Every Friday afternoon and two Saturdays per month, the same ritual. They are 10 years old or 87 years old and meet in their club in Trinité (Alpes-Maritimes) to assemble their models or put the final touches to their miniature figurines.
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The most experienced and beginners alike have two passions in common, that of miniatures and that of telling stories. They represent historical reconstructions or imaginary tales, also a way of detaching yourself from the world of screens.
Today, in the club, for Marcus, it’s already a bit like Christmas with the unboxing of a new model.
This young 11 year old boy came to La Trinité with his grandfather 3 years ago thinking of finding electric train circuits there and discovered a whole other universe,
“I have a collection of 11 models at home, so I still have more to do. There, it’s good because we can talk, ask for advice and there’s a lot of material. So if you don’t have it with you, you can take it to the club“.
The world of model making is a learning experience, that of precision, concentration and patience. Besides, Alessio, 10 years old, doesn’t miss it when he listens to adults’ advice: “ This glue acts in a particular way. It’s not because you touch it that it will stick, it’s because it melts the plastic a little bit and it’s like welding“.
Here, it is not just a question of assembling pieces but of researching their history, and if a smartphone is found in the hand, it is in the service of historical truth as Marco, 15 years old, explains: “The model instructions indicate colors which are not precise enough, you have to search on the internet. Everything to the millimeter, everything to perfection, realism to give the best possible rendering“.
Club figurines depicting a battle between French and Japanese soldiers.
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© Séverine Neuquelman / France Télévisions
All these pieces are intended to be staged. Share, tell, transmit stories, like this reconstruction of Operation Mei, March 9, 1945 in Tonkin, opposing French and Japanese.
Henry Derepas, model maker for the Knights of the Bay of Angels association, insists on the importance of transmission to the youngest: “OHe tells the children, you are actors, you create things that relate to reality. We teach them something else, to find their roots, to work with their hands, to have a sense of observation. It’s a whole set of things that build individuals“.
Model maker, a job of patience.
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© Séverine Neuquelman / France Télévisions
Next weekend, November 16 and 17, the first edition of the Trinity figurine and model show will be held, with the participation of more than 25 associations from all over France, hundreds of models and figurines with artists who will share their knowledge, reconstructions, initiation or demonstration workshops, entry will be free. In the meantime, the dean of the club, Pierre, 87 years old, decided to celebrate a personality who marked his life: his wife.
