What you see below are anatomically correct action figures scaled down to 1:22.5 cm. They were produced by Mountain Research in collaboration with GELCHOP, a design-duo who have made a name for themselves by bringing adult-level quality to childish ideas. And who better to remove this subject matter from their respective historical context than children? I love the idea of handing these toys over to a group of kids who are free of all preconceived notions associated with these figures.
Adorned in and equipped with the most recent collection, a product lineup entitled “little summer camp,” you have Karl Marx – arms crossed – pondering his current predicament. Then there is Chairman Mao who hasn’t even begun hiking but already trying to hitchhike. Lenin has his walking stick and is ready to go. Leading them all into the forest is perhaps the only person who could arguably belong in the setting, Thoreau.
I’m going to geek-out a bit here but Mountain Research is owned by Setsumasa Kobayashi, whose weekend getaway we profiled on the site back in 2009. Their out-doorsy cabin is actually the site where they test a lot of their camping gear and other products they sell. Which makes me wonder if this is where the crazy action figure set was conceived. Dwell recently paid them a visit and you can see more pictures of the awesome cabin there as well.
Source: colossal | mountain research
May 24, 2011 at 9:25 am
Mao was reputed to climb mountains while naked – is this option available for naturist collectors ?
May 24, 2011 at 10:40 am
@Garry Hunter – hahaha! maybe they will do a special edition.