Tomica, which lets kids grow their imagination and enjoy all kinds of play like building miniature towns, is popular with people of all ages.
A wide variety of toy cars—sports cars, passenger cars, and more—are available, and some of you may want to create a handmade Tomica Town where you can race the cars or line them up on display.
In this article, we’ve compiled a concise guide on how to make your own Tomica Town.
Use it as inspiration for your Tomica Town, whether you theme it after your own neighborhood or build the setting of your dreams—let your ideas run free.
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Handmade Tomica Town ideas: build-your-own Tomica city you can play with (1–10)
Logistics Center
The system that delivers all sorts of things makes everyone’s life more comfortable, doesn’t it? Let’s build our own logistics center—the hub of deliveries—and expand our imagination about what kinds of work and daily activities happen in Tomica Town.
Since a logistics center goes hand in hand with trucks, it’s a good idea to decide the size of your center based on how many truck-type Tomica you have.
Important features include a warehouse-like space for storing packages and parking spaces where trucks can pull in and dock neatly.
shopping mall
How about incorporating a shopping mall—where various stores are gathered in one place—into Tomica Town? Just having it integrated into the cityscape makes everyday life in Tomica Town easier to picture.
The ease of building a basically rectangular structure and the strong presence that comes with a large building are key points.
Assemble color boards into a rectangular shape, then add architectural details, fine elements, and printed signs.
Pay close attention to the details—such as the placement of signs and the design features that make shopping smooth—and be mindful of your observational skills.
car dealer
Let’s incorporate a car dealer—the place where you buy cars—into Tomica Town.
Since it also serves as a display space, it’s perfect for making your favorite Tomica cars stand out.
Car dealers typically have glass façades that can be seen from the outside, so use a plastic case as the base and build out the interior and roof.
Look up which automaker your favorite Tomica belongs to and finish it as that brand’s dealership—that’s recommended.
Carefully observe photos and real dealerships, and faithfully recreate the fine details to make the cars stand out.
coin-operated parking lot
Coin-operated parking lots scattered around town are handy spots for a car-centric lifestyle.
Incorporating those coin parking lots into Tomica Town will make the cityscape feel even more authentic.
The key elements are the payment booth, signage, and the wheel-stopper plates that keep cars from moving—just adding these gives a simple parking lot real presence.
Since sign designs vary by company, it’s recommended to recreate designs that match your town’s look.
Refer to real coin parking for details like easy-to-park spacing and the placement of stopper plates and payment booths, and reproduce them carefully.
convenience store
Convenience stores are everywhere and make it easy to shop, so they’re essential to everyone’s daily life.
If you incorporate such a convenience store into Tomica Town, it will boost not only realism but also familiarity.
Another appealing point is how easy it is to build: just make a rectangular building and add signs and advertisements.
By referring to photos or real-life examples and paying attention to small details, you can make it feel even more familiar.
Arranging it so that various brands are located close by and competing might also enhance the realism of the streetscape.
road
Roads are essential for keeping cars running smoothly, aren’t they? Let’s try making roads that blend naturally into a streetscape while supporting everyday life.
You can use black plastic corrugated board, which you can get at 100-yen shops, and recreate the markings found on real roads by applying masking tape.
Then, combine the finished road pieces and arrange them into shapes that seem easy for cars to drive on, bringing them closer to a real city layout.
The markings on roads carry various meanings to ensure safe driving, so if you research them carefully before making your model, it will not only improve the quality but also deepen your awareness of traffic safety.
house
When building your ideal town, don’t forget to include your own house.
Create your own home for that dream town—an ideal house that helps you imagine life in Tomica Town.
You can recreate the building you actually live in, or take inspiration from designs you’ve seen around the city.
Since it’s a town centered around Tomica, also pay attention to the size of the parking space so you can display your favorite Tomica cars.