BANDAI SPIRITS is not just about "making it and being done with it," but about exploring the potential of plastic models as "educational materials.

BANDAI SPIRITS has been making not only plastic models of popular characters from animation works, but also of unexpected motifs, such as Cup Noodles ( # ), for example. It is a plastic model of the mammoth, an ancient creature that everyone knows. The fur parts that cover the skeleton are usually a milky white color, but when cooled to below 10 degrees Celsius in a refrigerator or freezer, they emerge a brown color as if they are coming back to life.
If that were all, it would be nothing more than an idea product, but this plastic model was earnestly conceptualized as a fun educational tool for children in collaboration with Gakken Plus, Inc. We interviewed Mr. Jun Someya, in charge of planning, for more details.

Shizuoka Hobby Center's proposal for new materials and the planning team's ideas to expand on it

─ ─ The key to this mammoth is a new material that changes color depending on the temperature. Did you come up with the idea from the material?

Someya: The Shizuoka Hobby Center asked us, "We have a material that changes color depending on the temperature. I wondered if it could be used for something. It seems that this material was originally used in the field of printing, for example, when a hot drink is poured into a cup, the letters come to the surface.

Someya: I heard that the "Figure-rise LABO" project, in which the skin of a beautiful girl character is expressed using only molding technology, was also started at the suggestion of Hobby Center.

Someya: Figure-rise LABO is not only about characterization, but it is also a project that started when we were asked, "We can do this kind of processing at the factory, but what can we use it for? and we came up with a plan that emphasized the evolution of plastic models and their materials. In the case of "Exploring Lab Nature," it is difficult to adjust the color that emerges when cooled; in this case, it is brown. I thought this resin was not suitable for copyrighted character plastic models. Also, there are many finished animal and dinosaur figures on the market, but we thought that if there was one expression unique to plastic models, we could differentiate them from existing products. That is how we arrived at the concept of a mammoth that has entered the Ice Age and has been resurrected from its skeleton.


Someya──The strength of plastic models lies in the process of "assembling," rather than in the finished product.

Someya: I myself enjoy plastic models, and I felt that I could learn a lot from assembling them. Even with Gunpla, because I assemble them with my own hands and fingers, I pay attention to each individual part, and I notice and learn a lot during the time I spend assembling them. From this, we thought that the act of assembling plastic models could lead to an educational genre ....... I thought it would be a good idea to have plastic models that focus on educational aspects, like a mother buying an illustrated book for her child, rather than the child buying one on his/her own. That was also the genesis of the project. I thought that plastic models could have educational value if people found value in the time it takes to assemble them, rather than just buying them as finished products.

─ Last year, you released the "Dinosaur Skeleton Plastic Model" series using a material called LIMEX.

Someya: LIMEX was mixed with limestone to create a plastic model with an unprecedented feel. It is an idea product that is made of stone because it is a fossil, but it is also a core product that makes people interested in new materials, wondering "What materials will they try next? We are also aware of the existence of core plastic model enthusiasts who are interested in new materials.

─ ─ The "Exploring Lab Nature Mammoth" is priced at 1,650 yen including tax, but isn't that a price that even children can easily afford?

Someya: It is a price that parents can buy for their children, thinking that it will be good for their children's education. Since new materials are used, 1,650 yen is a challenging price.