1:35 Krejčovská panna

An object whose whole point is that it is unique

While twenty jerrycans, crates or drums might easily lie in one place, there was one tailor's dummy in a workshop, two at most. It was a working aid tied to a craftsman, not a stock item. That is exactly why it works differently on a base from mass-produced goods: it does not create quantity, it creates a place. From it the viewer grasps what the room was used for before noticing anything else.

Two parts, one piece

The set is made up of two parts that together make one dummy: the torso itself and the stand with its leg. The division has a practical reason, because a slender leg and a bulky torso cast better separately. During the build, therefore, pay attention to the joint being vertical; a dummy leaning a few degrees looks as though it is falling, and that is apparent at a glance.

How to work with it in a scene

It is strongest in contrast with its surroundings. Standing in the corner of a damaged room among the rubble, it tells of the life that was there before the hit. Wrapped in a sheet or with a coat thrown over it, it can also be used in a scene of military billeting, where a crew has taken over a civilian house. The torso will take a fabric as well as a varnished surface, and the stand tends to be wooden or metal, so even within a single object two different materials can be set side by side.

Color treatment

The cover of the torso usually keeps to muted beige, gray or dark brown tones and owes its result to subtle shading rather than to variety. The stand, by contrast, will take the sheen of polished wood or, alternatively, tarnished metal with a hint of corrosion. Dusting is always in place on this object, because a workshop without dust does not exist; most of it settles on the upper surface of the shoulders and where the stand widens toward the leg.