Hobby Industry Inside Vol. 30: Yoshihisa Abe, President of WAVE Inc. looks back on the hobby scene around Kichijoji in 1983.

WAVE Corporation is well-known to model fans for its bishojo figures, craft support goods, and plastic model kits such as "Armored Trooper Votoms" and "Maschinen Krieger.
WAVE's president, Yoshihisa Abe, tells us about the company's history, which began as a retail store in Kichijoji, Tokyo.

It all started with "I want to quit my job and run a model store.

What is this huge 1/100 scale warship here?

Abe: I made an enlarged copy of the drawing and made it myself with plastic boards. This is the first time I have built such a large object from scratch. It is a light cruiser called "Kitakami," and my father used to sail on it. I decided to build it while he was still alive and well, so my father's doll is also on board.

─ Have you always been interested in ship models?

Abe: I had made many plastic models of warships since I was in high school, and about three years ago, I played the game "Ship This" and the names of the ships made me nostalgic and I wanted to make warships again. I searched for a warship enthusiast group and found people who were making these large scale models on their own, and they told me to make one too, so I learned how to make one. It took me about two years to get this far. It took me about two years to get this far, and although the surrounding sea has not yet been created, it is still very interesting.


─ Didn't President Abe leave his job and start a model store in the early 1980s?

Abe: I got tired of working as a salaried worker and thought I would take it easy and make a living by running a model shop.

─ That model shop was Kichijoji LARK, which was located inside Seiyu. There was also a model store called LARK in Ofuna?

Abe: The person who ran the Ofuna store was a completely different person; LARK was the brand name of a model store operated by Seiyu, and the owners of each store were completely different. In my case, I went to a wholesaler called Miyazawa Models and asked them, "I want to open a model store. He said, "LARK is opening next time at Seiyu in Kichijoji, but there is no one to do it. Would you like to try?" That was the first time I was invited.

─ Did you have any intention for Seiyu to open a model store?

Abe: Originally, Seiyu had a toy section that also sold plastic models. At that time, the buyer of Seiyu thought of adding a specialty store like a record store to give it a foil. One genre of specialty stores included model stores, or hobby stores. The store was designed by Seiyu, and the supplier was Miyazawa Models. Therefore, it would have been fine if an employee of Miyazawa Models had run the business, but outsiders were more serious about making a living. It was there that I happened to come along, in 1983.


─ In 1983, the "Ganpura Boom" had just ended, didn't it?

Abe: Yes, there was still the afterglow of the Gundam boom, and that was the year that MSV (Mobile Suit Variations) came out and "Armored Trooper Votoms" and "Saint Dunbine" started broadcasting. So in the evenings when the kids finished school, they would ask, "Do you have any Zaku IIs?" "Where's the prototype Dom? They would come to buy. What's next for Dunbine? Dana Oshie," "Drumlo," and so on. Until we opened, I thought a model store was to sell only real tanks, airplanes, warships, and cars. But kids want new anime plastic models like Zaku II and Drumlo. I myself had never made Gunpla or watched anime, so I was a bit perplexed.