Odd project: BR Bento Box!!!

i shall have to make a bento-like divider grid for the Haliburton as to accommodate my spring rolls, miso soup, and futomaki rolls! thank YOU for the great idea!

Actually my idea was finding color-coordinated little boxes to attach inside the briefcase somehow, boxes which could be taken out of the briefcase for washing them after use. However, now that I think of it, there would be a slight problem with attaching them. It will make the whole thing a pain to clean. So I'm going to have to find a set that will fit closely inside the briefcase but not attach. With individual lids that again would not preclude latching the thing.

I'm lucky in that Little Tokyo is a subway ride away...there's a great little place called Marukai 98 which is sort of a 99 Cent Only store with Japanese goodies. Lots of kitchen gadgets, household items, and yes, lots of Bento containers of varying size. There's also a similar place in the Mitsuwa Shopping Center...oops, it's called Little Tokyo Shopping Center now.

Yes. I DO live in the City of Blade Runner! Sugoi neh!

I posted that a few weeks ago, before a silly person parted out his/her entire 5 DVD briefcase on eBay. Well, I am pleased to announce that I won the auction for the briefcase itself. It cost me a little more than I wanted to pay, but hey, this is too good of an idea not to pursue.

I measured the briefcase I have, which is going to remain as it is, pristine and happy. It measures 12" wide by 9.5" high by roughly 1.5" deep. My next move, after paying (grumble) $24.50 for the thing including shipping & handling, (grumble) will be to find little containers that will fit in the coming extra briefcase.

As I mentioned, I have abandoned the idea of actually affixing the containers in the box, because I want this to be easily cleaned up after use. So the containers will be nestled loosely in the briefcase. I'm thinking three or four containers for food, a container for keeping a cleanup towel in, a little space for bags or packets of food, and room for either a juice box cooler (for real use) or a small hip flask (for show...of course a real Blade Runner will pack a flask of booze when brownbagging!)

The nice thing about the clear vinyl pouches in the lid (where the dossier and the lenticular piece were) is that they can hold things like napkins, chopsticks, utensils and so forth. The pouch for the lenticular thingy would actually be ideal for a little "blue ice" pack that can be used for keeping the stuff inside the bento cool.

Anyway, I will post pix of this project both here and on Propsummit. I think it will be fun.

Quick update: the briefcase has arrived. Thankfully the vinyl stuff in the top lid was still intact...if this guy was crazy enough to part out a Deluxe 5 DVD Set, perhaps he'd be crazy enough to remove that too.

Most of the foam rubber came up easily. The lower velvety stuff was harder to remove, having been hot glue-gunned into place. I'm going to have to scrape and sand to get the residue off.

The next step will be a good scrubbing, at least of the bottom half. I might be a wee bit more gentle in cleaning up the top half of the insides, because I want that plastic to stay in place for good. The area that held the dossier is going to be where I put utensils, chopsticks and napkins, and the pocket for the lenticular piece will be hopefully home to a little blue ice block for keeping things cool inside the box when in use as a bento.

I have no problems with doing this to this particular briefcase, in that the number on this one is 45940/103000. If this had been a lower number than my "keeper" briefcase, (36745/10300) I would have transferred my stuff into the new briefcase and used the Amazon-bought one as the sacrificial project briefcase.

I might line the bottom half of the briefcase, perhaps with black vinyl or something. This might be a good save in case the residue is uncooperative, or if the results of getting rid of the glue gun glue is ugly. Just as long as I can wipe the thing out with an antimicrobial wipe to clean it, it should be fine to actually *use* as a bento.

Sounds like a cool project!

I can't wait to see pictures of your finished lunchbox.

I will be posting progress on the Bento here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/msgeek/sets/72157603621394710/

I've decided I'm going to line the bottom. The foam rubber is not entirely coming free, and the scrapes are showing where I was able to get the foam rubber, the hot glue and/or both off. Now I need to find some vinyl or oilcloth for the purpose. It should be easy, and provide an easy to clean surface.

Otherwise...so far, so good.

I don't know if you've considered it, but take a look at reinforcing the hinges or altering how the lid/top rests when opened. Even mild use of my set has shown that opening it all the way causes the top to bend the hinges dangerously (though if the items are removed from the cover, it's less stressful on them).

Looking forward to seeing this project.

Goodness, you've invented the 'Melancholy Meal'! Well, at least you'll have no trouble choosing a toy to include.

Can't wait to see how it turns out...

Goodness, you've invented the 'Melancholy Meal'!

Excellent.

Goodness, you've invented the 'Melancholy Meal'! Well, at least you'll have no trouble choosing a toy to include.

A Pflager-Katsumata-D Magnum, fully loaded, and a flask of Johnny Walker Black, of course!

It just makes sense. Someone here mentioned turning the briefcase into a lunchbox, and of course between the Asian influences in the Blade Runner milieu and my lifelong Otaku-ness, the idea of the o-Bento was just a natural idea. You don't see people eating out of Bento in the movie, but then again you don't see people eating except at the White Dragon, and you see Taffy Lewis nibbling on some sort of pub grub at his bar.

Oh that was you! I was wondering who else would bid on it!

LOL

you see Taffy Lewis nibbling on some sort of pub grub at his bar.

Knowing that place, they literally WERE grubs...

Progress update: bought a half-yard of 54" wide vinyl to line the bento. The vinyl I chose has a polyester mesh backing rather than the flannel that usually backs vinyl meant to be used for tablecloths. It cuts cleaner and will likely not result in lint problems like the flannel-backed stuff. I wanted shiny black patent-leather looking vinyl but they didn't have it. This looks more like black leather.

I thought I had contact cement, but I apparently used the last bottle up. Oh well, no worries, looks like a trip to Home Despot is in the offing. I'm also going to buy some clear silicone caulking to use in the cracks, so that there are no hidey-holes for food to accumulate in. I want this bento to actually be usable. I want to be able to take an antimicrobial wipe and wipe the thing clean to clean it.

I'm going to Little Tokyo this Saturday, so I hope to have the lining done and cured before then. I will be looking for containers, chopsticks and other things to put in the bento box.

By the way, there are several bento communities on Live Journal. People are competing for the most elegant and attractive bento meals. They take digital pictures either after prepping or before eating, and post them up. Before I embarked on this project I never knew that such things existed. People become otaku about the weirdest things.

http://community.livejournal.com/bentochallenge/
http://community.livejournal.com/bentolunch/

I went to Japantown this weekend, and in one of there stores they had loads and loads of food boxes/carrying cases/inserts/little-plastic-food-things-in-general and I thought of you and your project...

I'm sure you'll come up with something grand.

OK, I'm done lining and sealing and painting, I have given the whole shebang curing time, and now it's time to hunt food containers. I will be stalking the wild Bento tomorrow in Little Tokyo. I will have my trusty camera handy. In the mean time, scroll up and follow the link to my Flickr set. I've got some new photos up.

Progress report:

I found boxes, chopsticks, a chopstick holder and Furoshiki (wrapping cloths) for the Bento at Little Tokyo yesterday. Big disappointment: Marukai 98 is GONE. There is another little store in the Japanese Village Plaza which kind of took over their trip, but it's not quite the same.

The adhesives are still giving off fumes, even after the curing time printed on the packaging came and went. Not what you want holding food. So basically this project is going to end up being a prop/art project instead of a usable bento. I will be filling the containers up with fake sushi and other fake food instead of using it to carry real food. I like the Japanese art form of food displays, so this will be fun.

I still have some things to get for the Bento outside of the fake food, but at least the project looks like a Bento now. Oh yeah: my husband and I figured out that this is Gaff's Bento box, not Deckard's. Deckard wouldn't mess around with pretty food in pretty containers. Gaff, on the other hand, is enough into style for style's sake to take the time and trouble to make up a Bento for himself for lunch every day.

Just so you don't have to scroll up for the pix, here's that link again...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/msgeek/sets/72157603621394710/

I miss those Pre-BR days myself. Back then, Lil Tokyo was active and was lined with small shops and bars with food displays (some real and changed daily) and a central point of contact with all things Japanese. Not as big as J Town in San Fransisco, but enough to make its point.

But, even into the 90's there were places in LT that had stores like Yaohan and Pony-Toy-Go-Round. If anything BR from Japan was available, it was there.

(The Church from John Carpenter's "Prince of Darkness" was also near LT.)

MG, I can see your problem. On a project like this, it is best to use materials an adhesives that will become fairly 'food-safe' when they cure.

Corning's Silicone II would be a good choice. (Silicone I was ammonia based and would not have a pleasant smell. CA also works well on some surfaces.

Some adhesives contain monomers and other highly toxic chemicals which take time to cure properly...often a week or so just to get rid of the smell.

The final problem is the case itself. Not being made for food, it may not have been held to any kind of standards to make it free from contaminants.

If Mitsuwa is still around (at the old Yaohan location) you might try looking there for things like the plastic garnish and other items that have become the standard for the modern Bento box.