15,000 toy soldiers to recreate Battle of Waterloo in Kilnamartyra, Cork

A small village in mid-Cork is set to host the biggest model display of its kind in the world to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.

Tue, 31 Mar, 2015 - 01:00

Sean O’Riordan

The Prince August toy soldier factory in Kilnamartyra is building a special extension to house 15,000 hand-painted lead, one inch-high miniatures of the troops who fought in the famous battle close to Brussels on June 18, 1815.

The miniatures, which include infantry, cavalry, and artillery, were painstakingly hand-painted by German restaurant owner Andre Rudolph, who took eight years to finish them.

He used moulds manufactured by Prince August to create the figures and put them on diorama boards with grass, walls, and buildings to create a miniature masterpiece of the battle between Napoleon’s troops and Anglo-allied army under the commands of the Duke of Wellington and Prussian Gebhard von Blücher.

Lars Edman, who owns the Prince August factory, is having the huge diorama and soldiers shipped over to Kilnamartyra in a container from Cologne.

He and his team will then begin the painstaking work of putting it all together in a new hall, where they will remain on display for five years.

Mr Edman said that he expects the container will arrive on April 20 and plans to open the exhibition to the public on May 10.

“I came across it on the internet last January and we went over in February to see it,” said Mr Edman. “I said to myself this would be a fantastic piece to have in our factory.

“We currently have 20,000 visitors a year, but when this goes on display we hope to have 40,000.”

As Mr Rudolph works during the day, it is estimated that each night he would have had to cast and paint five lead soldiers and the detail of their uniforms is spectacular.

Mr Edman said the layout will be so big “you will probably need a pair of binoculars to see from one end to the other”.

“To my knowledge it will be the biggest diorama of its type in the world,” he said.

The company, which started operations in Kilnamartyra in 1976 and employs 10 full-time staff, has insured the soldiers for 60,000.

“This hobby is a good thing to bring families together,” said Mr Edman. “We’re constantly highlighting that because parents can find it hard to play in the digital world.”