Casio G-Shock G-9000TLC-4 Team Land Cruiser Mudman

No, I'm not buying watches just to post them on my blog. In fact, I'm probably buying fewer now than six months or a year ago. This Mudman I'm wearing today is the last G-9000 I needed to complete my set of Mudmen. A quick rundown of all my "New Mudmen":

The original three:
G-9000-1V (black)
G-9000-3V (green)
G-9000-8V (tan)
The two multi-color camouflage:
G-9000MC-3V (green camouflage)
G-9000MC-8V (grey camouflage)
The Dawn Black:
G-9025-1 (black and gold)

And last but not least is today's watch, the G-9000TLC-4. This was a fairly limited edition (although not numbered) and I typically see them on eBay in the $150-200 range, which I've always felt was too much. I finally found a brand new one for considerably less than the eBay prices and quickly snatched it up. I was very surprised to receive the watch in the trunk packaging pictured below. I expected the more typical packaging seen here. I'm not sure if there were two different versions or if this is just the Japanese market version, but regardless, it's a very nice set. This watch was issued in 2007 to commemorate Team Toyota Land Cruiser's 3rd consecutive category win in the Paris-Dakar Rally. The rally doesn't go to Paris anymore, not since 2001 in fact. Its actual name now is The Dakar, although this year it didn't go to Dakar either, nor will it go to there in 2009. Here's a G-Shock promo video featuring Team TLC at The Dakar. For the curious, Team TLC is sponsored by Toyota Auto Body which is the company that sells Land Cruisers and other Toyota SUVs and minivans in Japan. I don't know why there isn't just one Toyota selling both like we have in the U.S.A, but there you have it. As for the watch, the bright red bezel and strap looks great and really stands out. The "TLC" logo on the strap is the only outward indication it's a special Mudman, unless you take it off and see the same logo on the caseback. I would have liked some additional printing on the strap (more like what is found on the packaging or inside the trunk) but I'm sure others like the more subtle logo. The module seems to be identical to the G-9000-1V which isn't a bad thing as it's very legible and the colors work nicely. Once again, I would have loved to see the TLC logo in the backlight, but lack of it obviously wasn't a deal-breaker. It's a great watch and I'm glad to have it. It's apparent that I'm a fan so I'll be keeping an eye out for any new G-9000 releases from Casio, but for the time being, this is my last one.