Hobby Industry Inside Vol. 18: Figure Shop Proposes Happy Encounters Between Sculptors and Fans Interview with Mame Torpedo and Harada Pliskin!

Plastic models, finished figures, and other three-dimensional objects that we often have the opportunity to hold in our hands are designed to match mass production in factories. Instead, even in small quantities, we want to deliver three-dimensional objects exactly as they were made by the sculptors, finished by the artists themselves. The "Amazing Artist Collection" was started out of this single-minded desire to deliver finished products created by the artists themselves.
Regardless of the popularity of the character, the artists themselves assemble and paint the sculptures that they truly want to create, and only those who truly want them buy them. What is the background behind the realization of this extravagant attempt so far? ......　We asked Mr. Harada Pliskin, art director of Mamegyorai Inc.

I want people to know about the excellent sculptures, even if they are limited to one piece.

What was the impetus behind the Amazing Artist Collection (AAC)?　I have the strong impression that Mamegyorai is a retailer of figures and statues from Japan and abroad. ......

Harada: Of course, I think people have a strong impression that Mamegyorai is a figure store. However, since around 2013, when we started AAC, there has been a strong awareness within the company of the need to differentiate ourselves from other stores by breaking out of the mold. There was a strong sense of awareness within the company that we should try to differentiate ourselves from other shops without being unconventional. This is how we started organizing events such as talk shows and artist signings, and AAC was started as a part of such "differentiation from other stores".

─ ─ But don't you think that Mamegyorai's customers buy finished figures and have little interest in resin assembly kits?

Harada: Certainly, many of our customers are fans of specific characters and prefer finished figures. I was once involved in sales at a store, and some of the customers who bought finished figures asked me, "Oh, the prototype of a figure is made from clay? Some of the people who buy finished figures are completely unfamiliar with the manufacturing process. Therefore, we felt strongly that we first wanted to introduce customers who were familiar with finished figures to the world where artists freely sculpt and create their own works of art.
At the 2013 Wonder Festival in winter, I met "Marda-chan," which later became the first AAC product. The artist is Masataka Laurent, who runs the Kesaran Pasaran brand. When I saw the resin kit of "Marda-chan," I was very shocked and completely fascinated. I was completely fascinated. I thought it would be a shame to leave it as a kit. I wondered ...... if we could somehow sell it as a product. However, if we were to mass-produce it, the price would be too high.


─ ─ It would take a lot of time and effort to assemble the resin kits and paint them with colors.

Harada But Mr. Laurent Masataka assembled the kits himself, painted them, and sold them. He had no side business and was rarely involved in commercial products, making him a solitary genius. We want Mamegyorai's customers to be aware of the existence of Mr. Masataka Laurent. We wanted to create a framework that would allow customers to purchase his products in the same mail-order manner as other products, while presenting them in a different way from the way they are normally sold. This is how the AAC program was naturally born.

─ ─ But isn't it quite burdensome for the artist to assemble and paint the kits?

Harada: From the aspect of mass production, the hurdle is certainly high. There have been cases where artists have refused, saying, "I can't put that much time and effort into it. However, I want to show my amazingly formed works to customers who usually buy finished products. Therefore, I would like you to finish the finished product somehow, but to take it to the extreme, it would be fine if you sell only one piece in limited quantities, because AAC will not make any profit. This is because AAC is not interested in making a profit, but rather in doing something that other stores cannot do. We interview artists to tell their stories, write introductions, and create our own special website at ....... I even think that it is unfortunate that I am in the figure industry and cannot be involved in the work of such wonderful artists.