Rorke`s Drift 1879

[santifernandez]

Piece of art.

[Wolfgang Meyer]

Thank you @ all!

Today I was able to equip the last Zulu around the hospital with weapons, and I was also able to distribute the first pieces of paper from the ammunition packaging.
Here are pictures from the north and west side of the hospital. The hospital is already in Zulu hands. Here I still have to distribute the ammunition casings and depict the fire in the hospital.

















Best regards, Wolfgang

[C M Dodson]

Magnificent Wolfgang.

Best wishes,

Chris

[Bill Slavin]

Such carnage! Again, I love the action and flow in this diorama. Keep up the terrific work!

[Peter]

All those little details let it come alive! This is a fantastic diorama! Love it!

[Wolfgang Meyer]

Thank you friends!

Today I was able to supply weapons to all figures on the south side of the mission station. I now have about 80 Zulu guns and spears and a few Martini-Henry cans left. I will distribute them sensibly around the site.

And of course fire and smoke are missing!

[Rich W]

This all looks superb Wolfgang.

[Wolfgang Meyer]

This all looks superb Wolfgang.

Thank you!

It's done, all the figures on the diorama are in place. I only have a few mounted Indunas left that do not historically fit the scene depicted in time.

At the Kral I once started to depict the muzzle flash of the shooting figures with cotton wool. The whole thing still looks pretty lost! So I have to try to show smoke and smoke on the diorama. I will orientate myself on the well-known battle paintings. You can always check that with photos of the scenes. I'll be experimenting with that in the next few weeks, it'll definitely be exciting.

Here are 2 photos from the muzzle fire test at Kral.





Best regards, Wolfgang

[Bessiere]

Superlative work Herr Meyer. I am dumbfounded at the extreme talent on this website and find myself constantly humbled and inspired by such work. Thank you for sharing your mastery.

[Peter]

From a distance the smoke looks good to me!

[C M Dodson]

Excellent as always Wolfgang.

Interesting to read that the Martini Henry’s were using a black powder charge.

If it is of any help, I warm the cotton wool with my breath as I gently pull it to allow whisps to be extracted.

Less, in my opinion is definitely more .

Whilst there are pictures showing great clouds being discharged I think that cotton wool in density looks like cotton wool.

Best wishes,

Chris

[k.b.]

Have seen many reproductions of Rorke’s Drift down the ages. But yours takes things to a whole new level, (with the exception of my own version made of Lego and building bricks, upturned carts and a couple of farm buildings - if my memory serves me rightly there was definitely a Matchbox truck I’d use as I only had 1 of the 2 carts I needed). My Rorke’s Drift, inspired by the film of course, was populated by Wellington’s infantry, American War of Independence British as well as John Canon with his beautiful wife Victoria, Blueboy and Monólito from the High Chaparall range. Occasionally when I found him I’d even add Tarzan to the defensive ranks.. …….and the baddies were, in the main, native Indians from the same Tarzan set, North American Indians along with French Napoleonics, I had 2 boxes of French Cuirassiers painted with my Dad’s Dulux paint which was the only paint I could get to stick to that Airfix plastic. French Infantry, Old Guard and even the Prussians were allies of Boney in my games, and all the other mixed up ranges I had at my disposal. In truth my defences were a mix of the Alamo and Rorke’s Drift and a whole lot of creativity in between, but I spent hours defending that outpost until my British reinforcements - 2 boxes of British Napoleonic Hussars - would invariably arrive to save the day)!

Looking at your mesmerising masterpiece Wolfgang I can only say a huge thanks. Pure inspiration. It is mind-blowing. Your final touches are really breathing life into the whole scene. Ammunition boxes and discarded bullet wrapping paper and now finally smoke from firing rifles. And I hear you talking about adding fire, presumably coming from the hospital. WOOOOW. Every schoolboy’s dream com true. A humbling experience indeed for most of us.

The only frustration I would have if I had one of your creations would be that the figures are fixed to their base and for me I would love them to be loose…… so I could move the figures around, in effect reproducing the battle a hundred different times and of course each time my imagination would get the better of me. Are you never tempted to sacrifice realism just to allow your minis to move, Wolfgang? (Oops, sorry I finally managed to pop you that question - must have been the 9 year old boy in me who got carried away)!

[Wolfgang Meyer]

Thank you Bessiere, Peter and Chris!

Thank you k.b.!

I've loved the figures since I was a little kid. Back then I always played with it and moved my troops.

Greetings from Germany, Wolfgang

[Santi Pérez]

The more pictures you post, the more admiration we feel, Wolfgang. It's a huge, balanced and highly detailed diorama in continuous growth. I'm speechless of your immense capacity for work.

Santi.

[Wolfgang Meyer]

Thank you, Santi!

I have now also edited the wooden border of the diorama. The drill holes were filled with wood paste, then everything was sanded and painted.
The gray lacquer is exactly the same color as our diorama tables in our museum. The whole then forms a unit.










The southern barricade with the cookhouse and the two stone ovens, as well as a picture from the north, from the orchard.







Best regards, Wolfgang

[k.b.]

PHEW! What incredibly painstaking work. Congratulations on your Masterpiece Wolfgang!

Ps/ I can’t speak for others but I am certainly a little sad that this project is coming to a close - I have enjoyed following it so much.

[Bessiere]

Magnificent work Herr Meyer. Such dedication to historical accuracy and artistic rendering deserves the highest of praise.

[C M Dodson]

Wolfgang.

Once again you have raised the bar and led the way.

Excellent work in all departments.

I hope to see it in the museum in the fullness of time.

Best wishes,

Chris

[Bill Slavin]

I would agree, it has been a real pleasure to share your journey in the making of this beautiful diorama. Apologies if you mentioned it earlier, but where will its eventual home be? You mentioned your museum…

[Wolfgang Meyer]

Thank you all!

The diorama will be shown at our exhibition, the 3rd DIORAMICA for the first time in our museum in Heilbad Heiligenstadt, in May 2022.

www.dioramica.de



Best regards, Wolfgang