I remember going to the 2004 LA Auto Show and seeing the Jada toys booth, and being surprised to see that they had an AE86 in full Initial D livery sitting in the middle of their booth. The car was being used to promote Jada'a new line of diecast drift cars. EKhatch, a member of our Speedhunters forums, posted some fantastic photos of some of the original 1:55 scale Jada AE86's. Looking at these brings back a lot of memories for me. At the time, it was pretty rare to see any sort of AE86 or drift related collectables outside of Japan so I was pretty excited to see them. I remember trying hard to track these down at all the stores in my hometown. In a way, I guess this was one of the signs that AE86 had gone from a cult classic to a mainstream favorite.
Take a look at the photos, and feel free to discuss these and any other car collectables in our forums.
-Mike Garrett