Hobby Industry Inside vol.7: Just following the instructional drawings makes plastic modeling fun!　Interview with Shuhei Matsumoto, professional modeler!

In recent years, sales of plastic models have been on the rise, and the number of female modelers continues to increase. Shuhei Matsumoto, a picture book author, is a veteran modeler who began publishing plastic models of tanks in the 1980s in the modeling magazine "Hobby Japan.

We asked him about the "joys of plastic modeling" and his current work for "Scale Aviation" magazine, which mainly focuses on airplane plastic models.

He modified plastic models and submitted them as homework during summer vacation!

─ In the 1980s, you published your plastic model works in "Hobby Japan" magazine.

Matsumoto: When I was a student at Musashino Art University, there was a man named Hiroshi Ichimura who lived near my boarding house. Ichimura-kun was also a plastic model enthusiast, and I would often visit him, but after he graduated he became an editor of "Hobby Japan" magazine. I was also good friends with Hiroshi Yokoyama, an illustrator who loved plastic models, so I went to introduce him to the editorial department of "Hobby Japan.

─ Hiroshi Yokoyama is the original creator of the science fiction project "Maschinen Krieger," for which many plastic models have also been released.

Matsumoto: That's right. Yokoyama was good at making plastic models as well as illustrations, so I thought he would be perfect as a writer for "Hobby Japan. I introduced Yokoyama-kun to Ichimura-kun, who was in the editorial department, and was about to leave when Matsumoto-kun asked me, "Hey, Matsumoto-san, why don't you become a writer too? I was about to leave when Ichimura asked me, "Hey, Matsumoto-san, would you like to be a writer too? That was the beginning of my involvement with model magazines. At the time, I was working at a design office, but I gradually became interested in presenting my work in model magazines (laughs). As a result, I ended up making a plastic model every month in the form of a series of articles.

───How did you first encounter plastic models?

Matsumoto: When I was in kindergarten, there was a cheap plastic model of an airplane called "Peanuts Series" at a candy store. I used to build them a lot, and when I entered elementary school, I started painting them with lacquer. I thought it was a good way to hide the messy parts where the glue was sticking out (laughs).

─ Did you continue to make airplanes after that?

Matsumoto: No. When I was in elementary school, there was a monster boom. So I started buying plastic models of "Ultraman" monsters, Jet Beetles, etc., which were sold by a model manufacturer called Marusan Shoten. But because we were in the countryside, when I was buying plastic monster models at a shopping center, some of the better students in my class made fun of me, saying, "You're still buying those things, aren't you? I was made fun of by the more studious students in my class. When I entered junior high school, I finally got acquainted with people who were making ship models, and I still keep in touch with them.

─ ─ Did you have any memorable episodes related to plastic models when you were in junior high school?

Matsumoto: I remodeled a plastic model car and submitted it as a homework assignment during the summer vacation. I painted it well, and it turned out well. My art teacher praised me, saying, "I have never seen such an amazing car model. Then I thought, "Oh, I can continue to make plastic models," and I became more and more addicted to them.

My first priority was to "surprise readers!

─ Did you continue with plastic models as your sole hobby after that?

Matsumoto: When I entered high school, I started playing in a band or something. I was also the captain of the soccer team. So I was not an indoor type. On the other hand, I continued to build plastic models. I did everything except study.

─ ─ When you made your debut in "Hobby Japan" magazine, you were making small 1/72 scale tanks because they were "cheap.

Matsumoto: The salary at the design office where I worked was low, so I couldn't afford to buy very expensive models.

─ ─ I think you introduced a method of construction that was easy for young people, using "burnt needles" and the like, without using expensive tools?

Matsumoto: No, I didn't have younger people in mind. I was simply using a method that I thought was "okay" in my own way. However, Ichimura-kun and Yokoyama-kun, whom I mentioned earlier, seemed to be amused by my way of production (laughs). Looking back on it now, I think they were amused and thought, "Let him make whatever he wants.

─ ─ In the articles on the production of plastic models, there were a lot of gag-like phrases such as "Don't modify the model" and "Buy it, quit it, ondo.

Matsumoto: That's because, by nature, I can't talk about serious things. If I tried to talk seriously, I wouldn't last 10 minutes, so I would end up saying strange things. Ichimura-kun noticed my personality and made the magazine interesting. He told me to say something funny (laughs). I think most modelers probably see a model magazine as a place to showcase their work, but we took the stance of "making plastic models in order to make an interesting magazine. As long as the readers enjoyed the magazine, that was fine. That's why there are no works left from those days.

─ ─ That's what makes you fundamentally different from other modelers, isn't it?

Matsumoto: Yes, I think so. I want people to be surprised and say, "Wow, this plastic model spread is amazing! I wanted to make plastic models so that people would be surprised by them. I received some letters criticizing my work, saying that there were some material errors in the examples used in the model magazines, but I just put priority on the fun factor, even though I knew that there were some errors.

─ ─ Nowadays, when people try to make a plastic model of a tank, they have an image that the hurdle is a bit high.

Matsumoto: It must be tough for first-timers if they are suddenly asked to assemble a connected caterpillar. In my case, I started with cheap plastic models of tanks that I didn't really understand, then moved on to Nichimo's remote-controlled tanks, and then to Tamiya's real military miniatures (......), and was able to progress step by step. Now, we may be entering a tough time.