I will admit I never thought about it very deeply. Then I got to reading a book ,or Booklets.These were about what people collect. There were some very intriguing things in there. Like a specific company’s take on Dinosaurs. Another’s on machines and the list goes on.
Well, shiver me Timbers, I actually found a collectors book that belonged to a friend. What did it contain? Models and toys of Crawfish, Crabs and Lobsters etc… I have recently been researching Food Models. There have been , over the years at least 26 different toys and models based on the ordinary ( to us anyway) hamburger!
The one that really caught my eye was the tremendous following a firm in Japan has. They manufacture " False Food" for window and store displays. They have customers worldwide. Maybe American food purveyors should take the hint and show us a delicious Burger with all the fixins that doesn’t waste about ten pounds of Beef and Condiments, Just for that Perfect Burger shot. Well, today they’re probably photoshopped anyway! that get thrown in the garbage instead of the less perfect ones given to hungry folks nearby.
One shop that provides faux food for the Japanese restaurant industry is Ganso Sampuru (Sample). They have a retail outlet in Kappabashi in Tokyo, which I have visited on several occasions.
The most amazing thing is that you will not see spray painted fried chicken anywhere. Rather, they make molds from real food where possible and sell reproductions in resin or vinyl.
Where this has some interest to us modelers is the paint application. I have no idea how they do it, but they nail it! I marveled at the seafood, wondering how they got the tiny chromatophores on the squid and the complex coloration on the fish, shrimp, crabs and lobsters. I was tempted by the king crab, but it was too big and quite pricey!
Don’t like seafood? They also sell beverages in glasses, like beer with foam on top, fancy colorful drinks with whipped cream and a cherry on top, and regular soft drinks.
I think the store is mostly for us dumb tourists, since they customize each dish for their business clients. A friend bought ala carte components (pork cutlet, rice, shredded cabbage, and pickled ginger) to make a meal. Final cost? $80!
I know a few guys that have restored older cars and street rods. They make up trays that look like drive-in food and hang them on the door for display at car shows. Some of them look pretty good.
You got it, Bill; I saw a TV program a few years back on the advertising industry, and they were examining food commercials. The show displayed the process of photgraphing and/or videoing food and all of the ‘tricks’ they use to make everything look “fresh and delicious”. Freaky and disgusting was more the case!!!
And I don’t even want to bring up the actual color of hotdog filler . . .!
Hey I bought that kit for one of my friends! You are great inspiration Phil - I forwarded the Youtube videos to my friends that got the food kits. I’m going to ask them to watch the videos, do their kits, and bring them over for a photo shoot.
I’d hate to think how much it would cost to get one of those kits here to Australia. I was looking at the cup noodle kt and that one would be somewhere in the region of $50 (AUD)
There’s a whole slew of interesting videos on that guy’s channel. The fried rice one comes out looking quite realistic. Looks ike he scratcbuilds miniature appliances for dollhouses too.