Mikro man “Video Game Player”

Mikro man was the creation of a budding designer, Sam Buxton in about 2003. Sam has since gone on to make a name for himself as an interior designer based in a studio in London, England. However Mikroman lives on in cyberspace, the website http://www.mikromart.com/ is still active (2009) and orders of the photo-etched “kits” are responded to promptly and efficiently.

My own feeling is that the kit aspect reduces its appeal for the average artwork purchaser, who wants a finished item, not a rather fiddly challenge for his/her dexterity. Although it has to be admitted that the packaged kit is attractively presented and could be put on show unassembled as a “flat” artwork. The related website http://www.mikroworld.com/ gives some idea of the genesis of Mikro man and allows some close-ups of the mikro man kits. It also shows images of prototypes and some of the limited edition promotional variants (e.g. for Range Rover cars) that were produced 2004/5

The kit came to me protected by bubblewrap and a cardboard box well able to survive the postal system.

The “kit” is a single sheet of chemically-etched steel plate (magnetic too!). It comes protected in a clear plastic tray inside a very nice presentation black cardboard surround. There is a small sheet of paper illustrating the various moves required to erect the photo-etch. There is a photograph of the finished kit on the protective card and an illustrated catalogue of the whole Mikroman series.

The instructions suggest that assembly merely requires clean hands or blunt tweezers. I found that a modelling knife was very useful to lever the photo-etch up out of the flat, and then two blunt tweezers could be used to ease the “shapes” into position. The four steps illustrated in the instructions require the artist/ modeller to interpret the photograph of the finished article to figure out how far to move the various parts, but, I suppose there is a certain amount of artistic freedom permitted. No cutting is required, just bending. The instructions properly caution against too much bending forwards and backwards, otherwise the steel might fracture at the joints.

The instructions do not suggest any painting or protective coating.

The photos give an idea of the appeal of the finished article in shiny steel. However I could imagine a painted version.

An unusual and fun little object. It is all photo-etch, might be just the trick as a starter project for manipulating photo-etch.

Jeff Simpson

October 2009

Copyright ModelingMadness.com.

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly, please contact the editor or see other details in the Note to Contributors.