Hobby Watch recently interviewed Plarail Real Class developer Iwata-san. Here is an abridged version of the article.
Q: Why did you star "Plarail Real Class"?
IWATA: In response to the declining birthrate and aging population, we have been trying to launch something for adults as a new approach, and we have been trying to challenge it for a long time. It started back in 2019.
The car model selection is for the "Showa generation" of railroad fans. Compared to the 485 and 183 series, the 'JNR type 185 series' was not the mainstream as a limited express train. However, as the last Japanese National Railways model to retain its original appearance, its popularity grew as it neared retirement. The "Odakyu Romance Car 3100 NSE" is also a longing train for the Showa generation. The observatory car was innovative and was a representative of the limited express trains that appeared in picture books.
IWATA: The 185 series debuted in 1981, and around 2019, when we were considering the lineup, there was no talk of retirement from regular service, and it was active on the Limited Express Odoriko and the Shonan Liner. I chose it as a limited express train. Type 3100 is a private railway limited express Romancecar, which debuted in 1963, the year before the Tokyo Olympics. This is the first Romancecar in the history of Odakyu Electric Railway to implement an observation deck, and is representative of private railway limited express trains. Since it is a vehicle that can be used, we have added it to the lineup.
The recent Odakyu Romance Cars are commercialized as Plarail 50000 VSE and 70000 GSE. The 3100 NSE has a protruding light area, and the driver's seat on the second floor is also high and uneven. It can be said that this modeling was possible because of the price of the real class.
IWATA: As a distinctive leading car, the Model 3100 was designed to be realistic. At the prototype stage, the headlights were a type that had separate parts fitted. Then, I thought we had to integrate it here. Then there is the painting. We have increased the number of painting processes, vermilion orange, gray, thin white belt, and there are more processes during production compared to normal products.
The actual model 3100 is called an "articulated car body", and a bogie is placed at the joint between the cars. This had the advantage of being able to run at high speed on curved sections. If the Plarail Real Class is "real", then couldn't you reproduce the articulated car body? Or did you dare to make it a two-axle body in order to retain the "Plarail-ness"?
IWATA:If I force the car to be articulated, it might not look like a Plarail Romancecar. There are power wheels behind the lead car, so even if I made a bogie there, it would end up being fixed to the lead car , it becomes a distorted shape that does not connect.
On the other hand, the difficulty of the 185 series is the position of the diagonal stripes. When the body is shortened, it is difficult to balance diagonal stripes with different thicknesses.
IWATA: I was worried about that. I had no choice but to deform it, so I had a hard time with the balance of the diagonal stripes, the balance of the windows, and other parts that had to be done as a Plarail. I also paid attention to the modeling parts. Cooler, pantograph. In the front molding, the express emblem, clear parts are added, the wiper is dug, the typhoon (horn) cover, and the jumper wire are also expressed. The mold that cannot be put in a normal Plarail is also realistically included. On the other hand, we intentionally omitted parts that would be difficult to paint in mass production.
The proposal for Plarail Real Class is "enjoy decorating, enjoy driving". Two types of rooftop coolers, a high type and a low type, are included in the package. The 3100 series has a high type and a low type driver's seat.
IWATA: The high type is more realistic and looks better when displayed. This is also balanced vertically and horizontally when viewed from the front. If there are tunnels or block piers when running, we will ask you to replace it with a low type.Plarail trains are often 3-car trains, but the reason why we chose 4-car trains is to decorate them. Because I want you to feel the beauty of the formation when you run it.
In fact, the back cover of the box is also designed based on model railroad packaging and picture books. It is a mechanism that satisfies the desire to own even if it is placed on the shelf. However, when that happens, I want to line up Plarail Real Class boxes on the shelf. It's still before the first release, but what kind of vehicle will appear in the future?
IWATA: The official website says that there will be a second series, but I can't say anything about the specific trains because it's not yet ready. If you guessed it, I don't think it will suddenly become the latest model vehicle (laughs). Even if it's been a while since you played with Plarail when you were a kid, I would be happy if you could see the train and its details and think that you want to decorate it or run it again. Even the famous vehicles that are no longer running now have various memories for each person. My favorite vehicle is running in my mind. Alternatively, I would like to provide something that makes people want to keep running.
https://hobby.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/i...09076.html
(This post was last modified: 08-09-2023, 04:59 AM by KNDYNT2099.)
Q: Why did you star "Plarail Real Class"?
IWATA: In response to the declining birthrate and aging population, we have been trying to launch something for adults as a new approach, and we have been trying to challenge it for a long time. It started back in 2019.
The car model selection is for the "Showa generation" of railroad fans. Compared to the 485 and 183 series, the 'JNR type 185 series' was not the mainstream as a limited express train. However, as the last Japanese National Railways model to retain its original appearance, its popularity grew as it neared retirement. The "Odakyu Romance Car 3100 NSE" is also a longing train for the Showa generation. The observatory car was innovative and was a representative of the limited express trains that appeared in picture books.
IWATA: The 185 series debuted in 1981, and around 2019, when we were considering the lineup, there was no talk of retirement from regular service, and it was active on the Limited Express Odoriko and the Shonan Liner. I chose it as a limited express train. Type 3100 is a private railway limited express Romancecar, which debuted in 1963, the year before the Tokyo Olympics. This is the first Romancecar in the history of Odakyu Electric Railway to implement an observation deck, and is representative of private railway limited express trains. Since it is a vehicle that can be used, we have added it to the lineup.
The recent Odakyu Romance Cars are commercialized as Plarail 50000 VSE and 70000 GSE. The 3100 NSE has a protruding light area, and the driver's seat on the second floor is also high and uneven. It can be said that this modeling was possible because of the price of the real class.
IWATA: As a distinctive leading car, the Model 3100 was designed to be realistic. At the prototype stage, the headlights were a type that had separate parts fitted. Then, I thought we had to integrate it here. Then there is the painting. We have increased the number of painting processes, vermilion orange, gray, thin white belt, and there are more processes during production compared to normal products.
The actual model 3100 is called an "articulated car body", and a bogie is placed at the joint between the cars. This had the advantage of being able to run at high speed on curved sections. If the Plarail Real Class is "real", then couldn't you reproduce the articulated car body? Or did you dare to make it a two-axle body in order to retain the "Plarail-ness"?
IWATA:If I force the car to be articulated, it might not look like a Plarail Romancecar. There are power wheels behind the lead car, so even if I made a bogie there, it would end up being fixed to the lead car , it becomes a distorted shape that does not connect.
On the other hand, the difficulty of the 185 series is the position of the diagonal stripes. When the body is shortened, it is difficult to balance diagonal stripes with different thicknesses.
IWATA: I was worried about that. I had no choice but to deform it, so I had a hard time with the balance of the diagonal stripes, the balance of the windows, and other parts that had to be done as a Plarail. I also paid attention to the modeling parts. Cooler, pantograph. In the front molding, the express emblem, clear parts are added, the wiper is dug, the typhoon (horn) cover, and the jumper wire are also expressed. The mold that cannot be put in a normal Plarail is also realistically included. On the other hand, we intentionally omitted parts that would be difficult to paint in mass production.
The proposal for Plarail Real Class is "enjoy decorating, enjoy driving". Two types of rooftop coolers, a high type and a low type, are included in the package. The 3100 series has a high type and a low type driver's seat.
IWATA: The high type is more realistic and looks better when displayed. This is also balanced vertically and horizontally when viewed from the front. If there are tunnels or block piers when running, we will ask you to replace it with a low type.Plarail trains are often 3-car trains, but the reason why we chose 4-car trains is to decorate them. Because I want you to feel the beauty of the formation when you run it.
In fact, the back cover of the box is also designed based on model railroad packaging and picture books. It is a mechanism that satisfies the desire to own even if it is placed on the shelf. However, when that happens, I want to line up Plarail Real Class boxes on the shelf. It's still before the first release, but what kind of vehicle will appear in the future?
IWATA: The official website says that there will be a second series, but I can't say anything about the specific trains because it's not yet ready. If you guessed it, I don't think it will suddenly become the latest model vehicle (laughs). Even if it's been a while since you played with Plarail when you were a kid, I would be happy if you could see the train and its details and think that you want to decorate it or run it again. Even the famous vehicles that are no longer running now have various memories for each person. My favorite vehicle is running in my mind. Alternatively, I would like to provide something that makes people want to keep running.
https://hobby.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/i...09076.html
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