Cuesukeya – Tin Doll Project
One of my favorites from this year’s Design Festa was Mr Masato Homma and his very low-key no thrills exhibition of customized tin dolls, known as Buriki-ningyo here in Japan. Even as a kid I remember sometimes seeing photos of old tin toys that would move around if a spring in the back was wound up and came in all sizes and shapes. Cuesukeya, as he calls himself in the world of toy making, takes standard sized tin doll and customize them, for collectors and fans of old-style toys all over the world. Here’s four of his dolls in Japanese style but he’s got many others on his Flickr page, including Hulk Hogan! I love the details and the clean simplicity of these toys, they are almost works of art and would fit in well in any modern art gallery around the world I think. He’s got a Facebook page as well. If you ever visit Kyoto I also recommend the tin doll museum.
Tokyobling's Blog 
I love how all the toys that are designed have a plaque rather than just something scribbled on the display plate 🙂 neat!!
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And the little display plaques are mounted at a slight angle slanting back, for viewing convenience.
Now THAT is attention to detail!
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Exactly! If I was rich, I’d buy all of them and have them on a special custom made shelf in my home. One can dream…!
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I have seen in it in news all the time, a lot of people in Asia would fill up an entire living room full of memorabilia and crafts such as these 🙂 hope you can achieve a dream like that sometime in the future 😀
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Yes, in Tokyo bookshops there are shelves of books with photos of people’s rooms! I think you can find these rooms in Europe too but they seem to be more common in Asia. (^-^)
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Yes, I talked to the guy himself about that, and he pointed out to me that with these kind of generic tin dolls, the details is what really makes or breaks a model, so he tries very hard to bring depth to each doll. I wouldn’t have thought of it, I guess.
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I love the uniqueness of these toys. Old world craftsmanship is really cool. But there is something about this that reminds me of those “rock um sock um” robot toys. Which increases the coolness factor by 20 (that’s terrible, I didn’t really create a gage, I just wanted a number).
Andy1076’s right, the plaque is a nice touch. I picture the toys just looking down at their names when you aren’t looking, so they know what their names are. Are those the displays bottoms for the glass (sometimes acrylic) displays.
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I totally agree with you! Classic toys are lovely, even after you have stopped playing with them. I don’t know much about what toys kids use these days but I think I prefer the old ones! (^-^)
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I’ve always liked tin lithrographed things, nice to see that they are still being made in a quality way.
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I agree. Give me one quality toy over ten boxes of mass produced plastics. (^-^)
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Pft! Plastic toys are just an excuse so manufacturer can get more profit. Now these toys are REAL. One can really admire the details, turn them into memorabilia and still have the fun of playing with them. Applause to Mr Masato Homma.
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I totally agree! (^-^)
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