Models
On Harveywood...
Once upon a time, there was a magazine called Perfect 10. The claim was that it offered high-quality nude photography of women who hadn’t been under the knife. The second part of that claim was mostly true.
I knew a number of Playboy models who’d been asked to appear in the magazine when it was getting started, and without exception they were creeped out by the founder and his auditions. Basically, he wanted a private show before he’d consider paying them to appear in his magazine, despite the fact that they were all experienced professional nude models with ample portfolios.
The one that sticks out in my memory was a Playmate from 1989 who was well-known for her lush natural figure, and was extremely popular in Playboy’s videos and special editions. He invited her in and asked her to show off the goods, then rejected her for “just not being pretty”.
Gosh, I wonder how he treated women who weren’t already successful models! (actually, I don’t, because I heard rumors about that, too…)
The consensus was that in his mind he was the next Hef, but in reality he was sleazier than Guccione.
My opinion of Hef is colored by my Playmate acquaintances as well, in a mostly positive way. Even decades after posing for the magazine, a lot of them retained affection for the man, often in a “god bless him” kind of way. There was a lot of bitterness about the company’s actions over the years, and there were plenty of less-affectionate stories, but for the most part, they still liked Hef.
Now, this was a self-selected subset of Playmates still willing to associate themselves with their centerfold and show up at autograph shows, but at the time that amounted to more than 1/3 of the women who’d ever had a staple through their navels, so if even half of them still liked him, he was no Harvey. A lot of former Bunnies had good things to say about him, too, and their experience working in the clubs.
The other comments that stick out in my memory were the ones that I started to hear after Hef moved his wife and kids into the mansion next door and restarted the partying. All his old pals from the glory days showed up and expected everything to be the same, and the result was that the younger Playmates stopped showing up unless they were still under contract, because being hit on by old men creeped them out.
One fresh young model who’d been getting popular in the newsstand specials found herself banned from the parties (and further work with the company) when she failed to return the affection of one of Hef’s Old Pals. And he made it clear to her that this would happen if she didn’t put out, because he knew people.
Not that it was all one-way. When Leonardo DiCaprio first showed up at a mansion party, he was so smothered in eager models that he could barely breathe through their titties. And this was no more surprising than the other stories…
Side note: the single most common story I’ve heard about mansion parties was not about anyone’s behavior, but about the fact that there was only one set of bathrooms available to the guests. Ask a Playmate about the mansion, and the first thing you’ll hear about is the long line to pee.
Got Melonpan?
29-year-old Saki Suzuki 鈴木咲 shows off her melonpan.
(via)
Even without big pastries, she’s competitive in a bikini. Surprisingly, while she’s been modeling since she was 16, she didn’t get a solo photobook until two years ago. Fortunately there are half a dozen cheesecake DVDs documenting her lively personality, pretty face, and sleek body.
Update
Just noticed that her blog profile says “palm-sized A-cups”, a more literal than usual application of the term “hand bra”. And a nice change from the anime “A-cup angst” trope. It’s practically a catchphrase for her, as seen here on video.
Jun in August
I don’t want to go all-Jun-Amaki-all-the-time, but while she’s short on DVDs and photobooks, The Tiny Temptress has been getting a lot of photoshoot work recently. And as you can see in the first picture, she clearly understands her appeal.
(via)
Three-Gun Nanoka
Nanoka (菜乃花) has a distinctive face, and photographers and stylists have managed to coax a variety of pleasant looks out of her over the past six years. Since she was already over 21 when she debuted, there are no pictures where you have to guess her age before shamelessly ogling. More here.
Dear Hello!Project Costume Designers,
I hadn’t realized that the entire wardrobe department was out with the flu, forcing the company to bring in some temps to outfit the girls. I’m sure this will come as a shock, after our years of peaceful conflict, but I hope it’s a long flu season.
…although I do have a few questions about how “trainee” Kurumi Noguchi (age 15) got into those pants. And who else is trying to get into them…
Please don't lose the recipe...
“Former hotel chef” Aoi Gotō is the latest in tasty dishes served up fresh by Japan’s gravure magazine/DVD industry. Age 22, so “chef” may be a bit of a stretch, but her bikini credentials are excellent.
(via)
Jun Amaki
Jun Amaki falls somewhere in the middle of the current pack of gravure models: age 21, nominal singing career, pretty enough that stylists and photographers don’t forget to include her face, but only 1 photobook and 3 DVDs so far in her four-year career. That last is a bit surprising, since she’s also 4'10" with a 95-I bustline, and falls firmly into the “loli-cute” category (referring to the face only, of course…).
And she can be quite expressive on camera:
She is featured in a group photobook coming out in a few weeks, titled If My Cat Turned Into A Cute Girl. I wonder what breed she’ll be…
