RAN's Frontline

1/6th SCALE COLLECTABLE FIGURES

Hello...

I started Ran's Frontline with the goal of offering readers a glimpse into my thoughts and experiences. What started out as weekly posts has evolved into a dynamic site packed with information about various topics that are near and dear to me. I've since placed some of the posts that are meaningful to me in this new website. Take some time to explore the blog and see for yourself what makes you curious and eager. Read on, enjoy and let me know what you think of it!

MUSINGS

I have always been interested in militaria since young.

Brought up on a baby-boomer diet of plastic soldiers made in Hong Kong and 1/72 scale Airfix figures; countless Black and White TV episodes of ‘Combat’, ‘The Rat Patrol’ and war movies like ‘The Longest Day’ (I go way back…), ‘Von Ryan’s Express’, ‘The Great Escape’, ‘Where Eagles Dare’, ‘Waterloo’, Zulu and many others; I, like many young impressionable boys, became very intrigued by military uniforms and equipment configured to impress enemies (and of course, the female gender) and protect; and weapons designed to inflict considerable pain on enemies.

Numerous battles were staged and fought on the plains and hills of my bed, pillows and tabletops before progressing downwards onto the floor. My favourite toy soldier battle was one where my older cousin William and I battled contingents of Airfix WW2 British, American, German and Japanese soldiers; when these were ‘dead’, gleefully threw in our reserves of Red Indians and Cowboys, Union and Confederate soldiers of the American Civil War, followed by waves of medieval knights and Bedouins and French Foreign Legionaires! It was amazing what imagination and desperation could do!

Delving deeper – at a much mature age, brought across the realisation of the innumerable human sacrifices warfare demands; a testament to the ethos of fighting and the fragile nature of human life. It appears we have to fight wars so as to understand and appreciate peace. Commented the writer Malcolm Gladwell: “War never stops, it only pauses for a while.” How true and sad indeed for what it says about humankind.

The 1/6 military figures thus, in this blog is my little attempt to articulate humanity within the context of military history. At times veering from pathos to bravado, savagery to compassion but representing no racial nor political bias, I’ve also included research references so as to better understand the subject. The blog also records my attempts at upgrading and personalising my collection of 1/6 military action figures.

2022 update: It’s been quite a few years since I laid off working on my figures, and coming back to them made me realise how high the benchmark has now been set. There is so much talent out there, what can I, an “old-school” customiser / kit-basher humbly contribute? My answer is, “Why not? You’ll never know unless you try.”

A favourite project of mind was a 2018 post of a rather depondent and exhausted US Medic of the 326th Airborne Medical Company, 101st Airborne Division in Bastogne, 1944. More projects will be updated when I find the time to do so.

Meanwhile, I wish you great enjoyment viewing them and hope you will visit again. Enjoy.

Ransome Chua

Note: Ransome Chua, an award winning graphic designer ran his design firm in Singapore for more than 27 years. Now a retired design academic, he teaches aspects of Visual Communication in one of the finest Polytechnics in the Singapore. A classically trained pianist and an untrained fine art artist, he lives with his ex-designer wife, digital concept artist son and free-ranging birds.