Disney Pixar CARS 2: Your 1:1 Scale Tomber
“DDD” sends us this note and some great photos.
I’ve really gotten interested in the old Reliant Regals after seeing the new Tomber character and his diecast iterations. He has an extra pair of headlights and a few other differences from the Regal (including an inversion of the triangular shape that finishes the upper portion of the chassis just behind the rear window), but he’s clearly based on the classic Regal saloon car.
In looking up info on the old British 3-wheelers, I found a guy in England who restores and sells all kinds of Reliants, including the later-model Robins (which Tomber is sometimes compared to, less accurately). One of the photos on his site is of a beaten blue model that looked amazingly like Tomber himself.
I created a side-by-side comparison with the Mattel diecast, and then I made a fantasy Regal in the image of the little fellow himself.
Of course, the Mattel diecast version of the film character. Nice work “DDD!” Thanks!
BTW, 3-wheel cars are still available in parts of China (banned in some larger cities).
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5 June 2011
7 Comments
You guys should watch the ol’ Top Gear episode where Clarkson drives one of these babies all over town. It’s comedy gold.
AWESOME!! Met, you really must show us your collection of 1:1 scale cars …. we know you are hiding them somewhere! 😉
came acroos a 3 wheeler graveyard in elgin, scotland , a few years back, its worth a google
Wow! Nice detective work, DDD! I love your fantasy Regal.
Thanks for posting, Met! I got in touch with the guy in England who restores these, and he said he’s enough like Tomber (dealing in used car parts) that he expects a lot of ribbing when the movie comes out. There’s a popular TV show over there that features a yellow Reliant Regal van, and he actually creates and sells replicas…he said he better get started building some Tombers!
I got a diecast of an actual Regal and see that Pixar has moved the front wheel back considerably to “destabilize” Tomber. The Regal rolls a lot more smoothly than he does! There’s a whole phenomenon in England of racing these old Regals and Robins…the fiberglass bodies are very light, so when they tip over you just reach out of the window and push them back up! (The restorer in England sells “bangers” for just 750 pounds.)
Throughout the history of three-wheelers it seems like there’s been a perception of increased stability if the single wheel is in back. One more bit of trivia…Tomber is spelled with an accent over the “e” in the Mattel diecast poster, so I guess I’ve been saying (actually, thinking) it wrong…it’s Tom-BARE.
This reminds me of the opposite — can someone explain to me the desire to own one of those motorcycles with two front wheels?
I can just see myself tipping over in one of those.