Ride or Die? The 2nd Wave of Jada Toys' Fast & Furious Build N' Collect Series

Ride or Die.

Jada Toys has hit it big with its Fast & Furious lineup. Say what you want about the movies, the plots, or the acting, but they're exciting and fun-to-watch at the very least. That's how Fast & Furious has become one of the biggest Hollywood franchises today. Jada was smart to pull this business move and acquire official licensing to replicate F&F's most iconic vehicles in diecast form. 

They may not be for everyone. Jada Toys usually produces their vehicles in off-scales. Their 1/18 and 1/24-scale models are a tad larger than they claim to be. They also produce models in 1/32 and 1/55 scale, both of which are irregular scales in the diecast world. In a collection, it's hard to fit them in with the rest of the masses. Jada models have an exaggerated style that aren't very realistic even though they're packed with a ton of character. They use bling-y wheels and tacky bodykits on many of their cars. Furthermore, there are car enthusiasts who just don't care about Fast & Furious in general. 

Well, I do. 

I love all the movies, with the exception of the most recent one, which was both incredibly cheesy and ridiculous at the same time. While 1/55 scale is a bit out of my range, I had to grab a set of these, just as I did with the first wave of Build N' Collect releases. 

A little bit on the Build N' Collect series. When the first wave came out, they sold like hotcakes. I rushed to Target every other day to look for them. I even overpaid, as Target initially priced them at $6 rather than $4. The marketing strategy is simple yet genius. Each of the six cars in the set comes with an extra part to build a "bonus" vehicle (not sold individually), hence the "Build N' Collect" moniker. In Wave 1, that was the white Toyota Supra from Furious 7. In this wave, it's the orange Supra from the original movie. Tempting, right?

That forces collectors like me to purchase an entire set, even if we don't like some of the models. I personally would've passed on half of the cars here if it weren't for the Supra. Therefore, the strategy was a success. The important question is "Was it worth it?" 

In short, yes. The Supra is one of the best models of the bunch. However, the throne goes to the bare-metal Dodge Charger Maximus. Take a look for yourself...

From the Playing Mantis Vault: Finding Vintage Johnny Lightning's in 2016, Part 3

The last sighting was three weeks ago, at my local Toys"R"Us. This was easily the best one yet. There had to have been more than a dozen different models on the pegs, ranging from classic to modern American muscle, to trucks, to fantasy vehicles, and even a Mini Cooper to boot. As much as I would have loved to grab all of them, the price tag kept me in check. Thus, I walked out with "only" four cars in hand: a crazy Plum Crazy Challenger, a pair of '69 Shelby GT500's in coupe and convertible forms, and one insanely sick '68 Camaro. Like I said, easily the best yet.



I forgot to mention one thing about these releases: the hologram sticker. In lead photo, you can see it slapped onto the upper area of the blister. That's the one thing that differentiates these from their original releases. That's it. Is it worth a premium on the secondary market? Hard to tell at this point. A brief check on eBay yields only a few results. However, as is commonly said, buy them if you like them. Don't get caught up in the hype. At the end of the day, when you look back at your collection, make sure you actually like each and every one of your cars.

It's almost a shame because I open all my cars and throw the packaging away. Luckily, this blog is evidence that these are indeed from the Playing Mantis Vault.

As more collectors have been finding these, a few interesting observations have been made, which leaves us with a few unanswered questions. For one, there have been sightings of the same models in different parts of the country. Therefore, there are multiples of some, if not all, of these releases. The question is "how many?" How many cars from the collection are actually out there and how many of each? How are they distributed?

Secondly, there's the whole restocking situation that I mentioned in my last post. If these are supposed to be "limited", why are Toys"R"Us stores are receiving multiple shipments? Or is it simply that they are only putting out a few at a time? For the conspiracy theorists (myself included): could Johnny Lightning actually be producing these behind our backs at this very moment and disguising them as old releases?

We might never know the answers to all of those questions. Mystery can be a good thing. Having not collected during the Playing Mantis years, I'm just happy to have these at all.

When It's Going Good, It's Going Great: The Other Half of Auto World Release 4

I consider myself quite fortunate. Fortunate to have found any Auto World Release 4 on the pegs at all. Fortunate that I have even one Walmart nearby that has put out the new product. I know a few collectors out there that have been dying to get their hands on these but have seen nothing but old stock. That was last week.

Well, the streak continues. The other day, I stumbled upon a second Walmart with these new Auto World releases. Then, yesterday, a third.

The result? What you see below.

These are the other three models of Release 4. I've shown the first three recently. Those were the Mustang, Grand Prix, and Barracuda. Today, I'm showing the other three: a hot pink Challenger, a silver Firebird, and a dark blue Polara. The first two are essentially recolors of existing castings. That being said, they are absolutely must-haves, because these might be the best colorways yet.

By the way, did I mention hot pink? I think it's pretty clear by now that I have an affinity for anything pink. Mopar and pink (and purple, for that matter) go hand in hand.

This particular Challenger is ever so slightly different than its predecessors. We've gotten the Rallye and the R/T, and now we have the T/A. I quite enjoy collecting various trims of the same car. Some may think it's just a waste of money. Others, like myself can appreciate all the small details and minute differences.

Then there's this understated, silver Firebird.

Wait, what? Why isn't it black? Wouldn't black contrast better with the flaming chicken on the hood?

No, ladies and gentlemen. We've already gotten way too many black Firebirds in the past, not necessarily from Auto World, but from every other diecast brand, more or less. Don't worry, I was in the same boat as the rest of you. This was the one I couldn't care less about. Now it's the one I couldn't care more about. By some miracle, the metallic silver works fabulously. I think I have a new favorite 'Bird in the collection. Pick one, any one. Fire, Thunder, Blue; this one's the best.

Last is this Dodge Polara. Look, I have no idea what this car is, yet I had to pick it up. That's just how good Auto World is. They have the passion for detail, accuracy, and quality it takes to make you want a model of a car you wouldn't blink twice at even if it was sitting in your garage.

As if you couldn't tell already, Auto World nailed all of them. Superb detail paired with superb quality for a price less than its direct competitors; it doesn't get any better than this. That's how you take the world by storm and change the game. Kudos to Auto World for recognizing that. We're all just the beneficiaries.