PlaymoFriends
Creative => Customs Gallery => Topic started by: cheng on May 30, 2011, 06:22:08
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The Manchu were the last to rule China from 1644 until 1912.
This is one of their 8 banners bearing their Manchu mustard yellow field with a Dragon which I'm using for my Taiping War/Boxer Rebellion Theme.
(I hope those bluish-grey blobs look like what they are supposed to be :P)
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their poles being very long, I decided to take separate photo of the soldiers at the bottom
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Ah! Ah! I wondered what your next move would be! China it is then. Nice figures once again.
(I hope those bluish-grey blobs look like what they are supposed to be :P)
Clouds? ;D
Cheers
Arnaud
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:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:
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Ah! Ah! I wondered what your next move would be! China it is then. Nice figures once again.
Clouds? ;D
Cheers
Arnaud
thanks guys!
and Arnaud, I was afraid they weren't going to look like clouds :P
..would anyone (without any Asian knowledge) be able to say they are clouds (if I didnt put the drawing of a real flag?)
can anyone (without any Asian knowledge) identify what those 'W's (on the drawing) represent?
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I guessed they were clouds with no problem, cheng, so they obviously look right!
I really like these latest customs of yours as they are simple yet very effective, and very impressive banners and flag poles.
:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:
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I would say the orange 'W' are flames. Though with a closer look I don't see the clouds. ???
Arnaud
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right on Playmofire-Gordon! (could you have visited many Chinese temples before? :P)
I would say the orange 'W' are flames. Though with a closer look I don't see the clouds. ???
Arnaud
right on Arnaud!
those blue blobs are clouds while the round blue ball is the pearl which the mythical dragon keeps in his mouth and plays with
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Excellent banners, and superb peoples! :wow:
I really like the clouds. :clap:
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Magnificent customs cheng. I like how you used the roof of the zoo :-)
The figures are really well done, with the red of their pants just showing through.
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thanks WoT and Gis!
...with the red of their pants just showing through.
purposely angled (like a teasing chinese lady's cheongsam slit) :lol:
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:love: Once again an excellent set of custom figures, I always look forward to seeing what you've done. :love:
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The clouds are claerly recognizable but I would have made (if I could achieve this at all) them in either blue (like in the examples) or rather black to fit with the design of the pm dragon flag. And maybe one completely in the the free space.
But I do like this setting (as always) and the manchus. :)
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thanks playmofriends!
The clouds are claerly recognizable but I would have made (if I could achieve this at all) them in either blue (like in the examples) or rather black to fit with the design of the pm dragon flag. And maybe one completely in the the free space....
good suggestions Micheal! I did take a while on deciding which colour and also where to position them...4 clouds x 4 sides of flags, too much work...luckily they looked like clouds to you all :P
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The clouds........but I would have made them in either blue....
....And maybe one completely in the the free space.
just found this picture...and henry_martini's words rang aloud in my head :P
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Cheng,
Lovely banners and Manchu costumes! Great use of the zoo roof, too. Your clouds are special, too! Wish PM had some stock pieces more like this.
Cheers, Pgal :wave:
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thanks Pgal!
you must have seen such Qing uniforms & banners in those museums you visited, to be able to appreciate the historical accurracy I try putting in, albeit ala-PM ;D
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Cheng,
Our favorite museums were those in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Shanghai has that wonderful floor of ethnic costumes (I took so many photos of the clothing!) and all kinds of artifacts. Hong Kong's Museum of Art has so many fine pieces of pottery and carvings returned to China by foreigners. The temples and gardens in Suzhou are also phenomenal sources of Chinese structures and shapes. The gardens and parks in Beijing provide even more background for designing PM products.
There is so much beauty and diversity in Asian art that PM could do hundreds of Asian sets and not run out of designs. Our new daughter in law is from Manchuria in northeast China, and we would love to have PM representing that area of the world. Maybe they will take some of your ideas and sell us some sets based on them!
There are so many Asians now living outside of Asia that they could become the major market for these PM sets. There should be a story for each set explaining what aspect of Asia it represents; then we could take it from there and develop our own lines.
Just some random thoughts about PM and Asia, Pgal :wave:
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if there are more people like you, then an Asian theme launch is for certain next year ;D
I'm afraid most Asian kids are not interested in PM...beside the computer games, most of them are busy with homework and rote learning....no place for creativity and story-telling...agreed? ;)
a new Manchurian D-I-L? congrats on your acquisition! ...wonder where I can buy one :P
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Cheng,
I agree, and hope they will launch several Asian themes SOON! It is amazing how little we know about folks and life in other countries. That is why we enjoy traveling and observing what people do wherever we are. It would be wonderful if EVERYONE could buy Clickies that look like they do!
Kids in the US spend most of their time on the computer or with video games. Generally they don't study half as many hours as most Asian kids who live in large cities. In the US there are almost enough openings in colleges/universities for anyone who wants to go, so it is just a matter of matching the kid to the school, paying lots of money, and off they go. Asian students have to compete for so few places in college (compared to those in the US) that they can't waste as much time playing games....until they get to college.
My son met his wife at Ocean University in Qingdao, one of the loveliest cities in China. This is a great campus for a summer program. College is the best place to meet a partner according to many people in the know.
She and her family are from Changchun, the Manchurian capital during the Japanese occupation. We enjoyed our visit to her hometown and meeting all of her huge family. Folks from that area tend to be very direct and straight forward making it easier to communicate with them.
And the DNA pooled from the Silk Road traders makes the genetic mix quite interesting. Many of the Manchurians (especially the younger ones) are taller and have lighter hair color and hazel eyes.
So when you talk about Manchurian warriors, it definitely catches my interest. Most of the literature I have read about Chinese dynasties focuses on warfare, so creating Clickies to go to battle seems quite appropriate. And the fellows you create are so cool looking!
Good luck in the D-I-L department. Our family definitely won that lottery! We all adore her! She loves building with L, and will adore PM once she has the chance.
Pgal :wave:
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thank you for sharing so much of your experience with Asians!
hope your Manchurian DIL will make some manchurian klickies with your help (my problem is mainly with those thick layers of dresses and baggy sleeves...not to mention their hairstyles (longing for more members to come up with better solutions while waiting for PM)
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Cheng,
Fortunately new DIL is quite talented and an artist as well. Will add "Make Manchurian Clickies" to her To Do List right now! She paints and draws quite well and would be happy spending the rest of her career as an artist after finishing her masters in marine geology.
We had a blast traveling with her in Korea, China and Hong Kong; not only could she translate for us, but she had some idea of what the foods on the menus were. That saved our necks big time. And she has already taught our older son enough Chinese (Mandarin) to talk. He had to spend two years improving her English for the GRE first, so it is his turn now.
It seems to me the first place to start is with the heads and faces of the Clickies. Do you recommend the same color of skin as the Asian family set? As to clothes, you must want the ancient warrior style most likely, whatever that is. Can you provide a photo or drawing of what style of clothing you prefer? Hubby is good at making molds and pouring them with various materials. Maybe he can make some prototypes to get the process started once we give him some photos.
Maybe the way to get more Asian figures is to collaborate. Cheers, Pgal :wave:
(Photo with DIL in downtown Seoul Palace two years ago.)
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hmmm...looks like your family has all the talents for an In-house collaboration ;)
thanks for sharing this photo, she looks sweet too :)
and you can even add things to her "To Do List"?!
besides mandarin, what other Asian languages can she read?
heads and faces of Asian Clickies;
at first I didnt want to make too many customs in case PM came up with a new (yellow?) color for Asians but after the launch of the Asian family set, I now think this will be the same color (as caucasian klikies) so we better not start a new Asian color if we are to remain PM-ish. ;)
yes, I will email you a wish-list for ancient warriors clothings, armor and headgear which I'm unable to make to date :P
to add to yur son's "To Do List"! ;D
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Cheng,
Thanks for your kind note!
Yes, it would be easier to use the current PM head color and just customize the faces with your stickers because the tolerances are so perfect on the heads.
The clothes are a different matter. Maybe it would be easier to make the clothes of fabric and just dress a plain Clickie in them. Like the folks in the large bag of plain Clickies sold by PM DS. Those are very plain figures and need some dressing up.
I have not yet located a source for Clickie clothing. Most of the American Girl Doll clothing (sold by Mattel ....ugh....in the US) is made in Asia, and it is of high quality...generally. I have bought quite a few outfits because one day I hope to have a granddaughter (we just have two sons.) AG dolls and their clothes were originally made in Germany by the Pleasant Co., but production was moved to Asia around the time Mattel purchased the co. They have a line of smaller dolls called Itty Bitty Babies, and those clothes are nicely designed and made as well.
Does anyone in PF know of a source of clothing that would fit Clickies? That would be a lot of fun to play with and really change the look of the gal Clickies. L offers some clothing for its larger Belville line of girls' figures, and the pieces are not bad, especially their Sunshine House, my personal favorite L set.
All for now, Pgal :wave:
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Does anyone in PF know of a source of clothing that would fit Clickies? That would be a lot of fun to play with and really change the look of the gal Clickies.
There is a US seller on eBay who dresses Playmobil figures in Polly Pocket clothes and hair. The scale is quite similar and they fit surprisingly well.
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:clap: Well done Cheng the flag is great and so detailed!
I also love that woman in the gold dress from Sylvia's photos although some of the others look a bit funny. :-\
naflibomyalp
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sknaht naflibomyalp! ;D
...Maybe it would be easier to make the clothes of fabric and just dress a plain Clickie in them.
...Pgal :wave:
those nice examples from Sylvia is a testimony to your idea, Playmogal, they fit and look in place (as for cheng, the 'wargaming-soldier-builder', he uses only washable, and mass-produced plastic parts :P)
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and Sylvia,
I like the red shoes, the rabbit costume, but I like the 'Genie' get-up most of all! (I have a little corner in my shelves which would be just the right home for her!)
btw Sylvia, do you think all these additional parts are made of washable-plastic? If they are, I'm amazed how the tighter clothes/trousers fit right over our clickies as tho they are moulded over them :love:
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Sylvia,
Those are very nice photos of female customs! Thanks for the info.
Cheers, Pgal :wave: