This is the first diorama I built, when i was a sprightly youth of 12 years of age. Looking at it now I can see room for improvement (seems like a very high ceilinged place with a huge light overhead, and less merchandise you'd need for a successful business) however it still has a lot of charm. As I look over the scene I remember that the cash register is actually a small slot machine (with the arm removed) I got from one of the casinos in Vegas on a family vacation. (see below)
In preparation for next weeks Toy Fair in New York, I made up some promos for the blog using this image, which was a good excuse for me to repost the image. (It was the topic of this blog's very first posting which was when I had a readership of about 3 people (counting me)).
I did a quick google search to see if I could find the plastic slot machines. Not surprisingly, I saw a few for sale. The ads say its a 1960s charm. The ones I found say 'Made in Hong Kong" and also "Fabulous Las Vegas". These were also cool because they worked - flicking the handle spun the internal wheel. When I went as a child, they used to give away lots of good cheap stuff like the slot machines and casino-branded small decks of cards.
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| This one has a keychain ring. I saw it listed on Ebay for $25. There was a similar listing with a price of $50. |
