I used to love building models as a kid. And even though I’m a semi-adult now, that love hasn’t gone away. This little wooden model Honda Motocompo is the latest one that’s captured my attention.
It’s called the Lasercompo, a laser-cut model of a Honda Motocompo designed by a guy named Kirk Shinmoto, who currently teaches drawing at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. The Lasercompo is about eight inches long and comprised of 180 parts.
It’s made from finished maple and walnut plywood and coated in walnut acrylic veneer. There are removable handlebars and a seat folding mechanism. The wheels spin and the steering turns. The whole thing comes to $70.
In an email, Shinmoto wrote, “I decided to put it out as a limited-run kit as I think these are kind of under-represented as far as having physical models. Also how often do you see a walnut veneer Motocompo?”
Not often enough, I can tell you that much.
The parts, I learned from Shinmoto, were designed in a CAD program called Fusion360.
“The basic idea was to design the parts with the thickness of the wood in mind so some things would stack together while others would interlock like puzzle pieces,” Shinmoto told Jalopnik.
“The hardest part was keeping those things in mind when adding new parts. This was actually my first time designing for laser cutting so it was a bit of trial and error getting everything to fit... I have a pile of prototype assembles and iterations on my desk.”
He said that he tried to stay extremely faithful to the Motocompo, so the way the seat folds and the cowl disassembles are as true-to-life as possible. Here’s a photo of all the parts as they come off the laser cutter:
A real Honda Motocompo, of course, is a compact little scooter that was designed to fold into a compact size so it could be stored in places like a car.
They’re funky and awesome little things and the model definitely captures that spirit.
You can learn more about the Lasercompo by clicking here.