Review Qing Official - Linjo Models

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Hot on the heels of the Ist release its now my pleasure to review the 2nd release from Linjo Models but firstly lets have a little bit of a background to this dynasty of Chinese history .

The Qing Dynasty (Chinese : 清朝 ); also known as the Manchu Dynasty, was the last ruling dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 (with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917). It was preceded by the Min Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China.
The dynasty was founded by the Manchu clan Aisin Gioro in what is today northeast China (also known as Manchuria). Starting in 1644 it expanded into China properand its surrounding territories, establishing the Empire of the Great Qing (simplified Chinese: 大清国; traditional Chinese: 大清國; )Originally established as the Later Jin Dynasty in 1616, it changed its name to "Qing", meaning "clear" in 1636.

During its reign, the Qing Dynasty consolidated its grip on China, integrated with Chinese culture, and saw the height of Imperial Chinese influence. However, its military power weakened during the 1800s, and faced with international pressure, massive rebellions and defeats in wars, the Qing Dynasty declined after the mid-19th century. The Qing Dynasty was overthrown following the Xinhai Revolution when Empress Dowager Longyu, faced with massive opposition, abdicated on behalf of the last emperor, Puyi, on February 12, 1912

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Moving onto the actual model itself now :

Subject Title: Qing Dynasty Official

Scale : 200mm

Material : Resin

Reference Number : LJ 20004

Sculptor : Chun MeiZhou

On opening up this review model which is as before packed in an extremely strong cardboard box , a distinctive black with a full colour picture on the front of a painted model , colour representation being very clear and great reference.

On opening the box up I found that all the box was full with 5 pieces surrounded by very protective pieces of foam which securely sandwiches the cream coloured pieces . there is absolutely no concern with any damage in transit ..all in all wonderful packing .

The model itself consists as said of 5 pieces , the torso , the head , the hat , the pigtail and the peacock feather and ofcourse a pedastal base , there are easily removed casting plugs and once this small amount of work is done you can then a few moments to admire the sculptors skill ..Ist class indeed .


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Lets have a look at the head first , sculpted bareheaded with the very distinctive hairstyle , you also have the option of fitting a wonderful helmet the choice is yours ..whichever you choose a very impressive result will happen .
Looking in details at the bareheaded version , as before facial details are spot on , he has a nicely detailed beard , the eyes have the stare of a much experienced official , well versed in the political needs of his country , hair details are finely done as well , there is also a pigtail (more later in the review) , a minmal amount of casting plugs need to be removed but nothing to worry about.

For your information here is some details about the grading system on the hats :

The helmet he has the option to wear is the summer version , normally made of bamboo with the distinctive tassels around it coming from a knob at the top (this was in various colours dependant on the individuals rank), as with the head finely sculpted and cast , there is a casting plug to remove ..no problem here as with all the pieces . THere is also a feather that needs to be fixed but more later on this piece .

The official hat of the Qing Dynasty was invariably topped with a knob made of a gem or silver and gold ornament, which indicated the wearer's rank and power.
A ruby knobrepresented a first-rank official. The most commonlknobs were rosy red, or bright red, while the most precious were bloody red.
A coral knob signified a second-rank official. The coral was hard and red in most cases with the bright red ones being the most precious.
A sapphire knob referred to a third-rank official, with the best such knobs being blue sky in color.
A knob made of lapis lazuli in the colors of azure blue, sky blue, or indigo was attached to a fourth-rank official.
A crystal knob was usually found on a fifth-rank official's hat, with the blue crystal being especially precious.
A sixth-rank official's hat was often topped with a tridacna knob, which was the shell of a mollusk, a kind of giant clam, and was seen as one of the seven treasures (gold and silver, colored glaze, tridacna, agate, coral, amber and pearl ) in ancient times.
The knob of a seventh-rank official' hat was usually made of plain gold.
A knob made of gold with characters cut in intaglio represented the eighth-rank official while one made of gold with characters cut in relief was found on the hat of the ninth-rank official. A hat with no knobs on top was worn by officials of no rank.

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On now to the torso :

As with others in the range minimal prep is needed with easily removed casting plugs to deal with , before you do anything take a moment to enjoy the details that have been incorporated , the embroidered design or buzi is a great piece of work , all the details are there , all aiding the painting , these panels appeared on both the front and the back and were in many designs all related to the rank of the wearer.

Civil officials and army officers alike should have buzi embroidered on either the front or the back of the robes they wore. The buzi for civil officials features a flying bird to symbolize literary grace; and that for army officers was a beast to symbolize valour. The crane was for a top-rank civil official; yellow pheasant, second rank; peacock, third rank; mail wild goose, fourth rank; white silver pheasant, fifth rank; egret, sixth rank; mandarin duck, seventh rank; quail, eighth rank; and long-tailed fly-catcher, ninth rank. For army officers, kylin (or unicorn, an auspicious legendary animal with a horn and scales all over its body) was for the first rank; lion for second rank; leopard for third; tiger for fourth rank; bear for fifth rank; young tiger for sixth and seventh rank; rhinoceros for eighth rank; and sea horse for ninth rank.


The clothing he wears has very natural folds with everything on the torso calling out for the kolinsky brush !!!

This is a painting session that is guarenteed to bring enjoyment to you dear reader .

They say a picture paints a thousand words so lets have the pictures now to look at and enjoy

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On now to the final pieces in the box the base itself and my conclusion:

Looking first at the pigtail and the feather , these are as all the other pieces finely sculpted , with the pigtail I would advise putting it in hot water to soften and mould to hang more naturally ( being safety concious as we all are : careful with that temperature please !!)

The feather is also naturally done and when painted will look great (these feathers had "eyes" on them ..the number dependant on the wearers rank)

The peacock feather was attached to the hats' rear., There were single-eyed ("eye" referring to the round spot on the feather), double eyed and triple-eyed feathers . The more the eyes, the higher the rank. But only the noble men and those who had done "immortal" feats were entitled to wear feathers.

The base is as before a simple yet effective pedastal style one which is angled to fit the underside of the model itself perfectly (I would advise pinning it as well) , there is a casting plug to remove underneath but no major surgery or use of time will be needed here .

Conclusion:
Linjo models have produced another excellent high quality model in all aspects , its a pleasure to handle these models , and appreciate the quality and dedication that has gone into the production.

I look forward immensley to seeing more from a them and I assure you that you will as I am be very happy with the product ..

WELL DONE Linjo Models I say

Have a look on the website you will not regret it one bit .


Extremely Highly recommended indeed .

In the UK it can be got from El Greco of course at a cost of £30 plus shipping

Phone: +44 (0)1280 840364

Email: [EMAIL="[email protected]"][email protected] [/EMAIL]

Home Page: http://www.elgrecominiatures.co.uk


or direct via the Linjo website at www.linjomodels.com or contacc them by e mail at [email protected]


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[Tommi]

Thanks for the review Kevin, looks a very nice bust and well cast, another one to add to the collection

Cheers
Tommi

 

[gordy]

Thank you Kevin for another informative review

Very interesting about the gem 'knobs' and their ranks!