Saturday 10 September 2022

20mm WWII Additions ...plus something extra

 Firstly, I should acknowledge the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and the accession of King Chrles III as our head of state here in New Zealand. Many others have already posted all the relevant comments and sentiments about the late Queen - may she rest in peace after a long life of service to the nations of the Commonwealth, and, indeed, the world as a whole.

Today. I just have a few images of second and third PSC 20mm M5 halftracks I have recently assembled and painted. Great models and I think they have come out very nicely. In the latter couple of images, they have a few of my Valiant late war British infantry alongside them








Now, for the "something extra...." I have had these images on file for months, after seeing a review of this museum on an NZ blog. Definitely a place I am planning to visit next time I am down this way - Hawera is about 60-80 km south of New Plymouth and maybe 150 north of Wellington. It's not an area I have had a lot of occasion to visit - last time was probably 12 years ago. Intro blurb below is from the museum web site here  Tawhiti Museum, Hawera, South Taranaki, New Zealand - Welcome


The Tawhiti Museum is a truly unique enterprise. The creation of artist Nigel Ogle, its attention to detail is simply stunning.

Widely acclaimed as the best private museum in the country, the museum uses life size exhibits and scale models to present our heritage in a series of super realistic and engaging displays.

All these displays are designed and built on the premises in the 'Body Shop' and accompanying studios, which can be viewed as part of a museum visit.


And here are the images I "lifted" from the blog:









A true "labour of love" by the museum's owner who, I believe, created all the models from scratch, including sculpting each individual figure for these amazing dioramas!

I am sure you will agree, looks to be well worth a visit when travel plans permit. 

Thanks for dropping by and particular thanks to all those who have the time and inclination to leave a comment - these are all greatly appreciated!

32 comments:

  1. Interesting post, great resource . Nice half tracks.

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  2. Great halftracks! The museum looks fantastic and the talent and skill involved in creating the dioramas is amazing.

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    1. Thanks Ben and I totally agree about that museum in Hawera - definitely need to get a visit in there at some point!

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  3. Amazing dioramas. Seeing these in person would be a real treat. Super halftracks too,

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    1. Thanks Jon - WHEN (not if!) I get there, I will take lots of pics for my blog!

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    1. Thanks Mark, I am very pleased with how they came out - great kits, so simple to put together and loads of detail to pick out with dry brushing!

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  5. Great looking vehicles Keith they do look the part.👍

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  6. Obviously those half tracks are lovely. But the diorama modelling is just…wow.

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    1. Thanks JBM and I certainly agree about the dioramas.

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  7. I am really liking the look of these PSC halftracks Keith. Those dioramas look great. I thought the first one was an old colourised photo at first glance.

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    1. Cheers Kawrence....the dioramas really are pretty social, aren't they?

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    2. Sorry about the typo K .... Lawrence!

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  8. Love the halftracks!....and having seen those museum dioramas....they make think of doing Maori Wars...!!

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    1. Thanks John and I know what you mean....fortunately, one of our group already has a small Maori Wars collection of Empress figures, so that's not an itch I need to scratch!

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  9. Great half tracks and inspiring dioramas.

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    1. Thanks Richard - I really hope to get to that museum in person one day!

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  10. Hi Kieth- great work there on the Halftracks- wow! that is some Diorama for sure. Thanks for Posting. Saty well there. KEV.

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    1. Thanks Kev - they are fantastic dioramas, aren't they?

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  11. Lovely work on the half-tracks once again Keith and that museum does look like it's well worth a visit.

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    1. Thanks Steve - better make a plan for the museum I guess!

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  12. Tawhiti is amazing , I have been a couple of times , and cant recomend it enough.

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    1. Thanks for the confirmation - it certainly looks like a great place to visit!

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    2. the pics are just the tip of the iceberg , plus both times I went nigel was there and we had a a great chat ( I sold him my 65th regiment uniform wich is now on display)

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  13. Nice job on the HTs. The museum definitely deserves a visit sometime. 😀

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    1. Thanks Stew - hope to get there in the not too distant future!

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  14. Lovely looking M5’s Keith…
    And a great looking museum… I love it when there are lots of dioramas and models on display.

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Thanks Aly, yes, I agree - these sorts of dioramas are a real draw card for me too.

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