Terada Mokei - Architectural Model Series

Terada Mokei- 1/100 Architectural Model Series No.11 Cherry Blossom

When I was a kid I couldn't afford furniture for my dolls house so I made my own from paper, especially graph paper from old school jotters. For a few years I was obsessed with designing paper flat pack house contents and folding and slotting them together into bits of furniture. I'd colour them with felt tips, and add details cut from magazines to give them some style, like furniture facades, lamps, kitchenwear etc. from my Mum's old Habitat catalogues (RIP) and cut out clothes from magazines for the wardrobe, though that then eveolved into making little clothes from fabric scraps. It was fun, and I loved having a chance to create fantasy homes, landscapes and wardrobes where anything goes, slides, swings, secret compartments, mountains, spaceships,undersea themes. Clearly that it was the beginning of a lifelong passion for creating them in real, full scale life for living with or for themed parties.

The Architectural model series by Designer, Architect and Modeller Naoki Terada would have totally enthralled me. The scale is far smaller than a dolls house, but all the more captivating because of it. He was tired of late nights making the tiny paper models that were needed to bring alive his Architectural models and decided to mass produce them so that he could get a bit more sleep, and also share the pleasure of working (playing) with the paper models themselves. As a kid I'd have spent hours making them outfits, though for people with less creative urges (or time) there are Dress-Up Stickers to add to your tiny models.

Here are a few of the many models you can buy as kits to self assemble from Terada Mokei.
Photography by Kenji Masunaga.


Terada Mokei- 1/100 Architectural Model Series No.12 Construction Site


No.6 New York and No.8 Christmas


Paper Tweezers from the 1/100 Architectural Model Accessories Series.