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General => Report & Review => Topic started by: Luis on February 10, 2011, 06:14:56

Title: Sphinx design - the face!
Post by: Luis on February 10, 2011, 06:14:56
i did a little search prior to posting this thread and apparenly it hasn't yet been discussed - does anyone agree with me that the sphynx (4242) is kind of odd-looking because of the fact that his face is that of a human?! ;D

i LOVE this set, and probably a sphinx with a playmo face would've been still (or maybe even more) weird looking, but what do you all think? :) :lol:

http://store.playmobilusa.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-US-Site/en_US/Product-Show?pid=4242&cgid=Aegypter

this thought hadn't even crossed my mind until tonight when a friend of mine pointed it out and i couldn't stop cracking up to realize he was right, lol
i still like this set though, i love the entire egyptian theme
Title: Re: Sphinx design - the face!
Post by: Wolf Knight on February 10, 2011, 06:19:30
well , as one who dreamt about becoming an archaelogist and specialise in egyptiology... (but that never happened  :()
I really love it!!! Only problem is, its scale is quite small... I expected it bigger...
Title: Re: Sphinx design - the face!
Post by: Luis on February 10, 2011, 06:26:08
Only problem is, its scale is quite small... I expected it bigger...

lego released an egyptian theme many years ago and i loved all their sets (yes, i was a lego fan for some time during my childhood when -for an unknown reason- i got tired of playmobil :-[ :-[ :-[)

the lego sphinx didn't match the lego scale either (relatively small as well) - i guess toy companies don't like to make unaffordable and extremely big toys
Title: Re: Sphinx design - the face!
Post by: socrates on February 10, 2011, 08:14:11
Well, addressing the scale, I think they focussed on having a sphinx-like secret chamber, I guess.  ???
It is a reasonable sized set, I like it, even though I have to admit that this is the only one I did not buy, actually.  :-[

And to the face... Well, they decided to not make it playmobil-style. Maybe their first drafts did not look cool enough?
Also in the pyramid, the reliefs on the side walls show a pharao with a human and not a klicky face.  :)

Maybe evolution drove them into their nowadays shape and 4000 years ago the klickies looked like human?  :P

best,
socrates
Title: Re: Sphinx design - the face!
Post by: Giorginetto on February 10, 2011, 09:00:38
I agree with Sir Wolf , I think the Sphinx ought to be about 50% bigger . With reference to the human face i think since the Sphinx is referring to an iconic symbol of a civilation and a country of today , out of resepct to say the least it would be incorrect to put a playmobil face on it , i dont think that this would be appropriate,  :hmm: :hmm: :hmm:

I think Playmobil was very carefull with this and they ought to be praised for their choice . Putting a  toy - Playmobil face on something that depicts a nation's cultural history and is a symbol of that nation would be offensive to say the least .
Title: Re: Sphinx design - the face!
Post by: playmofire on February 10, 2011, 09:44:34
It's a matter of accuracy - the Sphinx has a human face and so a model of it should as well.

As to its size in Playmobil, you come back to the practicalities of cost, portability and storage, both when manufacturing and buying and when playing with it.
Title: Re: Sphinx design - the face!
Post by: bonniebeth on February 10, 2011, 13:39:00
I think a klicky face on the sphinx would look so crazy! Just the thought of how that would look makes me laugh!!  :lol: :lol: :lol:
Title: Re: Sphinx design - the face!
Post by: Giorginetto on February 10, 2011, 13:41:19
I think a klicky face on the sphinx would look so crazy! Just the thought of how that would look makes me laugh!!  :lol: :lol: :lol:

Probably it would be funny, but most likely also offensive to some people for whom this is an icon of their country and heritage  :)
Title: Re: Sphinx design - the face!
Post by: bonniebeth on February 10, 2011, 13:42:51
Yes, I agree. I think making it look like the original was the right thing to do.
Title: Re: Sphinx design - the face!
Post by: Alison01326 on February 10, 2011, 20:25:23
I too couldn't imagine why anyone would want to make the Sphinx anything other than it is supposed to be. Not only would it probably offend the Egyptians and a lot of other people, it wouldn't do a lot to educate children about the Sphinx either.

Learning through play, and all that  :)
Title: Re: Sphinx design - the face!
Post by: Hadoque on February 10, 2011, 21:03:26
Most archeologists assume the original Sphinx had a lion-face when build, in accordance with the Sphinx' body.
Due to wind, sand, etc., the lion's face eroded during time.
At a certain moment, it was decided to sculpture the eroded face into the face of the then living Pharao. That would be the reason why in reality, the sphinx' head is relatively much smaller in accordance with the body.

The Sphinx is generally made of very soft stone and is prone to much more erosion then other contemporary Egyptian constructions. The body was reinforced by later Egyptian dynasties with other stone-material several times, and even the Romans did some restructuring.
Title: Re: Sphinx design - the face!
Post by: bonniebeth on February 10, 2011, 21:06:29
That's a very interesting bit of history!
Title: Re: Sphinx design - the face!
Post by: Wolf Knight on February 10, 2011, 21:07:31
Yes I had forgotten that! Thanks for reminding us!!  :)
Title: Re: Sphinx design - the face!
Post by: Ali Baba on February 10, 2011, 21:18:24
Most archeologists assume the original Sphinx had a lion-face when build, in accordance with the Sphinx' body.
Due to wind, sand, etc., the lion's face eroded during time.
At a certain moment, it was decided to sculpture the eroded face into the face of the then living Pharao. That would be the reason why in reality, the sphinx' head is relatively much smaller in accordance with the body.

The Sphinx is generally made of very soft stone and is prone to much more erosion then other contemporary Egyptian constructions. The body was reinforced by later Egyptian dynasties with other stone-material several times, and even the Romans did some restructuring.


About the lions head, that is most certainly widely accepted in Egyptology. That idea originates with people who think the sphinx is 12500 years old.

The sphinx has 3 layers of stone. The lowest one is very soft and that is the part that is badly eroded and repaired several times. The hardest part is the top part ie the head, which explains the different levels of erosion.
Title: Re: Sphinx design - the face!
Post by: Luis on February 10, 2011, 21:21:31
I too couldn't imagine why anyone would want to make the Sphinx anything other than it is supposed to be. Not only would it probably offend the Egyptians and a lot of other people, it wouldn't do a lot to educate children about the Sphinx either.

Learning through play, and all that  :)

Giornetto's post and your answer make a lot of sense :)
Title: Re: Sphinx design - the face!
Post by: Rasputin on February 11, 2011, 01:36:20
I heard a while ago that the Egyptian country wanted to trademark the symbols so there was a scramble to make the stuff while they could.
Title: Re: Sphinx design - the face!
Post by: Wesley Myers on February 11, 2011, 03:02:28
well , as one who dreamt about becoming an archaelogist and specialise in egyptiology... (but that never happened  :()
I really love it!!! Only problem is, its scale is quite small... I expected it bigger...

Me too!  I loved Egyptology as a kid (still do).  I haven't the other posts yet, but the canoptic jars (in the temple set, for some reason, even though they should be with the mummy as they contain the vital organs of the mummy ...) have human faces - as well as the animal faces of the gods represented.

Yes, the scale is very disappointing - but - I thought it would be much better in than the Atlantic Sphinx

http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://genieminiature.com/pages%2520Atlan%2520fig/1504.JPG&imgrefurl=http://genieminiature.com/Atlantic%2520figurines%2520civils.htm&usg=__vKwotS3Xpvqhry5v3fn3b-F2w9c=&h=384&w=596&sz=61&hl=en&start=124&zoom=1&tbnid=Bn4rZyriK3AtiM:&tbnh=115&tbnw=179&ei=8aVUTdGnLIKClAe6quCRBw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Datlantic%2Bho%2Bsphinx%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-ca:IE-SearchBox%26rlz%3D1I7ADFA_en%26biw%3D1327%26bih%3D577%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=359&oei=wqVUTYhkxIG2B6KokOsK&esq=11&page=7&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:124&tx=103&ty=49 (http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://genieminiature.com/pages%2520Atlan%2520fig/1504.JPG&imgrefurl=http://genieminiature.com/Atlantic%2520figurines%2520civils.htm&usg=__vKwotS3Xpvqhry5v3fn3b-F2w9c=&h=384&w=596&sz=61&hl=en&start=124&zoom=1&tbnid=Bn4rZyriK3AtiM:&tbnh=115&tbnw=179&ei=8aVUTdGnLIKClAe6quCRBw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Datlantic%2Bho%2Bsphinx%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-ca:IE-SearchBox%26rlz%3D1I7ADFA_en%26biw%3D1327%26bih%3D577%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=359&oei=wqVUTYhkxIG2B6KokOsK&esq=11&page=7&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:124&tx=103&ty=49)

For those who are not familiar the Atlantic sphinx is shown with 25mm toy soldiers.
Title: Re: Sphinx design - the face!
Post by: Ali Baba on February 12, 2011, 08:03:17
A correct set of canopic jars has only one human faced one. The other jar vaguely hominid is supposed to be a babboon.

And the others are jackal and falcon.
Title: Re: Sphinx design - the face!
Post by: playmo1989 on February 13, 2011, 12:21:51
:()
Only problem is, its scale is quite small... I expected it bigger...


yes the problem is that it is small it would look amazing to be2x the current size not to say 3x.... but i believe it woulden't work as a toy if it was larger it woulden't have any playing abilities for a kid ,it's nice just as a decorating but if so large it would only work as a stateu and not as a toy i was disapointed when i opend the box and saw the size  :( :( :( :( :( :(
Title: Re: Sphinx design - the face!
Post by: Alison01326 on February 15, 2011, 10:41:11
I've never seen it (real or Playmobil), and agree that the proper scale would be marvellous BUT impractical in all but the largest house. Is it in scale with the pyramid which also looks  a bit small (have never seen a real or Playmobil pyramid, either).

I imagine that most of you serious collector folk on here live in ENORMOUS houses with expanding walls.  I'm tempted to start a "how big is your house" thread or a "have you had to move house to accommodate your Playmobil" thread  ;) :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Title: Re: Sphinx design - the face!
Post by: Ali Baba on February 15, 2011, 11:38:31
The sphinx of Gizeh is 20 mtr high and 60 mtr long. On clicky scale it would be about 1 mtr high and 3 mtr long (ballpark figures).

Pyramids come in all sizes. 50-60 mtr high is quite common, so that would be about 2-2.5 mtr.

Actually, starting a thread like that isn't such a bad idea. Why don't you?
Title: Re: Sphinx design - the face!
Post by: Giorginetto on February 15, 2011, 12:10:24
I've never seen it (real or Playmobil), and agree that the proper scale would be marvellous BUT impractical in all but the largest house. Is it in scale with the pyramid which also looks  a bit small (have never seen a real or Playmobil pyramid, either).

I imagine that most of you serious collector folk on here live in ENORMOUS houses with expanding walls.  I'm tempted to start a "how big is your house" thread or a "have you had to move house to accommodate your Playmobil" thread  ;) :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I dont think realistically we will ever see playmobil sets to scale , would be commercially impossible for many reasons i think. Playmobil was thinking apparently of building a large steamboat but it was turning into such a big set it was a potential commercial disaster

Title: Re: Sphinx design - the face!
Post by: Justindo on February 21, 2011, 19:42:04
I would have liked to have seen a klicky head on the Sphinx, but I can see how some might find that offensive.  I wouldn't, of course, expect a to scale Sphinx, but I too wish it was a bit bigger.