Tomica, the die-cast metal toy cars made by Japan’s Tomy Co., lead a parallel life to their American counterpart, Mattel Co.’s Hot Wheels. Hot Wheels exploded into the toy market in the late 1960’s and Tomica followed in Japan in 1970. Small and relatively inexpensive, Tomica are collected and traded by boys of all ages (see what I did there?) who can always find a favorite make and model in the vast collection. Thanks to some creative marketing partnerships, you can also buy Tomica sporting images of your favorite characters including Peanuts, Disney and the globally popular “Speed Racer” anime.