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Latest News
Making Die Cast Look Real Contest
Alright Folks! Here is the next contest!! Get your camera’s ready.
We want you to take a picture of a Jada die cast but make it look like a real car in real world settings. For example, Heat or Hero Patrol on the street, Big Time 4 Wheelin’ off-roading, Battle Machines in a post apocalyptic scene. The key here is make it looks like a real car and not a toy.
There are techniques that you can do to make it look real. Some have shown me some real creative ideas.
Rules:
-Must contain Jada Toys die cast only.
-Photoshop is OK
-One submission per email address
-Must be your own photo
-Cannot be an image already posted on the Jada Facebook page
-To qualify, pictures must be emailed following the submission format below.
-Pictures posted to the Jada Facebook page prior to the picture submission deadline will not qualify.
Judging:
-All qualifying entries will be judged by Jada Toys employees.
-Each judge will have 3 votes each
-Judges will not know who submitted each picture
-Judging will be based on how much the die cast looks like a real car rather than a toy
The PRIZE!!:
The winner will receive a 1/24 Option D Subaru Impreza WRX STi signed by the designer who created the graphics on the car; Glenn Depuno
Jada Wallpaper Design Contest 1 on Facebook
We are holding a wallpaper contest over on our Facebook page. Head on over there and click “Like” on the designs you like. The wallpaper with the most “Likes” on March 15th, 2012 at 6pm pst will win a 1/64 scale 5 pack that has not been on the shelves for a long time.
Good luck to all who entered!!
Make sure you visit our Facebook page often. We will announce more contest that you can participate in very soon!
Here is the link to the Wallpaper Contest Gallery
HelLA Occupy Little Tokyo
On December 11th, 2011, I left my house just east of Downtown LA at 6am to get parking. Why so early you ask? Occupy Little Tokyo is a take off the Occupy movement. The organizers thought it would be cool if we could line all the public street parking around one square block of Little Tokyo with fixed up cars. Parking is free on Sunday and that area of Downtown L.A. gets pretty busy so going early was a must.
We arrived about 6:15 to find that 98% of the free spots were filled. There were even cars cruising around trying to find a prime spot in front of the Illest Boutique (the organizers of the event).
This was not a car show. It felt more like a cars and coffee or a meet and greet but it was fun non-the-less.
Other shops involved besides the Illest Boutique are:
Standard Functions
Bowls
RIF Los Angeles
Royal Origin
NightImport.com
CanIbeat.com
Team Supastar
Autoconevents
Check out our Facebook page for more pictures.
Stance:Nation COE Article
If you don’t know the site Stance:Nation, then you are really missing out on some crazy 1:1 customs. They cover different scenes with one common thread. STANCE! Low, flush, tucked, frame scrapers, stretched… you will find the sickest dropped cars on this site.
With that being said, they have an article featuring one crazy 1951 Chevy COE. This one is done in a similar fashion as our For Sale line and I LOVE IT!! Make sure to check it out!!
Source: Stance:Nation
Weksos industries, in collaboration with Fatlace, were proud to announce their partnership for the 2011 Weksos x Fatlace Wekfest USA Tour with their first stop being in Long Beach. In general, Wekfest is one of the larger events that is read and heard about all throughout the car community. There were a variety of cars from many different genres being showcased. What we absolutely loved was that Wekfest was not about one specific car scene, but a mix of scenes exposing its attendees to multiple custom car cultures.
The highlight of the day was definitely being able to be apart of the Promax Motorsports group. Originally, the plan was to roll with Promax to cover the event. However, Promax owner, Anthony, asked if we would like to drive one of his exotics to the show… and of course, we accepted. My partner and I had jumped at the opportunity to drive his Mercedes SL 63 AMG and his Nissan GTR R35. In our opinion, team Promax stole the show as we were getting ready to line the cars up. Promax went home winning Euro First Place, Exotic Class First and Second Place, and Mercedes Class Second Place. It was definitely one of the best car show experiences in recent memory.
By: Peter Demmon
Every now and then I look at a collectible car, and I have to have it. I have to have it for a reason outside of the car itself. The car reminds me of something intangible. Jada’s FOR SALE 1963 Black Lincoln Convertible is that car for me at this time.
One day, when I was between classes at the University, my friend Steve walked up to me tired and wild-eyed. He told me about a race he had been in on a local highway that had gone out of control. You need to know that Steve drove a powerful hopped up 1970 Nova. Ultimately, it was a forgettable car, but it was lifted in the back and had those fat meats that hot rods have. It was a street racer.
The night before he had pulled up next to an old, black, drop-top, suicide door Lincoln and revved his engine. It was for the attention of the woman behind the wheel. She was small, cute, and had brown hair that was settled over the back of her bucket seat. She was a vision. She smiled and her feather-shaped eyes flashed as she revved her engine back. At the green light, she was off. There was a lot of start/stop within the city limits until they both took the exit and hit the highway. Steve struggled with his sophomoric vocabulary to articulate the fact that the amount of power in the Lincoln was more than he could summon from his .350. Off the blocks he had her, but in the long run, her presidential vehicle left him in the dust. I was walking with Steve towards the parking lot to see his car as he gesticulated and told this story. Apparently, at completely heathen speeds, they raced down the coast fighting for pole position. Steve’s concentration slipped for a fraction of a second and he nudged into her driver’s side. She swung back in order to stay on the road, and Steve’s car flew across the highway and into the shoulder on the left side where he skidded, swerved, and eventually stopped with a flooded engine. It was late at night, dark, and Steve was stranded. She was long gone. He fumbled around and was attempting to assess his damage with a penlight when she rolled towards him, oncoming in one of the lanes he had flown over. Her car was rumbling hard, the top was down, and she was blasting some sort of speed metal. She turned it down for conversation.
“You ok?” She yelled over the passenger side. Steve nodded yes. They both looked at the damage. Steve’s front corner panel was crunched and his right headlight was housed in a perma-wink. Steve walked around her vehicle to the driver’s side. Her car had no damage from what Steve could see.
“You take care of yours, I take care of mine?” She asked. Steve nodded again. She turned her music back up, winked at him with one of those beautiful dark eyes and was off, long brown hair billowing in the wind.
Steve did get his car started again and limped it home. As we looked at the damage to his car in the University parking lot, he smiled at me.
“I think I am in love with that woman.” He said.
The truth of the matter is that he never found her. She is probably still out tormenting young hipsters who think that they have enough muscle under their hoods to humble her. Or maybe her car went for sale to some lucky person who had no idea the kind of the sheer power and heart-wrecking ability it had.
Whatever the case is, when I look at Jada’s For Sale 1963 Lincoln, this is the story that comes to mind. In my mind, I am sure that is the car that humbled Steve’s Nova. I am sure right down to the ding in the windshield and the primered rear door on the driver’s side. If I saw this car for sale in real life, I would purchase it point blank. But for now, I will settle for Jada’s wonderful rendition of the car that broke Steve’s heart.
By: Peter Demmon
I have always collected toy cars. Some of the earliest pictures my parents have of me show me with fists full of cars. The theme has always been muscle. I am a sucker for almost any powerful vehicle from the 60′s through the early 70′s.
Growing up, a lot of the toy muscle cars that I got my hands on were just too extreme. They didn’t have that practical late night cruise down main street feel. They were all built for the track. How can one really look over an engine that dwarfs the cab in order to see the road?
A few years ago as an adult with the purchasing power to realize my affinity for cars in full-size, drivable form, I purchased a 1966 Mustang with a .351 under the hood. But I didn’t lose interest in the toys either. I just narrowed my interest to toy cars that had the same vibe as my vehicle and started looking for those that, like mine, were pushing the boundaries of traditional muscle, but still retained that which made them classic. See, my car needs some work, and I was looking for inspiration.
I spent many late nights scouring collector websites looking for toy Mustangs. I was looking for toys that were heavy duty enough to have on my desk at work, but also cool enough that I would actually want to own them in real life.
In this process, I came across the Jada Toys site. And as I dug into what Jada had to offer, I discovered the BIGTIME MUSCLE and OLD SKOOL Dub City lines of cars.
The thing that I have noticed and grown to love about the Jada BIGTIME MUSCLE line is that these are toy cars that I have seen elements of on the road, elements that I would like to incorporate into my own car.
The BIGTIME MUSCLE car line is a line of toys that understands what the contemporary feel is on the street. My car is lowered, and I have the meaty 16s on it. Lowrider chic is where customizing has gone. The lifted back end and the huge dragster wheels are a thing of the past. People’s heads turn when the car is slammed to the ground and growling.
Jada has helped me visualize where I want to go with the style of my own Mustang.
Currently, I am collecting the BIGTIME MUSCLE series, and focusing on any and all Mustangs that show up. The BIGTIME MUSCLE 1:32 series has the Shelby GT-500 which might be the sexiest vehicle I have ever seen. I am partial to the Charcoal colored one. With its striping it looks absolutely lethal. The BIGTIME MUSCLE 1:24, 1965 Mustang is another car I can’t stop looking at. Jada offers it as a wallpaper in the downloads section, and I have it on my laptop at home. It has been modified in such a way as to totally change the way I consider and appreciate Mustang design. The kind of revelation that I have looking at this car is the kind of revelation that I was after as a kid. There is a perspective of craftsmanship and love for vehicles that I don’t think I have seen before.
But it isn’t all about the muscle. Jada takes old concepts and adds a level of street class to them. An example of this is the DUB CITY Old Skool 1:24 1963 Lincoln Continental. This is a beautiful translation of an already beautiful car. The 1963 Lincoln was already majestic before any modifications. Suicide doors have always turned heads. But to drop it this low and put those rims on it? To shave the door handles off? Suddenly, the vehicle is even more powerful–a magnificent beast. No other car image wallpaper has compelled my attention the way this one has.
“Is this thing even possible?” Was my first question when I saw Jada’s interpretation of the Lincoln. With other lines of toys, this is a common question. However, with other lines of toys, it is an easier concept to dismiss. With Jada, I am forced to study the mechanics and the wheel base. I am drawn into this beautiful rendition of a car that
I already love and I have to find a way to make it work. It has to work! There is going to come a day when I am going to have a pocket full of money, and I am going to buy this car and I am going to cruise in it. Jada’s toy car lines make the dreams of such adventures tenable.
I can’t wait to see what they have coming next.
Jada Nissan GT-R Hard Drive Custom
We’ve came across this article by The Auto Insider 06-08-2009
Godzilla – a techno-marvel capable of taking the thrill of driving and convince you that you’re playing a racing simulator. Now you can store that simulator on your very own Nissan GT-R 500GB hard drive.
Currently up for grabs on Ebay for a much-cheaper-than-the-real-thing price of $51; this one-off was created using a 1/18th scale Jada Toys Nissan GT-R mated with loving and delicate care to a 500GB Seagate 2.5 inch hard drive. The doors and hood still open revealing a fully detailed engine bay and interior. To access your new desktop racer, a USB 2.0 interface is located in the rear along with a supplied 6-foot USB cable. Better get cracking ’cause this is the first and currently, only one of its kind and with a little over 8 days remaining, we’re sure the price will skyrocket. [GTRblog via Ebay] This got sold on ebay for $290.00 + $12.00 Shipping.
    
The SCARFACE 1963 Cadillac Series 62
By: Peter Demmon 
Tony Montana: Frank got held up at the golf course, so he told me to come pick you up, he said he would meet us at the track later. He said to bet on Ice Cream in the first by the way.
Elvira Hancock: In that thing? You must be kidding.
Tony Montana: What you talking? That’s a Cadillac.
Elvira Hancock: I wouldn’t be caught dead in that thing.
Tony Montana: Aw, come on. It’s got a few years…but its a creampuff.
Elvira Hancock: It looks like somebody’s nightmare.
Tony looks at Manny and the stunned look that they both convey is completely accurate.
In case you don’t know, this is a scene from the classic 1983 film SCARFACE. The vehicle being chided is a pale yellow 1963 Cadillac convertible with a zebraskin interior.
The 1963 creampuff that Tony references has been made available by Jada Toys in the 1:18 size. It is a beautiful rendition, complete with a Tony Montana figurine to stand beside it.
I have been a SCARFACE fan for the bulk of my life. The movie is something that I latched onto when I was a kid, and I haven’t let it go. I watch it at least once a year. There was a time when I was watching it weekly though.
A little while back, a friend of mine told me that he had seen the Cadillac from the movie for sale at a local collectible shop. He even went online and found pictures of it and sent them my way. He knew that this was one toy that I needed to get my hands on.
It has been a long process, but I finally did get my hands on this toy. Jada has done it right. This is indeed the very car that Elvira cites from someone’s nightmare.
The car looks like it might ride a little lower and harder than the one in the film, and that makes it all the more sexy. Furthermore, the license plate in the back says MONTANA and in front it says JADA. The doors open and so do the front hood and back trunk. Under the hood is a wonderful translation of the engine, down to spark plug wires and and air filter.
The Tony Montana figure is accurate, with one hand on his hip, and the other nursing a cigar. His trademark scowl is there, and the white suit is menacing, professional and well cut.
I suppose that one of the most impressive things about this homage is the weight of the car. It feels like Detroit steel. This is no lightwight, half-plastic thing you might find in a gas station. This is a model that has been forged with metal and painstakingly crafted.
The zebraskin print is accurate right down to the sun visors. A person of Elvira’s ilk might think the zebraskin tacky, but this is one of the classiest interior jobs ever done to a movie car.
In the movie, Tony later marries Elvira. And yes, she ultimately leaves him. However, if Tony was thinking correctly, he should have known that the relationship was doomed, because this car isn’t from someone’s nightmare. This car is more like the kind of dream chariot you may never have the privilege to own.
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