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Japan’s plastic model capital installs working plastic model-style payphones【Photos】

Casey Baseel Mar 14, 2022
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Plastic Model-ization Plan welcomes its newest public art pieces.

On Sunday, Shizuoka City put a lot of smiles on people’s faces by installing some new pay phones. That might not seem like anything special enough to get happy about, seeing as how mobile phones have become pretty much ubiquitous for anyone junior high age or older in Japan, but these aren’t just any pay phones.

They’re plastic model pay phones.

静岡市プラモデル化計画の一環として市内各所に設置される「プラモニュメント」。本日、静岡駅北口に新しいモニュメントが登場しました！こちらのモチーフは公衆電話☎️
静岡にお越しの際は是非お立ち寄りください！ #模型の世界首都 pic.twitter.com/8i0qB60Bkp

— タミヤ (@tamiyainc) March 13, 2022

Shizuoka bills itself as “a model city,” not just because it thinks of itself as a pretty nice town, but also because the city produces 80 percent of Japan’s plastic model kits. With Japan’s unabashed passion for the hobby, that makes models a major part of the local economy, with the headquarters of major kit maker Tamiya, which tweeted the above photo, located in Shizuoka City.

▼ Telecommunications provider NTT West Japan, which operates the phones, also shared a snapshot.

NTT西日本静岡支店は、静岡市様が取り組んでいる #静岡市プラモデル化計画に賛同し製作した公衆電話をモチーフにしたプラモニュメントをJR静岡駅北口に設置しました。こちらのモニュメントは公衆電話としてご利用いただけます。ぜひご活用ください！ pic.twitter.com/2zc7EAcxTw

— NTT西日本 (@NTTWestOfficial) March 14, 2022

The phones are located outside the north exit of Shizuoka Station, where they can provide a playful welcome to visitors who’ve just arrived by train. And yes, the two phones on the left and right sides of the frame are actual functioning payphones, not just decorations, which can be used to make calls.

このプラモニュメントの中の公衆電話☎は実際に使うことができます！静岡にお越しの際は是非ご利用ください📞#模型の世界首都 pic.twitter.com/pY0VVS0YNn

— タミヤ (@tamiyainc) March 13, 2022

The model phones are part of the Shizuoka City Plastic Model-ization Plan, a PR campaign with public art pieces with a plastic model aesthetic. Last year Shizuoka unveiled a plastic model-style mail box outside city hall, and there are also monuments at the south entrance to Shizuoka Station and outside the Twinmesse Shizuoka convention center where modeling fans can pose like they’re part of the parts frame.

静岡駅前のコレの前で写真を撮れば、プラモになった気分が味わえるかと思いますよ。 pic.twitter.com/wPDh9i6Qde

— 鈴木㌠@C103日東コ34a (@linuxsearchers) March 13, 2022

静岡市で、プラモデルのモニュメント、”プラモニュメント”をつくりました！
実際に立ってパーツの一部になれるプラモニュメント、実際に手紙を投函できるポストプラモニュメントが本日から始動〜！！#プラモデル #静岡市 #静岡市プラモデル化計画 pic.twitter.com/gMZlATMRm2

— ツネヤユリヱ (@yuritaaaaam) March 19, 2021

As the newest pieces though, it’s now the phones’ turn in the spotlight, and reactions on Twitter have included:

“Sweet! It’s 1:1 scale!”
“Gonna have to use some big pincers to remove those from the runner.”
“Seriously, I would buy a plastic model of the plastic model phones.”
“I totally want to see this in person!”
“Gonna have to go to Shizuoka and check this out.”

Though there’s less and less need for public phones in the modern era, places like train stations do need to keep at least a few available for travelers whose mobile phone may have gotten lost, damaged, or had its battery die, and this is a clever way to fulfill that obligation while also providing some fun even for people who won’t be using the phones themselves.

Source: Twitter/@tamiyainc via IT Media, Shizuoka City Plastic Model-ization Plan
Featured image: Twitter/@NTTWestOfficial
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