Plastic and fantastic: The PP Model type family honours modelling kits (no assembly required)

A childhood staple, many will have their own experiences of plastic model kits – whether they’re fulfilling or frustrating ones. Maybe those intricate models made it onto your shelf, or maybe they were left discarded in a corner, forever unfinished.

For type designer Caio Kondo, modelling kits recently served as inspiration, but perhaps not in the way you may expect. Honouring the iconic status of plastic model kits – the likes of AirFix or Revell – Caio crafted PP Model, the latest release from type foundry Pangram Pangram, paying homage to their aesthetic (and their fiddliness). “The main inspiration came from Tamiya,” Caio says, referring to the legendary Japanese brand known worldwide for its highly detailed kits. “The goal was to capture that spirit of precision and creativity, but in the form of a font,” he says, “creating it felt like assembling a model, just without the mess of glue.”

The initial goal was to typographically embody the connections between plastic models. Taking “many months and many attempts” to do so, PP Model eventually culminated in an extensive four-style type family, including PP Model Sans, PP Model Mono, PP Model Plastic, and PP Model Plastic Line. Totalling 72 styles, each with nine weights and corresponding italics, PP Model is far more extensive than Caio originally intended. “In the beginning, I was really unsure because the concept was so broad, so I spent a lot of time focusing on the shapes,” he continues. “It wasn’t until we were close to what we wanted that I started paying more attention to the potential of the typographic system.” Through trial and error, and with the collaborative assistance of type designer Francesca Bolognini and Mat Desjardin, founder of Pangram Pangram, Caio struck a balance between versatility and personality, whilst staying true to the typeface’s core concept. 

To take PP Model to the next level, the London-based creative studio Twomuch was tasked with developing the brand surrounding the type family, resulting in an electric exploration of plastic model kit aesthetics – drawing on the maximalist design of their printed paraphernalia. “With the typeface being heavily inspired by Tamiya’s model kits, we started by taking a deep dive into all of the different products,” Benjamin Chan of Twomuch explains. “All of this research made us so excited as there was so much that we could play with typographically.” Malone Chen of Twomuch continues: “Through the visuals we wanted to bring the audience through this process of creating a model car, from the plastic injection mould sheets from which the typeface is based, to the cement to stick the parts together with,” also including references to the paints, sticker sheets and instruction manuals they arrive with. 

To represent each of the type styles and weights and show of their respective features, Twomuch turned to specific cars and kits, carefully selecting the right models. “We ended up picking the sporty Porsche 917K to represent Thin to Light, the Audi S1 Sport Quattro rally car as Book to Medium and finally the hefty Suzuki Carry Van as Demibold to Super,” says Ben. Being given such creative freedom, Malone says that the project was the funnest Twomuch had worked on, “the whole project really just allowed us to experiment with ideas and just flex our creative muscles.”

Reflecting on the project from his perspective, Caio comes to a surprising revelation. Rather than being a project rooted in his personal experiences, it actually came to light at his friend’s house. “He showed me his new hobby, an F-15 model still sealed in its box, and that’s when it hit me,” he ends. “I’d love to say I’ve been into this hobby since I was a kid, but honestly, I don’t even have the patience to build Lego, let alone a model like that.”