Mustering the Troops - Paul's modest contribution

[Techno]

Very much looking forward to that link, Paul !
You guys over there should be proud of yourselves !!
Cheers - Phil

[paulr]

The official blog has announced it will be releasing pictures of the diorama on ANZAC Day. I will post a link to them after the dawn service.

An update from the offical blog

Sir Peter Jackson has asked to delay the opening of the New Zealand Room by another week to allow other aspects of the room to be completed to a high standard. So it will now be opened on 2 May, not 25 April as previously advised.

Sorry guys, no pictures till 2 May 

[paulr]

The opening was scheduled for 2 May, but as you can see from The Great War Exhibition's FaceBook page, this has now been changed to two days later

The diorama has actually been ready since before Anzac Day, but other items in the New Zealand Room of the exhibition are still having some finishing touches done.

So a couple more pics while we wait 

A Belgian village scene at the beginning of the exhibition

This is no normal sanitised wargames table - it is a 'no holds barred' freeze-frame of the bloody squalor that the real battlefield would have been on that day.

Some final touches being applied to part of the diorama

[Ithoriel]

Wow!

[Techno]

Definitely !
Cheers - Phil

[Womble67]

Brilliant

Take care

Andy

[Hertsblue]

Highly impressive.

[paulr]

The New Zealand room opens at 8:30 this morning

The official blog has posted pictures of the diorama  

First a picture of the diorama under construction with some 1:1 figures for scale


Now a couple of wide shots of the diorama, almost finished

From the West


From the East


An Ottoman company assaulting the crest of Chunuk Bair


More pictures here
http://anzacdiorama.blogspot.co.nz/2015/05/first-pics-of-massive-gallipoli-diorama.html

[pierre the shy]

Went along on Saturday with family to see this but told on
entry that nz room wasn't open till 4th. The experience going through
the displays is amazing. Guess we'll just have to go back again!

[WeeWars]

Wow Wow and Wow again!

Fantastic effort!

[Techno]

And yet more WOWs !!!!
Cheers - Phil

[paulr]

A couple of news media items on the opening of the New Zealand room, both with video

Stuff.co.nz is the main NZ news website
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/last-post-first-light/68243154/tenmetre-chunuk-bair-diorama-unveiled-at-peter-jacksons-wwi-exhibition

Maori TV got the number of painters wrong, there were 140 and all were from NZ. The video (with English subtitles) is very good
http://www.maoritelevision.com/news/national/new-zealands-actions-gallipoli-remembered

The Kaumātua (elder with the walking stick) is blessing the exhibit and the women being interviewed is one of the volunteer guides for the exhibition (for those who can't read the Māori caption)

[Leman]

Cripes! That is astounding.

[Hertsblue]

Wow, you could die of thirst getting out of that terrain. Beats anything I've ever seen before. 

[Subedai]

Impressive on a grand scale. Everyone who had a part in that should justifiably be extremely proud of their achievements.

It's strange, even though you are looking at a model diorama, the sheer scale and accuracy of it makes for a very moving experience.

[paulr]

Today I visited the Great War Exhibition for the first time since its opening. My daughter joined me and we were both impressed and moved by the exhibition.

We arrived about 11 on Saturday morning and the exhibition is still busy enough for them to be running free guided tours to ensure they move the numbers of people through.

I have to admit that we lost track of your tour party in the New Zealand room

We bumped into Roly, who runs the official blog, and his wife. Roly was taking some more pictures for the blog.

I was humbled to see the completed diorama and am still staggered by its sheer size.

It was pleasing to see the large numbers of people who were obviously fascinated by the diorama and the over 200 colourised photographs surrounding it.

It was sobering to look at the long lists of names of the ANZAC dead, particularly those of 8^th August. The diorama depicts the situation mid morning, 8^th August, as the early Ottoman counter attacks reach the Wellington Battalion on the summit of Chunuk Bair. Out of the 760 men of the Wellington Battalion who reached the summit, 711 became casualties.

Below are a few pictures to try and give an indication of the scale of the diorama

Looking across Sazli Dere (valley) towards the summit of Chunuk Bair, from near Battleship Hill. Rhododendron Spur is on the left.


Zooming in on the centre of the above gives an indication of the number of casualty figures there are. Running from bottom to top is the phone line laid by Corporal Cyril Bassett VC.
I suspect the wounded Kiwi in the blue shirt with a white collar in centre of this picture may be one of the ones I painted.


Kiwis forming up in the cover provided by the Apex
Those that can move up to the crest to reinforce the machine guns firing at the Ottomans on Battleship Hill


Reinforcements, including some of the Maori Pioneer Battalion, wait to move up to support the Wellington Battalion


Rifle and machine gun fire from Battleship Hill and Hill Q (not part of the diorama) swept both side of Rhododendron Spur beyond the Apex
Ottomans firing from trenches on Battleship hill, I suspect the ones wearing red fez are ones I painted


Those Kiwis that managed to reach the summit then had to face the Ottoman counter attacks

From the East


And South


I will be visiting again

[Techno]

Just astounding !
I think you've given a great idea of the overall size, Paul.
In the top picture the figures almost 'look like ants'.....But we know that each 'ant' is a 54mm figure !
Truly awesome !

Cheers - Phil

[TONTON FLINGUEUR]

Enormous, it is a great tribute for all those fallen in this battle.
I work in LE QUESNOY and I know the importance of this city for the New Zealanders. I attended the ceremonies of the ANZAC Day in this city it was magnificent

[Hertsblue]

Terrific pictures, Paul. They give a great sense of the size of the project.

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

That is absolutely fantastic

IanS