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Never Too Old for Toy Cars

There’s an internet meme that’s been going around showing a young boy reaching up for Hot Wheels – the caption is  “A man’s most expensive hobby starts with 97 cents.” The matching hashtag for this should be #kiddingnotkidding, as there is definitely some truthfulness to this meme.

meme_hotwheels

As car enthusiasts, the wait to get our licenses seems to take an eternity. We fill this time with car-related toys, collecting everything we can get our hands on. Hot Wheels are a natural draw, due to the massive variety and affordable pricepoint. I was always the kid who wanted “real” cars, not the fake crazy looking ones that are part of each toy collection. In fact, the only disappointing thing as I got older and collected more, was that they didn’t produce many “real” cars. After Hotwheels and Matchbox cars, the next “level-up” would be larger scale diecast vehicles. These are awesome in that they are more “realistic” and more closely resemble what we actually drive. The perfect blend for enthusiasts would be a car that had aftermarket accessories on it – just like the ones we drive… IMG_7715_rev Enter Jada Toys - founded in 1999, Jada Toys creates special lines of automotive toys with an aftermarket flair. Kicking off its line with a relationship with DUB (For those of you who don’t remember, DUB was HUGE back in 2000) – Jada dove deep into the aftermarket scene with the largest brand at the time. IMG_7712_rev Expanding past the DUB line, Jada added lines such as Option D and Import Tuner – both JDM-based with well known aftermarket brands such as Borla, Brembo and GReddy. More specifically, these lines also offered the ability to swap out wheels – just like the real deal! IMG_7688_rev IMG_7539_rev IMG_7683_rev A Jada Designer works on a car's layout. The process, from concept to reality, starts with clay, this is where the car gets its initial lines and scaling. From that point, a resin sample is made – so that the production team can see particular details within the car. Finally, a mold is made from the sample. IMG_7487_rev IMG_7495_rev A clay model of a Chevy Silverado. IMG_7498_rev Final production piece. IMG_7558_rev Jada’s latest product is a great mashup of slick technology and traditional RC fun. The Hyperchargers are a line of USB chargeable RC cars, with no need for additional batteries. They run for up to 25 minutes on a one hour charge.  IMG_7629_rev IMG_7560_rev A slick USB cable is used for charging, which can be inserted directly into any USB slot or a wall adapter. IMG_7611_rev Charging is optimized for any USB voltage, including in car USB for using the Hypercharger on the go! IMG_7598_rev Not just car-centric, Jada Toys is also a toy producer of well known brands such as Hello Kitty, RoboCop and Cutie Pops. Additionally, they just locked in licensing for a particular aftermarket movie that is releasing it’s 7th installment… A man’s most expensive hobby may be blamed on automotive toys, but it’s hard to put a price on passion.
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