MiWuLa News März 2011

Welcome to a new edition of the MiWuLa-News.
February 16th, 2011 was a very special day for the Miniatur Wunderland.
We welcomed the one millionth visitor from Hamburg.
It was quite a surprise for the 25-year-old student Sybille Lorenz.
Under a shower of confetti, she received not only a pie
but also free admission for a lifetime.
Also, she immortalised herself by placing a little figurine in the Wunderland.
We are delighted by the loyalty and enthusiasm of the Hamburg citizens!
Without a doubt, Hamburg is still our dream location
and the continuing success allows us to grow further.
And for this we thank Hamburg!
As the opening draws nearer, the construction of the models is rapidly progressing.
The baggage conveyor belts for the first terminals
received many LEDs for lighting.
Each baseplate for the three terminals is extensively decorated.
Now there are many shops, small cafés and bistros.
The work is complicated, because every detail is crafted according to original
pictures, to create a realistic atmosphere.
Of course, there are hundreds of small figurines, too.
Judith is selecting some of the travelers and equips them with luggage.
It's not clear yet exactly how many figurines will be placed.
Until the opening in the beginning of May, all terminals will have four floors.
The Modelmakers will spend many hours
decorating little details or piecing together various seating places.
Work is not only being done on the individual floors.
There are also office buildings being made for the many travel businesses.
The windows were provided with small pictures, similar to those in a slide show.
The interior lighting of the building will make these more visible.
Many small scenes are to be found in the rooms inbetween.
Numerous Details were assembled, such as desks and computer monitors.
All this can be seen on the layout after the opening of the airport.
In the past weeks, the lighting for many of the buildings was completed.
Our electronics engineers are very busy wiring the remainig buildings
to make them really stand out during the night phase of the Wunderland.
Many small lamps were custom made by us.
Also, the last buildings are now in the formation phase.
Tina has assembled and decorated this office complex.
Airbrush is used to give the roof some colour.
The whole building will be linked to one of the maintenance hangars.
In this workshop cars and trucks are going to receive maintenance or repair.
For the enjoyment of the little workers and big visitors
we'll have these small posters decorating the walls.
The construction of the Neuschwanstein Castle is not complete yet.
But in the past weeks, there have been some remarkable
progress with Gaston's artwork.
Many new areas have been created.
After most of the towers have been lighted, they now need to be secured.
Besides the many tourists, who wish to explore this building,
the first "resident" has moved in: Hui Buh, the castle ghost.
There are many components that still need to be worked on and implemented.
The last facades are being made and trimmed.
Several layers of paint are applied to most foundation walls
to recreate the original tone of colour.
Meanwhile, many small details for the decoration of the towers are being prepared.
Sonja is making some small crosses and lilies.
Various pearls are used to create a most detailed picture
that resembles the real proportions.
Knight statues for the facades are artificially aged
and armed with lances and shields.
The last airplanes for the Airport Knuffigen are nearly complete.
This Condor Boeing 767 and this TuiFly 737
are some of the new arrivals to approach the airport.
Many of the planes now have rotating engines.
But work is not only being done on the plane models
but also on the decoration of the airport area.
The numerous individual pieces that were made over the years
are now filling the airfield with life.
It's important that the fixed positions
won't interfere with the motion sequences during operation.
There are, of course, also other details being made. For example by Flo:
Right now, I'm building these flash lights.
But the LEDs inside are so bright, that it shines through,
so I have to first paint them black, then white, then yellow,
so they'll have the right colour, because otherwise it will just shine through.
At the same time, the vehicle access to the terminals
is equipped with numerous vehicles, such as these taxis.
Also, the waving flags have been integrated.
They can adjust to changing wind directions and velocities.
More interactive actions are emerging in the electronic and mechanic workshop.
This is an X-ray system for the cargo.
Here's our little display to show what's inside the crates.
We'll show some amusing things that could be inside the crates.
And this is going to be the best part:
This is going to be a race track for my lifting cart.
This is the course. Here I imagine to have a huge vase.
Here's the next part of the course.
Clearly, we have the foreman and an apprentice driving around.
But there's more than the lifting cart race.
There's also action on this street.
Situation before: They are just sitting around in the car,
but if you don't pay attention, then it goes "click"!
This push-button action as well as the previously shown fitness studio
with numerous athletes are now part of the layout.
That's it for this month.
We are looking forward to the opening of the Knuffingen Airport on May 4th, 2011.
We hope you'll have a pleasant day or nice evening.
See you next time.