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Ever wondered what super blinged out Asian semi-trucks might look like? Well look no further. These Japanese monster trucks, known as Dekotora [デコトラ], an abbreviation for “Decoration Truck“, look like gigantic Pinball machines on wheels.

In 1975, filmmaker Toei released the first entry in a series of 10 movies entitledTruck Guys (トラック野郎, Torakku Yaro?) that featured a charming, costumed trucker as the protagonist who drove his garishly decorated truck all over Japan. This movie was a big hit with both young and old, and caused a waveof dekotora fanaticism to sweep the country. While these pimped 0ut trucks were already present throughout the 1970s, prior to the movie they were restricted to a pocket of north-eastern fishing transport trucks. It is has been theorized that the movie was an attempt to popularise these types of trucks. In those days, ready-made parts for trucks were not easily available, so these trucks often freely utilised parts from  both sightseeing buses and US military vehicles.