DOLK STATION

■DOLK Staff (D): When did RAM CUBE establish itself as Maker? Also, how many people were involved when you first started operating it?

■RAM CUBE: Well, the first time I made a doll, it was...
On April 1st, 2010, members with the same vision came together and established a workshop called "Rapa's Factory" for the purpose of creating dolls.
Furthermore, the main four members gathered together, and subsequent member changes, as well as the official opening of the website "RaMcube" and name change, took place on November 1st, 2012.
So, as I explained at the beginning, our founding anniversary is April 1st.

■D: Could you tell us the origin of Maker 's name, "RAM CUBE"?

■RAM CUBE: The name comes from the combination of "Rapa" and "Mar," which comes from cube.
(Rapa and Mar are the two representatives of RaMcube.)
(CUBE: Toy, Mutable, Colorful, Wnderkammer) - Wnderkammer

(Wnderkammer): In German it means "room of marvels," but in French it is used to mean "chamber of wonders."

There is a toy called "cube," and like the cube, various combinations are possible. We incorporated the meaning of the advantage of ball-jointed dolls, the various interchangeability and possibilities of heads, bodies, and parts, into the word "cube."
The word "cube" also encompasses the possibilities of various dolls, and also various hobby products other than dolls.

■D: Please tell us what prompted you to establish RAM CUBE.


■RAM CUBE: Mar, a sculptor and current representative of RaMcube, met other sculptors who shared the same vision as him, and Rapa, who was a makeup artist at the time and the representative of "Rapa's Factory."
We also unveiled and began selling dolls made by "Rapa's Factory" for the first time.
Since then, due to changes in members and the opening of a new site, we have changed the name to RaMcube and opened a new site.

■D: How many people are currently running the business?


■RAM CUBE:
Representative, modeler, and director - Mar

Sculpting and Makeup - Rapa

Chino (Kino) is a production assistant with the above as the main focus.

New members join on an irregular basis to manage the site, prepare for delivery, and handle public relations, but existing members remain active as well.
All members are based on modeling, and each member has their own skills, so we operate in a way that allows modeling and skills to come together and each member's unique style to stand out.

■D: Please tell us the process for designing a new doll and selling it as a new product (planning → design drawing → creating a three-dimensional object → adjustments, etc.) and how long it takes to complete a new head design.


■RAM CUBE:
1. Concept meeting (Announce the concept: The head to be produced will have as much of a story as possible, and a character will be created centered around that story with that head as the protagonist.)

2. Head production (Members freely exchanged opinions and made corrections to the head shape during production)

At the same time as making the three heads, we also create the accessories to be used in filming (eyeballs, additional parts, other accessories, etc.). It takes at least one month and up to two months for each new doll head.

■D: This is a question for the sculptor. Is there anything you pay particular attention to when creating the head?


■RAM CUBE: We are particular about not cutting corners even in the most basic aspects.
Our motto is to maintain the basics, such as the finish of the original model and the symmetry of the head design, and then add beauty to the design on top of that. Above all, we strive to create a face that clearly expresses the original concept story.

In the future, we will keep the character's personality in mind from the beginning of production so that viewers will be able to understand the background of the story even if we don't include the story phrases from the concept shoot.

■D: This is a question for you two who have been with Ramcube since its inception. What made you become interested in dolls?


■RAM CUBE:
Sculptor Mar - I had acquired modeling skills through various media such as anime, manga, and figures, and I naturally came into contact with ball-jointed dolls...that's how it started.
I wanted to try making a doll that could be posed in a variety of different ways using these newly developed joints, and I became interested in becoming a doll maker.

Makeup artist Rapa - I loved manga, and when I was interested in drawing, I first came into contact with ball-jointed dolls.
I was fascinated by the part where you said you could draw expressions on the face.
I became interested in the appeal of being able to enjoy a variety of different expressions on the same doll, depending on who uses what kind of makeup on it.

■D: Do any of you at AM CUBE have any specialized study experience in art, 3D modeling, or dolls?


■RAM CUBE:
Sculptor Mar - From an early age, I had a strong interest in three-dimensional modeling, and after looking at magazines featuring figures and other three-dimensional objects, I taught myself how to make figures as a hobby.
After that, I started working at a stop-motion animation Maker creating characters, props, backgrounds, etc., and then I started working at a ball-jointed doll Maker, making dolls.

Makeup artist Rapa - I've had an interest in dolls since I was a child, and started doing makeup for ball-jointed dolls as a hobby. I then ran a makeup shop, where I mainly worked in store management, PR and makeup.
After that, I started working as a professional makeup artist for a ball-jointed doll Maker.

■D: This is a question for sculptors and makeup artists: What are the main tools you use when creating your work?

■RAM CUBE:
Modeler Mar - putty, Shibaturu, Skorupi, personal made spatula, dental spatula, personal made sculpture, prototype rod, Drammel, sandpaper, hand drill, etc.

Makeup Artist Rapa - Coatings, acrylic paints, lacquer paints, enamels, paint thinners, pastels, fine brushes, human makeup brushes, airbrushes, tweezers, etc.

■D: What is the most difficult thing about making a doll?


■RAM CUBE: The longest period of time was spent on the overall finish and achieving a symmetrical shape.
When producing dolls, the quality of the product is proportional to the quality of the finishing.
That's why we put the most effort into putting the finishing touches on the prototype so that it will not easily break even with repeated production.

■D: Regarding the series of animal ears that you have been producing for some time now with RaM + Plus, what inspired you to start producing them?


■RAM CUBE: This has not changed since the "RaM No.1" line was first produced and released at Rapa's Factory.
When we first produced and sold dolls, our most basic goal was to make the multiple parts of the dolls freely interchangeable, and to make all parts interchangeable with various dolls of the same size.

In order to continue with the same motto, I am currently planning various parts and researching how to give a single doll a variety of different tastes.
That's why we planned, created and released the RaM+ Plus animal ear parts!

D: Of the dolls you've sold, are there any that are particularly popular?


■RAM CUBE: The most popular type was the "RaM No.2 Ravi" type.

The RaM No.6 line includes Lakia, Lamu, Ray, V.Laon, Gaz, Mile, Sei, etc., and popular doll types vary by country.

■D: Please tell us about any future developments or goals that RAM CUBE is aiming for.


■RAM CUBE: Once the limited edition Ramcube dolls have ended their release period, they will not be re-released in the same form.

Even now, many people inquire about re-releasing dolls that were previously released in limited quantities, but we have responded that this is not possible.

We believe that "limited time" means we are promising our customers that we are only selling the product for that period of time.
In order to keep our promise to our customers, we do not resell limited edition dolls in the same form, and we intend to continue this promise in the future.

We are currently producing different sized bodies in order to release dolls of various sizes in the future.

By developing bodies, heads and various parts for six sizes and genders from RaM No.1 to RaM No.6,
We research and create shapes that can be enjoyed in a variety of ways, without being limited to a specific size.

My goal with RaMcube is to show you everything related to modeling, so I focus on the most basic aspects of doll modeling.

■D: Please give a message to Japanese RAM CUBE fans!


■RAM CUBE: Currently there is no Japanese page on Ramcube, so we are looking for ways to make it easy for customers to contact us and make purchases in Japanese.

When DOLK first approached us with a proposal to sign a contract with us, I was very happy because it felt like we had a foothold that would allow us to get a little closer to Ramcube's fans in Japan.
I am grateful that people in Japan can now easily purchase dolls in this way.

We are so grateful just to receive inquiries from Japanese doll fans, who sometimes contact us in Japanese, English, or even Korean out of consideration for us.
I am using machine translation to answer questions in poor Japanese.

If you find it difficult to communicate with us linguistically, please feel free to contact us in Japanese and we will definitely respond, so please do not hesitate to contact us.

We hope you will continue to show interest in the dolls released by Ramcube in the future!

■D: Thank you for answering so many questions!

I was very impressed by RaMcube's policy of not reselling limited edition dolls. I think this will make doll owners who buy them at the time feel even more attached to their limited edition dolls and heads.

We are also looking forward to seeing the bodies currently in development as well as the heads and various other parts that will be developed in the future!

>> Click here for the Ramcube new releases page

>> Click here for the Ramcube product list page