Protester figurines major hit at HK toy stores

HONG KONG: Intricately detailed Hong Kong protester figurines have become the latest must-have collectables as toy stores recreate the pro-democracy movement’s street battles with police in their shop displays.

Stacked on shelves next to comic book superheroes, the models come in a variety of shapes and sizes, some holding make-shift shields and flags, others extinguishing tear gas rounds.

A local figurine enthusiast and his friend designed dozens of characters based on their experiences of attending months of protests.

Among their 1:6 scale figures are white-collar workers who hold regular lunchtime rallies outside their offices, elderly “silver-haired” protesters and a demonstrator wearing an oversized Pepe the Frog mask (pix).

“We hope the figurines can reconstruct the situation with authenticity,” said Charlie, a 30year-old freelance photographer by day, who asked to use a pseudonym.

Their models boast many features of the street protests which have upended Hong Kong for the last seven months.

Slogans have been painted onto small helmets and some models have cling-film wrapped around their arms, a method protesters use to defend against police pepper spray. Others have scrapes on their legs from street skirmishes and almost all have removable gas masks that have become ubiquitous during the protests.

“We want to make them as detailed as possible so they can evoke empathy in people,” Charlie said. – AFP