Locals help paint model soldiers for diorama

Greg Kindell displays one of the hand-painted soldiers he has completed for the Wellington exhibition. Photo / John Borren

Thousands of miniature soldiers will be set in a 10m diorama created by Sir Peter Jackson - painted with the help of four Tauranga locals.

Tauranga man Bruce Balfour saw an item on the news about Sir Peter's plans for a Chunuk Bair diorama to commemorate the 100th anniversary since World War I and decided he wanted to become involved.

Sir Peter had commissioned 4000 54mm Turkish and New Zealand soldier models in the UK, but asked Kiwi painters to offer their time to paint the models.

"Being a model painter, I thought that sounded like something pretty good to be involved in," Mr Balfour said. "I contacted the man who is running the site for the painters and said 'I'm a painter, here's some of my work I've done in the past'. They selected 100 painters around the country to do it, and I'm one."

He got in touch with Greg Kindell, owner of The Gateway Cyber Cafe on Devonport Rd and asked if he would help co-ordinate with the other painters in the Bay. Mr Kindell agreed and even offered a discount on paint products to the painters.

Mr Balfour said each of the painters was given 40 models to paint, four batches of 10.

"We assemble them, paint them, package them then give them back. Greg co-ordinates sending the boxes back down to Wellington."

Of the soldiers Mr Balfour has painted, he has come across models of wounded soldiers, soldiers that are charging, and soldiers that were crouching with their guns at the ready.

He said it took two to three hours to paint each soldier.

"You've got to clean off any moulding marks. The more complicated models are in bits so you have to glue them together, put undercoat on, then start painting. The painting itself takes a while."

Mr Balfour said he had been painting models for about 20 years and he enjoyed doing it at night while talking to his wife. He belongs to the Tauranga Table Top War Gamers Club.

Mr Kindell said it was for a

"a good cause".