Japan’s Tomica has manufactured several 1/50-scale replicas of the Subaru 360 over the past couple of decades. Some of the company’s earlier 360s were offered in bright colors like yellow and lime green, but the later examples like the fire patrol car pictured below generally wore special liveries.
Tomica cars have always been fairly realistic considering that they’re primarily designed as toys, and the Subaru 360 is no exception. The engine decklid is well-detailed, the overall proportions are accurate and the kei car’s front end even features the correct emblem that is found on fire patrol cars and fire trucks in Japan. The wheels are standard Tomica wheels and the base is made out of metal.
Whether the 360 was ever used by a fire department in Japan is a point of debate, but for approximately 300 yen it’s a nice addition to our collection of Matchbox-sized cars.
