Retro Riding Robots...From Japan!

A Japanese 3D designer has created a range of model kits based on a 1957 that never happened.

Alternate histories have always been cool, or will be cool, or might have been cool, had things taken a slightly different path, and with Fallout 3 currently rocking the Atompunk look, the concept of alternate histories is enjoying a resurgence, or will be, or... oh, nevermind.

The kits, created by Kazushi Kobayashi, a 3D artist for Japanese television, are from an alternate 1957 where robots have become the primary mode of transport. Looking like the lovechild of Half-Life 2's Dog and a moped, the robots seem to fill a variety of roles in this fictional 50s setting, from simple transportation to construction.

The exact details are a little hard to decipher, due to my inability to read either Japanese, or the internet translations thereof, but from what I can figure out, the kits are available in either 1:12 scale or 1:20 scale and cost around 28,000 Yen, or around £200/$300.

The kits don't appear to be available outside Japan, but damn it, they're really cool.

Source: Boing Boing