What is "Gotopura," a plastic kit that can only be obtained locally?　We asked Shigenori Sakao, a designer at Plex! Hobby Industry Inside Vol. 38

What kind of product does the strange name "Gotopla" conjure up in your mind?　It is a puzzle-like "plastic kit" that, in its pre-assembled state, contains letters of place names such as "Tokyo" and "Osaka," but when assembled, it becomes Tokyo Tower and Osaka Castle. Shigenori Sakao, a designer in the Planning and Design Department of Plex Corporation, came up with the idea for this interesting product. Where did he come up with the unique idea for Gotopura?　We asked Mr. Sakao.

It was a souvenir shop in Osaka that showed interest in "Gotopla.

─ I heard that you have been involved with Super Sentai and Ultra series toys.

Sakao: "Sortie! Machine Robo Rescue," and then I was in charge of the "Mugenbine" series of toys. Currently, I am in charge of planning and development of toys to be sold overseas.

───While doing this, you also planned Gotopla, didn't you?

Sakao That's right. You can see the "P" mark on the Gotopla package. While Plex plans and designs toys for Bandai, we also have an in-house Planning and Sales Department that develops and sells Plex's original toys with the "P" mark. In this process, there was a product planning competition, and when we submitted a draft of Gotopla, it was approved within the company as "good. Then, an Osaka company called Max Limited, which sells many local products, said, "That's just what Plex is all about!　Can you really make a building out of letters?


─ ─ What kind of company is this Max Limited?

Sakao: It is a company that is strong in the local goods and souvenir industry, such as netsuke and statues that attach to cell phones. They were looking for a new souvenir item, and Gotopla was a perfect match.

─ So the Gotopla project became a reality when you met with Max Limited, is that right?

Sakao: Yes. I had experience with Mugenbine, which changes shape by connecting parts with joints, so I thought it would be easier than that, but when I actually started development, it was very difficult.

─ ─ What were the difficulties?

Sakao: First of all, the number of parts was limited within a fixed size frame. Mugenbine" was also a toy with parts that could be reassembled, but the final form, such as the original monster, was free. With Gotopla, however, the parts had to be reassembled into actual buildings, such as the Tokyo Tower. That was a challenge for us at the beginning.