Miniatures & Model Making

There was a time, not that long ago, when there were no alternatives to using models and miniatures in movies to create new worlds, fantastical architecture and natural disasters.

And the rumours of their demise are greatly exaggerated.

Weta built 72 miniatures for The Lord Of The Rings, ships, docks, ruins, cliffs and rock formations for King Kong, tall ships for Master & Commander and a 1:4 scale train for The Legend Of Zorro. Which was summarily blown to smithereens.

For The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Miraz's castle and the whole Telmarine city was created by the Miniatures department. Twice. One 100th scale miniature and one 24th scale.

The truth is that as long as there are filmmakers who delight in filming miniature worlds, Weta will continue to push the envelope.

Have a look at some of the amazing creations from the movies we helped create by clicking your way through the gallery. Minas Tirith, Rivendell, Skull Island, Grond. Or better still - enjoy them in the movies and delight in how reality and make-believe start to blur.

Own a piece of our work

Weta's range of Doctor Grordbort's Rayguns took three-dimensional form in this department. The paintings done by Greg Broadmore were realised by Weta model maker Dave Tremont. Dave has also been instrumental in the creation of our Doctor Who range