We asked Matsuki Corporation, the long-established mold maker that created the "Lure Plamo," which has attracted the attention of both fishing and modeling fans, about the secret behind its popularity! [Hobby Industry Inside #80

As we have often reported in this section, small and medium-sized companies that have been manufacturing plastic kit molds as subcontractors for major manufacturers are increasingly producing their own products.
One such product is the "Lure Plamo" from Matsuki Co. Lures are pseudo-baits that imitate the shape of fish used in fishing. Why would anyone want to assemble a lure into a kit?　Matsuki, the planner and manufacturer, is a long-established mold maker established in 1978 in Edogawa-ku, Tokyo, and its show window is filled with the latest kits from major manufacturers. The company's show window is filled with the latest kits from major manufacturers. The huge machinery in the company, which is aptly described as a "town factory," is quite old, but why fishing?　Why make plastic models of lures?　We asked Mr. Takatsugu Suzuki, President of Matsuki Co.

What is mold design in the digital age?　Facts about the town factory that made the Lure Plamo

─ I heard that Matsuki was founded in 1978, wasn't it?

Suzuki Yes, my father, who was at Marusan Shoten, said to be the first company in Japan to manufacture plastic kits, founded the company independently. In our case, we manufacture molds not only for plastic kits but also for zinc die-casting, and we also undertake molds for air guns.

─ When you talk about molds, you are now using CAD drawings, aren't you?　How does this compare to the days when drawings were done by hand?

Suzuki: Not everything in the mold making process has been digitized, and there are still some parts that are done by hand. Plastic kits sometimes have burrs (a hardened film of material that has leaked out), but this is due to gaps in the mold. Fine adjustments must be repeated with high dimensional accuracy. We pay attention to the way the workpiece is set up and the temperature in the factory. People tend to think, "If it's all digitalized, it's easy to just pass on the design data, isn't it?" But we handle molds by hand during processing, and we are very careful here and there until completion.


─ ─ Recently, many die makers who are like downtown factories are making their own products, what do you think?

Suzuki: We are in the manufacturing industry, so our work depends on the economy. When we think about how to change our work in a slow economy, being able to manufacture our own products is a great advantage. I was encouraged to see how other companies that make their own products are doing, and I thought, "I guess that's true. However, although the manufacturing industry has certainly been making things, it has not been involved in the planning part of "what to make.