Uniformed heroes inspires Malaysian artist's figurine series

Mohamad Afiq has handmade a collection of 24 local heroes in full dress uniform. Photo: Bernama

It is quite common to see people collecting superhero action figurines but for Mohamad Afiq Faiz Mohamad Amin, he prefers figurines of personnel of uniformed services such as the police and armed forces.

The 33-year-old psychology officer from Gombak, Selangor, has the ability to make 1:6 scale (about 30-cm tall) figurines from scratch, a rare skill that requires creativity, precision and patience.

He started learning how to make figurines 15 years ago after finding it quite difficult to get figurines of local heroes in the market.

"Usually, local collectors are obsessed with collecting figurines of characters from foreign films such as Hottoys from Hong Kong that produces Marvel and DC Comic figurines such as Spider-Man, Ironman and Hulk.

"But, it is hard to find individuals who are good at making figurines related to country’s important events and history. It is probably because it requires the person to do some research to produce a perfect figurines,” he said.

To date, Mohamad Afiq has a collection of 24 local heroes in full dress uniform and more than 120 from abroad.

Among them are figurines of a female police officer during the Communist insurgency period, Home Guard personnel (1948-1960), a Malay Regiment officer during the battle against Japanese soldiers in Bukit Chandu (1942), a police officer during the battle of Bukit Kepong (1950).

He also has figurines of a member of the Special Action Unit (UTK), naval special forces (PASKAL) officer, and the Malaysian Battalion (MALBATT) peacekeeping force officer.

Flight attendants (from Malaysia Airlines and Air Asia) as well as frontliners wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) in the fight against Covid-19 are also a part of the figurine collection.

All the figurines are now on display in the Works Ministry office in Kuala Lumpur, here to lift the spirit of patriotism and enliven this year’s National Month and Malaysia Day celebrations.

Mohamad Afiq said each of his silicone-made figurines has a unique backstory.

"My mother was an officer at the National Archives and since young, I was exposed to the country’s history through old books and documents. From there, I started thinking of doing something that could raise the people’s interest in history by making figurines of local heroes in their full uniform,” he said.

On the challenges he faced in making the figurines, the father of one said it involved a lot of work, namely conducting research in museums, ordering materials and accessories online or using recyclable materials such as paper and aluminium to make figurine costumes.

"Another challenging part is painting the figurines. I have to use the film colorisation technology to turn old black and white photographs of uniformed personnel to colour.

"There are also materials that are only available overseas due to lack of expertise to produce them. For example, I had to order weapons used by our policemen during the battle of Bukit Kepong, namely the Sten gun from abroad,” he said.

Mohamad Afiq also mentions that he had no plans to sell his figurines despite having spent thousands of ringgit from his own savings on his collection.

"However, if there is any individual who wants to hold a history exhibition, I am ready to take part in such events to attract visitors and provide an interactive learning experience,” he said. - Bernama