end of the ladder and had a power bump with its engine now making 280 PS and 314 Nm of torque. This is the limit set by regulations in Japan. Tomytec made the right call to change the wheels on this version keeping it identical to the original car’s design. The Type RZ is another limited edition version of the FD. It had the same power figures as the RS but was lighter by about 10 kg. Tomytec again called it and gave the RZ the same handsome gunmetal BBS rims and even had RZ badging on the C-pillar. The RS came in white and the RZ came in black. Contrasting colours, but the same beautiful car. These two also came with a different set of wings. Different from the previous silver, yellow, and red RSes. However, it would have been even better if the wing on the RZ had been the correct one. As it is, the RZ and RS models came with the same type of wing, whereas the real cars had different sets. I guess it was some sort of cost-cutting, but these aren’t cheap models to begin with.

The next pair came in the following trims. A blue RX-7 Type R and a Patrol Car RX-7. Apart from the colour, there wasn’t really anything new with the blue Type R. The Patrol Car, on the other hand, seems to have been based on the previous Type RS version. It came with the same wheels and the same wing. It also obviously came in Japan’s black and white police livery. It had the light bars on the roof, a rear aerial, and that plastic thing on the bonnet. Unfortunately, I have no idea what they are for so any valid information on them would be greatly appreciated. On a high note, while I was searching for information on this car, there was a photo of an actual RX-7 patrol car that I chanced on, and everything is as it is on this Tomytec model. Bravo!