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Welcome to the amazing
1:6 scale collection of
Hello, I'm an interior designer living in Singapore and I started collecting action figurines back in 1994, after being attracted to their quality and detail. I've been fascinated by all things military since I was young, and read up a lot about them. Men are still boys at heart and these are big boy's toys! In addition to collecting figurines, I create and sell hand-made dioramas to customers around the world. Originally, action figurines were somewhat simple or doll-like. But these days, the quality of the materials is better, the molding is sharper, and there are more intricate parts. The figurines, from their equipment to their facial expressions, are very lifelike, and they have excellent articulation - so they can be posed in any number of ways that a human can move. My favorite manufacturers of 12-inch figurines are BBI (makers of the Elite Force series), Hot Toys and Toy Soldiers. Toy Soldiers are known for their accessories and equipment, while Elite Force is more of an all-rounder. I prefer Elite Force and Toy Soldiers, but I mostly customize, sew and solder my own equipment.
The thought process behind my dioramas is akin to storyboarding. I'll first make sketches of the diorama I want to create, and then improvise during its actual production. It's usually part imagination and part military experience. There's no limit to what can be done, but most of my dioramas are based on actual environments like bunkers, trenches; even toilets. Soldiering skills help a great deal, of course. How to hold a weapon or to wear a piece of equipment correctly, how to storm a room or building, the look on a commander's face - knowing all these is a bonus. When it comes to materials and equipment for the construction for my dioramas, I use materials like cement, wall putty, silicone, sand, water, and even a soldering iron, to create realistic effects like mud, sewage, drains and cracks on war-torn walls.
All of my dioramas are hand-made, and I don't make the same thing twice, so each of my customers owns a piece that is one of its kind in the world. And since I don't keep what I've done, I'm always looking for a new idea, to create a different diorama each time. My customers are pretty knowledgeable and have special interests, with the youngest being a girl in secondary school who collects only German Waffen-SS figurines. Most people usually collect modern forces because the weapons and equipment are more sophisticated, and also because of recent world events. Interior design is for humans, dioramas are for figurines. Interior design is a job, dioramas are all about having fun! ---Terence Hoi
Photos E. Mok, 2004 And Don't Miss... Collections
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Greetings
from Singapore!
Why
do I create my own equipment? Simple. Any collector can buy a
figurine, but it's about making them as dynamic as they can be.
They're action figurines, after all. And a diorama is like a
stage which brings out the character of the figurines. Making
dioramas also brings my level of interest to a higher plane.
The
time taken to complete a diorama varies. It can range from a
week to as long as a month, depending on its dimensions, structure,
complexity and the amount of detail required. Naturally, it can
be a very time-consuming process and requires plenty of patience
and attention to detail. You also need a certain flair, an ability
to visualize what the diorama should look like.