‘Tamiya’ is what we commonly refer to when talking about these Mini 4 Wheel Drive toy cars. It’s been around for so long that I can fondly recall it as a part of my childhood, roughly 20 years ago. The excitement of opening a kit in your room, meticulously put it together can keep you engaged for hours. This is soon followed by the feeling of accomplishment if you’ve successfully put together a pile of plastic, metal, and rubber into a fully functional race car. There’s just a unique sense of satisfaction of seeing something you put together with your own hands come to fruition.

We’ve been summoned to The Brickyard, a shop dedicated to this hobby, to revive our passion for these motorized little pieces of joy and a bit more. Last weekend it was revealed to us that Tamiya will be releasing a model kit based on the Philippine icon for transportation. We may love seeing it, we may have driving next to it, but all of us will have to agree, the Jeepney is as Filipino as it gets.

For various reasons, the kit has been officially named ‘Dyipne.’ Which I suppose would sound the same despite being spelled in an odd manner.

This interesting cross-over of Philippine and Japanese culture is set to be a limited edition to be released in the Jeepney’s home country first, for sale this June 3, 2019. It will be going international a few months later. Considering how the stocks of the Jollibee Funko Pop were gone in a flash, you might want to hustle a bit if you want to have one of these instant collector’s items.

You’ll be able to find The Brickyard on the 3rd Floor of Glorietta 2, in the Ayala Malls of Makati. It’s also paired up with Lil’s Hobby Center, which hosts a lot of other similar hobbies should that tickle your interest.

Also you’re up to nab a ‘Dyipne’ kit for yourself, why not go all the way and attend an event where the father of he hobby, Yoshio Tamiya, will be present himself? Brickyard in partnership with Lil’s Hobby Center will be hosting the Tamiya Mini 4WD Asia Challenge on June 20-23. He’ll likely be around for the last day which would be the awarding, and I’ve been told he’s pretty okay with signing his products for fans. You also get to see the best competitors around at work, and seeing them work and refine their cars to the absolute limit sounds like a spectacle that’s not too bad to soak in once in a while.

If you’d like to find more information, you can check out Brickyard’s Facebook page.