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1:6 scale modeling

1:6 scale modeling , a.k.a. Playscale Miniaturism ,[1]

is a hobby focusing on the collecting and/or customiza-tion of commercially produced 1:6 scale action guresand accessories. [2]

The term “Playscale” originally represented the domestic,urban or civilian expressions of the scale, especially whencoed, and not, usually, exterior genres, like military andadventure themes. As such, it came to represent cross-genre miniaturism, as well, which routinely includes el-ements from the former. Miniaturists who focus exclu-sively on exterior themes tend to prefer the protologismsixthscale .

This scale is fairly new to the modeling world, hav-ing been standardized in the early 1960s through Barbieand G.I. Joe toys (it is not clear exactly when these g-ures were rst used for mainstream modeling purposes).Most of this style of miniaturism is constructed aroundposable plastic gures. The average 1:6 gure standsroughly 30 cm (12 in) tall, representing a 1.8 m (6 ft)tall human . Figures can be outtted in a wide variety ofmass-produced, limited-production, and custom clothingand items. Some people undertake vehicle projects rang-ing from tanks and helicopters to sand rails and jeeps .Talented “customizers”, miniaturists specializing in con-struction of one-off and limited production items or theextensive modication of stock products, are limited onlyby their imagination.

A signicant focus of supporting manufacturers is mili-tary subjects of many different eras, but many crossoverminiaturists will reassign them to science ction , fantasy ,pop culture , or civilian themes. Further emphasis on themilitary genre can be found in the article, Military minia-turism .

1 History of modern 1:6 Miniatur-ism

Playscale miniaturism (with emphasis on articulated g-ures) emerged as a hobby in 1964 when the toy companyHasbro introduced the rst fully articulated action gure:G.I. Joe . The gures originally represented Americanmilitary men; as American involvement in the VietnamWar continued, war toys and gures fell out of favor withparents, and G.I. Joe’s sales declined. A change to a less

martial Adventure Team theme did not revive sales, andby 1976, GI Joe was no longer produced in 1:6 scale. TheUK had two equivalents; Action Man and Tommy Gunn ;

the latter rst appeared in 1966 while the former contin-ued through various incarnations until 1993 in the “vin-tage” form and in a revised form to the current day.

In the early 1990s Hasbro began reproducing G.I. Joe in1:6 scale again as a Classic Collection marketed towardsadults. The shift in focus towardscollectibility rather thanmarketing the gures as a toy invited competition, andsoon other companies began to market detailed 1:6gurestoward adult consumers.

In 1997 21st Century Toys began producing 1:6 scale ac-cessory and uniform sets representing equipment used inthe Vietnam War and soon expanded their product lineto include World War II, Law Enforcement, EmergencyServices, and Modern Armed forces Accessories underthe names “The Ultimate Soldier " (TUS) and “America’sFinest” respectively. The company offered more detailedand historically accurate products than Hasbro. 21st Cen-tury further expanded their line to include vehicles anda “Villains” series. Through 2000–present rumors havepersisted of a resurgence of the TUS line, however pro-duction, mostly of RC vehicles and “lowerquality” gureshave been inconsistent in both areas of release and num-bers produced, and a shift in emphasis to smaller scaleshas caused a lull in production.

In 1999 Dragon Models Limited (DML) entered the 1:6scale gure market; their gures were held in high es-teem by collectors due to their both high quality and ac-curate products. Their main focus became World War IIgures, but they have released gures from the VietnamWar, the Falklands War , Korean War , both the rst andsecond Gulf Wars , and the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan .They have also released vehicles and crew-served heavyweapons in 1:6 scale.

Around 2001 Blue Box Toys (BBI) began producingmodern era gures of the same quality as those manufac-tured by DML. These gures were notable for their die-cast accessories and quirky “Custom Expression Mech-anism”, by which facial expressions could be adjustedsomewhat by turning a small screw in the back of thehead, both of which were met with mixed results by col-lectors yet indisputably made headway in the evolutionof accessory and headsculpt detail. BBI later producedWWII era gures as well, but the company has also re-cently shifted its focus to smaller scale gures.

Recently, companies associated with smaller scale g-ures such as Toy Soldier Workshop, ACE, Battle GearToys, DiD (Dragon in Dreams), Armoury, RMC (Real-istic Miniatures), In The Past Toys, Toys City and New

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_Afghanistan_(2001%E2%80%93present)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falklands_Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_Soldierhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._I._Joe_Classic_Collectionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Gunn_(Action_Figure)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_Manhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.I._Joe_Adventure_Teamhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.I._Joehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasbrohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_miniaturismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_miniaturismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilianhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_culturehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_fictionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeephttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_railhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopterhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tankhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehiclehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clothinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastichttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.I._Joehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbiehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_figurehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobby

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2 5 EXTERNAL LINKS

Line Miniatures have begun to provide extremely accu-rate gear made from good quality cloth and leather. Thistrend to move towards the 1990s mentality of cottage pro-duction and scratchbuilding has left a unique feel whencombined with the mass-produced gures of today. Cus-tomizers also have started to produce custom kits forarmored vehicles such as half-tracks and tanks. Whilethese techniques have been developed in military arenas,they are increasingly being used in non-military genres.Other important companies as well are Hot Toys, Enter-bay, Blitzway, Takara among others.

2 Collecting vs. Miniaturism

There is a distinction between 1:6 scale collectors whochoose to simply display their gures in the original box,and playscale miniaturists. Consistent with other formsof miniaturism, many enthusiasts make their own customuniforms, weapons, helmets, and equipment. Kitbashingis another component of playscale miniaturism. This in-volves the mixing and matching of clothing and acces-sories from different sources to achieve the desired look.

Other modications to basic collectibles include thesculpting and painting of new heads for gures; alteringbodies to achieve a specic look: more human , or evenalien ; as well as weathering . Some miniaturists also con-struct and paint custom accessories from scratch usingmaterials like styrene, Sculpey, or Aves Apoxie.

Diorama work is fairly common despite the large size ofthe scale, and custom- or scratch-building buildings, fur-niture, vehicles and armor all complement basic gurework.

3 See also

• Model gure

• Toy soldier

4 References

[1] “Playscale miniatures” . About.com.

[2] This hobby favors action gures for their posability, butalmost any playscale gure is viable.

5 External links

• One Sixth UK, a UK-based website

• Sideshow Freaks, forum for customizers and collec-tors

http://www.sideshowcollectors.com/http://www.sideshowcollectors.com/http://www.onesixth.co.uk/http://miniatures.about.com/od/glossaryofminiatureterms/g/playscale.htmhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toy_soldierhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_figurehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dioramahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weatheringhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraterrestrial_lifehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paintinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sculpturehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitbashing

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6 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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