JDM fans: Hot Wheels has your back…

I am back at my hotel after a few hours in the scolding sun of Long Beach for JCCS. There is a lot to talk about, and a ton of amazing cars to show off.

If you have not Liked us on Facebook, now is the time because I will be posting pics there sporadically over the next few days. Also, go follow Japanese Nostalgic Car, as their overviews of JCCS will be second to none.

It was a who’s who of Lamley contributors as well, as I had a chance to spend some time with Ben & Dan from JNC, my good friend & encyclopedia of all things diecast & Japanese Ricky Silverio, Jeff Koch, who was too busy controlling the mob at his diecast booth, Mark Jones, who we know here as Scale-Master, a coworker & JDM nut like me, Matt Graham, who brought his freshly purchased Fairlady Z (pics later), and another great friend Jim Gallegos, who puts on the Matchbox Gathering each year in Albuquerque.

And that was not all. I finally met my fellow Utahn Eric over at JDM Legends, who invited me to the shop and said he would love to put together some things for the blog. Of course he has already provided a ton with his 1:1 replica of the black HW RX-7, which we will feature this weekend in our final JCCS Week post.

I also spent some time with Mattel designers Ryu Asada, who designs most Matchbox and is responsible for the HW Honda S2000, and the aforementioned Jun Imai, whose castings we have featured all week.

Jun brought a couple of goodies with him, including the new 1970 Celica, which is even better in person, and the jaw-dropping latest version of the AE86 Corolla. Initial-D fans, the wait is over…

And if that wasn’t enough, the diecast news of the day was that the 2013 HW Boulevard series will feature a Jun-designed Datsun 510…wait for it…Wagon! A brand new tool for 2013, complete with fender mirrors and a nice low stance. Jun brought a prepro for the JCCS attendees to ogle over, but since it is a prepro, no photos at this time. But trust me, it is beautiful. A green aqua color with red 5-spoke real riders, inspired by Jun’s own ride.  I can’t wait.

There is a lot more to report, but I wanted to get the photos of the new Corolla up, as well as the news out on the new 510 Wagon.

And you custom fans, the “As is the Custom” post will be up tomorrow, featuring all Japanese cars, as we close down JCCS Week for the year…

Now back that pink lemonade from In-N-Out that never tasted better…

(sorry for the red hue.  the awning was red, and the sun was bright,)