Hebocon Highlights from Tech GALA 2025
DaijuHeld on February 4-5, 2025, at Oasis 21 (Nagoya), as part of the Tech GALA conference’s Makers Oasis, this article showcases the event footage and introduces the winning robots from Hebocon.
Day 1
🏆 Most Heboi Award: “Nagaude” (Rikkun)
This entry consisted of only a gearbox from a Tamiya crawler set—the creator never managed to complete the build. The robot barely moved at all, but when it did, it would sometimes flip over. The audience also got to witness the rare sight of someone panicking after mistakenly inserting the batteries with reversed polarity.
🏆 Gyaru-Den Award: “Binta-kun” (Hirai)
A hand labeled 'Binta' (Japanese for 'slap') spun around in place. It had no way to move on its own. The creator boldly called the sloppily taped body “armor,” and the sudden appearance of a Hello Kitty-style ribbon on its chest won over the hearts of the Gyaru-Den judges.
🏆 Hebocon Master Award: “A Liberal Arts Student’s Dream” (Sakurahama)
This machine had many components, but the standout feature was the hand-soldered electronic board—basically a wooden fishcake plank coated with varnish and glued parts. It had a certain mystical, ritualistic aura. Not visible in this photo, but in the upper-left corner, a hastily drawn cat face was sloppily taped on, adding to its charm.
🏆 Champion: “Me-Kurama Shitai-go” (Yamazaki)
A six-legged Tamiya robot outfitted with a 100-yen store flashlight. Coincidentally, it ended up resembling the Tower of the Sun. However, its loosely attached head soon fell off, reverting it back to being just a plain Tamiya robot.
🏆 Runner-up: “You Should Never Do This with a Forklift” (S. Zuki & Yamamoto)
A heavily modified forklift RC car. The grand finisher was meant to be a marble-spilling attack, which had been hyped up for the final match. However, when the moment came, the net got tangled, preventing even a single marble from escaping—resulting in an awkwardly silent audience.
Day 2
🏆 Most Heboi Award: “Rimi & Mitsuko’s Life” (Aoki Hijiri)
A repurposed wedding gift tray (engraved with the names "Rimi & Mitsuko") served as the main body. However, the tray was actually a projectile, meant to force the bliss of marriage onto opponents. Interestingly, the groom's outfit, on closer inspection, was not clothing but full-body paint.
🏆 Gyaru-Den Award: “LOVE♡emon” (Team Daikokuten)
This entry combined a well-known blue robotic cat character with a 100-yen lint remover. It moved forward by spinning a fan adorned with a heart. If it toppled backward upon defeat, the fan would touch the ground, making the "E-mon" character spin at high speed—delivering an indescribable, almost divine expression of love.
🏆 Hebocon Master Award: “A Gift from the Gods” (S. Zuki & Eguchi)
This machine was originally an abandoned spring-powered project left unfinished by Ishikawa. Due to unforeseen circumstances, it was inherited by another contestant. Their commentary—"Work often gets handed down through inadequate transitions like this"—resonated with many, making every subsequent failure seem like a harsh lesson in reality.
🏆 Champion: “Ultra-Modded Urufy-1 Gou” (Me~tele)
A Tamiya six-legged beetle bot impaled with the mascot of Nagoya TV, "Urufy." Since Me~tele was the main organizer of the event, their unexpected win was a scandalous shake-up to the fundamental fairness of the competition.
🏆 Runner-up: “Give Me a Fan Service” (Ichinose)
Originally planned to hold a full-sized fan-sign board, but due to weight issues, only a fragment was attached. Despite that, its sheer passion for fan service carried it through to the finals. Its tank treads kept coming off, and the decorative lights were haphazardly taped on, adding to its endearing charm.
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