Punch buddies by Mapletree

Every Singaporean kid who grew up in the 2000s remembers the Punch Buddies on the rooftop of VivoCity.

These massive and colourful sculptures created by Hong Kong artist Michael Cheung became unofficial mascots of childhood weekends. They were not just installations. They were landmarks that became part of the shared memory of an entire generation.

Years later, Mapletree faced a uniquely Singaporean challenge: how do you honour nostalgia in a meaningful way.

They wanted to present premium tokens of appreciation to their VIP guests. Not generic gifts. Something that carried emotional weight. The Punch Buddies were the perfect symbol, but commissioning the original artist in Hong Kong was impractical and prohibitively expensive for a gifting programme.

Mapletree already owned the IP. They simply needed someone who could bring these icons back to life with respect and precision.

Recreating the characters in miniature form required more than scaling down a sculpture. It required capturing the charm and cultural memory attached to them.

We took on the responsibility of rebuilding these childhood heroes as refined collectible pieces.

This was not a toy-making project. It was a restoration of a shared cultural moment. Every surface, every expression and every contour had to reflect the originals while still meeting the standards expected from a premium corporate gift.

We started with precision 3D printing, but printing was only the beginning.

To elevate each piece into a polished display-ready collectible, we collaborated with MOD (Ministry of Deities), a local artist collective known for their expertise in post-processing and hand-painting 3D printed works. They removed every layer line through meticulous finishing and restored each Buddy's iconic colours with the exact palette that Singaporeans remember.

The result is a fusion of nostalgia and sophistication that transforms childhood icons into elegant tokens of appreciation.

Each Punch Buddy retains the playful spirit of the rooftop originals but now stands as a refined artefact suitable for boardrooms, ceremonies and VIP recognition. Recipients do not receive a typical corporate gift. They receive a piece of Singapore's cultural fabric brought into the present.

Sometimes the most meaningful gifts are not the grandest. They are the ones that reconnect us to our shared experiences.

By reimagining the Punch Buddies in this way, Mapletree offered their guests something more than an object. They offered a story.

Now, what is your "impossible?"