Hobby Industry Inside Vol.2: From Personal Works to Plastic Models - The Small Miracle of MECHATROWIGO Interview with Kazushi Kobayashi, Professional Modeler

Mechatrowego," a robot character without an original anime or manga story, is gaining popularity. Last fall, SEN-TI-NERI Co., Ltd. a developer of alloy toys, released "35 MECHATROWEEGO" as a finished toy. In June of this year, Hasegawa, a long-established plastic model manufacturer, released a 1/35 Mecatrowego assembly kit, which is attracting light users, including plastic model beginners.

However, MECHATROWEEGO is merely the personal work of Kazushi Kobayashi, a professional modeler, and is not supported by a strong media backbone. So why does it attract so many people? We visit the home of Mr. Kobayashi, the creator of Wego, and discover the secret behind its popularity.

The Path to the Birth of Mechatro Weego

--I was surprised to read that you were in charge of 3D modeling for "Rebuild of Evangelion," but what is your main occupation?

I 'm currently working both as a computer graphics creator for video works and as a prototype creator for toys and gumballs.

--What is the story behind your design for Mechatrowego, which is very popular both as a finished toy and as a plastic model?

Kobayashi: Around 1989, I was attending a design school, and it was during that time that I started participating in WF (Wonder Festival, an exhibition and exhibition of garage kits created by individuals). I started participating in WF (Wonder Festival, an exhibition and sale of garage kits created by individuals). I had always participated by helping friends and making copyrighted characters, but I had never made any original works of my own. Eventually, a friend of mine who made original figures asked me, "Why don't you try making your own original work, Mr. Kobayashi? I liked robots, so I decided to make my own original work. I liked robots, so if I wanted to make an original work, I wanted to make a robot. However, I did not have the skills to draw the design by hand, so I decided to make a three-dimensional figure by filling it with my favorite shapes and elements (......). I made a robot called "Tube No. 1" in 1/12 scale.

--Did you intend to sell Tube No. 1 from the beginning?

Kobayashi: No, I made it as a one-of-a-kind product for display at WF, with no intention of reproduction. I made it as a one-of-a-kind product for display at the WF, with no intention of reproducing it, and I received reactions from customers who said, "If it becomes a garage kit, I want it. However, Tube No. 1 is 1/12 scale, so reproducing it as is would make it an expensive garage kit. So, I rebuilt it in a smaller 1/20 scale and sold it as a garage kit at the WF in the summer of 2007. The following year, BEAMS also released Tube No. 1 in 1/12 scale as a garage kit.

--BEAMS is an apparel and general merchandise store, right?

Kobayashi: Yes. When we launched the "Tokyo Cultuart by BEAMS" store in Harajuku, the representative of the store happened to see the Tube No. 1 in "MFLOG" (a magazine specializing in garage kits and other models) and asked me if I would be interested in selling it as a garage kit. The representative of the shop happened to see the first issue of Tube in "MFLOG" (a magazine specializing in garage kits and other models) and approached me. For a while, however, my only original work was Tube No. 1. The structure was a bit complicated, so for my second work, I thought of the Mechatro Wego as a garage kit with a simpler structure that even beginners could easily assemble.

--So the Wego was born as a garage kit created by you personally?

Kobayashi: That's right. The first 1/20 scale Wego that I made and sold at the 2011 Summer WF was molded by myself and poured resin (the raw material for garage kits) by hand, and I was only able to prepare about three pieces. I sold the first three of them at the 2011 Summer WF. The following year, at the 2012 Winter WF, we asked RC Berg (a garage kit molding company) to produce 1/20 Mechatro Wego "Mizuiro" and "Kiiro" in colored resin molding. That was the full-scale start of Wego.

--You used colored resin molding, so you were aiming for a "garage kit that can be shown off by the color of the molding without coloring it"?

Kobayashi: Yes, we wanted to make a garage kit that anyone could assemble without painting by including commercially available screws. I wanted to make a kit of this color-molded 1/20 Wego.