New model kit for making retro porn vending machine in miniature
They say that everything is small in Japan. Small cars. Small homes. Small food portions. Small people. Only kidding about that last one.
Sometimes it seems that there really are capsule toys and model kits for everything.
In the latest evidence of this, renowned plastic model kit maker Hasegawa is set to release another miniature “retro vending machine” this July. And the fifth iteration (FA13) of the series of kits, following versions for ramen and udon noodles, is a porn vending machine.
It’s not explicitly stated as such, but the weirdly anonymous-looking design and the conspicuous, innocuous-yet-coded “book’s [sic] & video” (yes, not DVDs — retro, remember) makes it pretty obvious that this is meant to be a vendor for buying porn magazines/mooks or your latest adult videos (back in the day when they were actually VHS videos).
Such vending machines were once relatively common sights, especially in more rural or suburban areas of Japan that didn’t have access to adult stores (or frankly, anything much except rice paddies and mountains). The expansion of convenience stores (which often sold small selections of porn magazines) from the 1990s and the arrival of online retail in the 2000s are among the trends that ushered in the decline of this 1970s and 1980s icon. You can still find a few vending machines at random locations sometimes, the last gasps of a superseded distribution channel. A little part of our soppy, sentimental hearts leap with delight if we stumble upon one during a drive.
The Hasegawa kit includes a moving tray flap and a “book part” with a generic “blond girl” on the cover. The latter is a reference to a Hasegawa “American glamor model” figure. Hasegawa points out, though, that the pages of the “book part” are “healthy,” so don’t expect any actual miniature porn!
The retro porn vending machine model is 1:12 scale and will retail for a cheap ¥1,540 in Japan. The various parts are blue, white, gray, and clear, and it comes with decorative stickers. And the good news for ham-fisted peeps like us, no glue or particular skill is required to assemble the model.
We’re already preparing a spot on a shelf at the Tokyo Kinky office.
