Hobby Industry Inside Part 12: Plastic models of 1/12th scale firearms make their way into novels and games!　Tomytec "Little Armory" development manager, interview!

A number of companies have released props and props for 1/12th scale movable figures that can recreate school classrooms and everyday scenes. Among such items for 1/12 figures, Tomytec's "Little Armory" series, which reproduces real guns, stands out from the crowd.

The construction is faithful to the real thing for a figure accessory, with an outstanding degree of completion that makes it look like a full-fledged plastic model. The packaging features beautiful girls in school uniforms holding guns. These beautiful girls are beginning to show unexpected developments, appearing in video games and becoming the main characters in novels.

Why did a 1/12 plastic model series of firearms become a novel ......?　We asked Yuji Moriyama of the Marketing Department, Koji Uchida of the Product Planning Department, and Masahiro Mogami, also of the Product Planning Department and planner of the project, about the background of the "Little Armory" project.

Super precision in the palm of your hand! is Tomytec's corporate culture

─ I understand that TOMYTEC's main factory is located in Tochigi Prefecture.

Mogami: Yes, we mainly manufacture the TOMIX model trains in Tochigi.

Uchida This year marks the 40th anniversary of "TOMIX". Our company is based on model railroading, so we have the know-how to pursue the finest details in any model. The same is true of our pre-painted plastic model "Gigi-MIX" series, and it has become our company's corporate culture to "create even palm-sized products in great detail.

Mogami: This spirit is also applied to "Little Armory," and we tend to overdo it. The assembly itself takes only about 15 minutes, but the parts are quite detailed.

─ ─ Before "Little Armory," you had already released 1/12 scale models of school gates and interiors of sleeping cars as pre-painted finished products, hadn't you?

Uchida Yes, the "Interior Model Series 24-25 Twilight Express B Sleeper" won the Excellence Award in the High Target Toy category at the Japan Toy Awards 2015, and has become well known. Since the company is based on model trains, we started by producing station benches in 1/12 scale as part of the "Railway Accessories" series.

Moriyama: Following this trend, we released a 1/12 automatic ticket checker. With the cooperation of Nippon Signal, the actual ticket gate manufacturer, we have created a realistic mirror-finish texture. 1/12 "interior model" The latest product in the 1/12 "interior model" series is a commuter train. It is a rather large product, but by connecting them side by side, you can reproduce one car.

Uchida: Users laugh at us saying, "It's funny that Tomytec makes so many models like this," but I think that's what makes us unique. ...... (laughs).

─ ─ So there is a sense of fun in the precision. How did you come up with "Little Armory"?

Mogami: Thanks to your support, our station benches and sleeping cars were selling well. Then, Uchida, the leader of the project, asked me, the PR person, "Mogami, do you have any interesting ideas for 1/12th? I am a military enthusiast. I am a military enthusiast, and I had always had a fantasy of having my favorite characters carry my favorite firearms. Surprisingly, there are no such products. I told Uchida, "It would be quite interesting if there were guns in a size that figures could hold." He said, "Then, let's give it a try. ......

───And then you were assigned to the Product Planning Department instead of the Public Relations Department?

Mogami Yes, we were able to launch products smoothly, so I decided to devote myself to product planning as a full-time job.

─ ─ Why did you release "Little Armory" in the form of a kit like a plastic model?

Mogami: First of all, the large number of processes involved in manufacturing a product inevitably makes it more expensive, and selling a small 1/12th scale firearm as a finished product for 2-3,000 yen makes it difficult for users to pick up the product. Another reason is that assembly kits are suitable for freely reassembling optional parts such as sights, just like real guns. We decided to make the figure in kit form because we thought it would be more fun to give it to a 1/12th posable figure if it could be reassembled.

─ ─ You have also released wrist sets for firearms to go with Max Factory's figma, haven't you?

Mogami Yes, the wrists are molded in PVC to give them flexibility. Since "Little Armory" is developed as a 1/12 scale model, the size and shape of the grips inevitably differ from gun to gun. For toys, there is the idea of "standardizing the grips to a certain millimeter diameter," but that would be a far cry from a realistic miniature gun. Therefore, we made it possible to make each gun be held by the softness of the wrist.