Faces are erased, colors are dull -
Whether people, or dolls, A look is like a look
And the shadow is on the shadow.
And I'm tired and resting
I invite you to the booth, Where dolls look so much like people.
A. Makarevich. Puppets
This shrunken, shrunken world. The past material of this cycle about figurines from the Army Museum in Paris has collected many comments, including one from Astra wild, who wished to know more about … figurines, so to speak, of large size, which we usually call no longer figurines or soldiers, but dolls! And this topic would be out of topic (such a funny pun is obtained!), If it was not directly related to the "Military Review". That is, we will talk about dolls, but purely military dolls. The same little soldiers, but only of a large size! Well, in addition, I am pleased to serve our constant reader, because even when it was said that "what a woman wants, the Lord God himself wants!"
Well, let's start with the fact that large-sized anthropomorphic dolls are known already in ancient times. These are ritual dolls Haniwa from Japanese tombs, and Kachinos dolls of the Indian tribe Hopi, and Japanese Hina dolls for the holidays of girls and boys (according to the latter, you can study the armor of the samurai, so they are accurate!), And puppet dolls, which in the novel by Miguel Cervantes Don Quixote was delighted, and the dolls for the nativity scenes cannot be enumerated. In ancient times, for example, in Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, they already knew how to make dolls with arms and legs on hinges. For example, one such, made of ivory with legs and arms (she was even named Nina!), Was found in the necropolis of Terragona in Spain, and it belongs to the 4th century. AD
Industrial dolls appeared already in the Renaissance and many of them have come down to us. Wooden folk dolls have also come down to us, simple but brightly colored and no less attractive, even next to the porcelain beauties from Venetian palazzo dressed in brocade and velvet. By the way, even the dolls of the British Queen Victoria were … made of wood, although they were dressed in beautiful dresses in the fashion of those years. There were dolls made of wax, papier-mâché, porcelain, there was even a "golden age" in the history of dolls (late 19th century). It was then that the dolls had closing glass eyes, and the model for one of them was the wife of Emperor Napoleon III, Eugene de Montijo - a beauty recognized by all. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Germany became the leader of doll production. It was she who became the birthplace of the celluloid doll, and since 1922 the Americans have intercepted the palm from the Germans. In 1937, the figurine dolls grew to a height of 18 cm and learned to stand.
As for the debut of the Barbie doll, it took place in 1959, and it was made of vinyl. In 1961, she had a friend, Ken, then a friend, Midge, and in 1964, a sister, Skipper. In 1997, even a Russian Barbie appeared, dressed in a sundress and with an elegant kokoshnik on her head. Barbie's success has sparked imitations, some of which are very interesting properties. For example, in 1985 the Rowland Company released a collection of “historical character dolls depicting girls as young as nine. This is Felicity - the era of colonial wars on the American continent; Josephine is an early 20th century Hispanic girl from New Mexico; Kirsten is a Swedish immigrant living in the US in the Midwest; Eddie is an African American (a tribute to political correctness!) Who fled to the North from the slave states, an orphan Samantha, who is raised by a grandmother, Keith is a girl from a family ruined during the Great Depression, and Molly is the daughter of a military doctor. Together with the doll, her outfits, accessories and … a documentary story with her "living history" are sold. Interactive museums are open throughout the country, where the owners of these dolls can play with them in life, which sometimes teaches better than any textbooks.
The success of the "thematic dolls" forced the creators of Barbie to follow this path, which began to be produced in costumes for the respective professions. She was a stewardess, and a fashionable rock star, and a pediatrician, and a firefighter, and a teacher, and … a presidential candidate (that's how it is!), And even a military pilot (1990)!
And here the idea of a doll of a sufficiently large size and - let's say: "military-historical content", finally began to bear fruit. So, in 2000, the Hot Toys company appeared in Hong Kong, which specializes in the production of collectible figurines on a scale of 1: 6, that is, 30 cm high, which depict warriors of different times, different countries and peoples, and with a very high level of detail. The Damtoys company produces its figurines in China, as does Coomodel, which produces beautiful (albeit a little fancy figurines of knights) and not only figurines in scales of 1:12, 1: 10 and 1: 6, but also bodies or teloids. as they are now called, with movable hinges and interchangeable hands. There are many other firms that manufacture such products, so it would be easier to say that there are many of them. And as figures … well, just a lot, ranging from Russian "polite soldiers" in the Crimea and samurai and ashigaru with bows and muskets, to … the figure of Stalin (that's what all his fans need to buy !!!) and … Hitler (and how could it be without him?). Almost all of our Red Army is represented. And the sniper Zaitsev, and the sniper-girl, and the officers, and the marine, the tanker, and the officers with epaulettes and still without them. A Cossack in a burka - and that has not been forgotten! Both horses and figures of riders are produced for them with full armament, and interchangeable. Although the prices, let's say - bite. A figurine of a man on a scale of 1: 6 may cost 24 thousand rubles, and more, but horses, when how! A figurine, for example, of a "German politician" with a short mustache costs 29,700 rubles. Although there are cheaper ones, in a raincoat and … with a dog! There are many figurines within the range of 16 thousand rubles, and teloids, especially made of hard plastic, can be said to be inexpensive - 1900 rubles. I bought it - and dress "this body" yourself in any armor or costume, which, by the way, is what many do!
Finally, Phicen, also an Asian company, specializing in … silicone female bodies, seamless, but with a metal frame and with very realistic bendable arms and legs. They should be bought by people with a stronger psyche, let's say, because they are … very natural and look very erotic. Captivating is the elaboration of faces, hair, which looks as if alive.
Samurai, Ashigars, Mongols, Chinese, a heavy Jurzhen rider with a horse (the price is mind-boggling!) And without a horse, modern Russian and American soldiers, as well as soldiers of the Second World War, well … characters of modern popular movies, starting from Rambo and ending with Rossamaha.
This is all good. But each article in this cycle is also devoted to how you can make money on all this. Well - everything is simple. Buy a couple of figures, a few more teloids, gut the equipment of the first and carefully study the device of the second and … open a company: "Large scale figures accessories, Inc." and you begin to produce not the figures themselves (this is difficult and expensive), but sets of clothes and armor. For example, the knightly armor of many companies, as already described above, is too fantasy and unrealistic. And we take Angus McBride's drawings, make clothes and weapons directly from his tablets and … we have a ready-made "umbrella brand", "sharpened" for the publication of numerous books by the well-known publishing house "Osprey".
You can also develop the theme of authenticity and release figurines armed with shooting weapons! These can be arquebusiers, musketeers, reitars and cuirassiers of the 16th - 17th centuries, armed with especially impressive weapons. In the barrel of the same wheeled pistol of the 16th century, it will be necessary to arrange electronic ignition and put in the box a tiny solenoid that sets the serpentine of the lock in motion. The contacts on the pistol grip are shorted to a wire passing through the sleeve. The control button is in the stand and the battery is also located there. The ignition hole is large enough for the gases to escape, that is, to increase the realism of the shot: first, the serpentine of the wick or wheel lock falls, then a shot occurs with smoke from the back and front - that is, everything is like in old engravings!
In this way, you can prepare a very patriotic and interesting series of soldiers of the Russian state: warriors of the Black Grave, soldiers in bakhterts and tractors (these should be sold in a souvenir shop near the Kremlin and at the exit from the Armory), archers, rifle heads with squeaks and muskets (again shooting, that is, with a "unique market offer"). Moreover, become a "world gunsmith" for all these Asian companies and produce for them shooting petronella, hacknuts, arquebusses, muskets, pistols … grenade launchers "Carl Gustav", of which it is easiest to imitate an outwardly very effective shot, and … patents, take advantage of your position as the discoverer of this "field".
So it’s probably worth thinking about making our mark in the production of all these realistic military figures in 1: 6 scale!
