A little army of traditional Japanese houses have ended up in my house. Of course I am obsessed with them because they are supremely tiny. And so well made.
Manufactured by Takara in 2003, the houses are actually different types of commercial buildings: a Chinese restaurant, barber, candy shop, seafood shop, and general shop. They each came packaged with stickers that have photo-real imagery -- they really bring the buildings alive.
The are quite sturdy and snap easily together.
Neat, right? The Chinese restaurant even came with a bulb and lights up!
I'm not sure what I will do with them yet. Perhaps display them along with other mini houses I have accumulated over the years. Have I ever shared my 1950s drive-in diner??
Makes me smile.
By the way, I have been on the lookout for a 1:144 scale house set by Re-ment, which came out briefly in 2008:
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| Photo courtesy of the Re-ment Addicts Flickr group |
Amazing, right? They are quite rare and I've seen them go for $300 (nuts)! Should you ever come across a set, do let me know!
I can see why you like these! How about putting them at an angle that makes them look like it is a village far away in the background from your 1:12 houses?
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! I am sure that would work well.
DeleteFantastic!
ReplyDeleteGreetings, Faby
They are cool, right?
DeleteHello from Spain: great Japanese-style houses. Keep in touch
ReplyDeleteGlad you like them, Marta!
Delete¡Son tan pequeños ! Encantadores edificios.
ReplyDeleteGracias, Isabel!
DeleteAmazing detail. A couple of them look like real buildings I've seen in Little Tokyo!
ReplyDeleteCool! The detail of the decals really adds to the authenticity, I think.
DeleteThe drive-in diner looks very close to an HO scale building conversion I was working on during the summer:
ReplyDeletehttp://30squaresofontario.blogspot.com/2013/07/fluorescent-lighting-for-elgin.html
http://30squaresofontario.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-building-in-bag-becomes-elgin.html
http://30squaresofontario.blogspot.com/2013/05/building-in-bag.html
It turned out that the base kit was a ‘Plastiville’ brand item, and was originally marketed to model train hobbyists as a car dealership. The service bays were in one wing and the showroom in another – the glass wall wing. Maybe the same company produced both HO and N scale versions. It looks like the N-scale diner is the showroom part of the dealership. The two buildings look closely related :-)
Wow! Thanks for sharing! There is a clear similarity. I do love your work and enjoyed looking through your blog. And I see you have just finished Mel's -- congrats!
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ReplyDeletethose are so cute..you know you can can get a little Godzilla and stage your own Go Go Godzilla attacks the town scene.
ReplyDeleteAwesome. Instead, my six-year-old knocked them down off the table!!
Deletehihihihi made me smile tonight :) thanks for sharing...
ReplyDeleteThey make me smile, too! :)
DeleteI just found your blog looking for info on the AG minis line. I think I've found a kindred spirit in you, I share your love for the small and those re ment houses are amazing! I think I'm going on a hunt for them right now.
ReplyDeleteI love this blog you have some cool stuff on it. I like how you take your photos.
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