Miniatur Wunderland Weekly Report

31.12.07 at 15:15 hrs

Weekly Report No 374, CW 52

From Monday, 24.12. to Sunday 30.12.2007

A very exciting year is in it’s final days and we take the opportunity for a short retrospect.

The first mountain in Switzerland is built

At the beginning of this year, the Swiss section was a far cry from what it looks today. The first mountain….

…got his first layer of plaster but the rest was still dominated by steel frames and wooden benchwork.

The first bridges and viaducts were test-fitted but far from being finished.

In January, we auctioned of 5 lots at ebay for charity. All in all, some 30,000 EUR were collected.

Slowly the first mountain appears in Switzerland. Beginiing of February one could fairly well recognize what the summit of the Bietzchorn will look like.

Also in February, most of the needed subroadbeds for track and streets are in place.

Switzerland wasn’t our only project. The second floor also changed from warehouse to visitor area. Very soon, our electronics and mechanics departments will find a new place down here.

In March, the first third of the Bietschorn is nearly finished; only a bit of paint is missing in some places.

At this time, however, it was foreseeable which dimensions this section would have on it’s completion.

The first village also emerged in March. Bobby is seen here adapting the surrounding area to the village.

By the end of March we started to set up the scaffolding for the Matterhorn since in the meantime…

… the Bietschhorm was almost finished..

In April our „mounties“ could start building the Matterhorn summit but beforehand, the tracks had to be wired.

The second floor was also ready in April to have the electronics and mechanics departments move in. In addition, two new cinemas and restrooms were built.

A big highlight for us and for Hamburg was the christening of MS Aida Diva on April 20, 2007 in the port of Hamburg.

Our maintenance gang also had a very job assigned this year. The task was to park a real (1:1) Smart in our exhibition hall. Not an easy task at all, but a quick job for our team :).

In early May Switzerland almost looked like the prototype. More and more details were modeled, and…

… the Matterhorn summit slowly showed it’s typical shape.

Life not only consists of work but also a lot of fun. Is Gerhard covering up his thin hair with a new wig here?

Records, Records, Records. On June 13, 2007 we welcomed the 4,000,000th visitor.

June 27, 2007. For the first time in two years our internet-site is not accessable. The reason was the installation of our new site as you know it today.

Switzerland also made progress in June. The Matterhorn summit was ready….

… so the bluff-like sides could be tackled.

All in all, the Swiss section started looking nice since the first details like houses, trees, and figures were set into the layout.

In August, Freddy set up the summit cross on the Matterhorn, and…

… more details, like Fort Bellinzona, were integrated into the layout.

In August, the German Railways went on strike. What a coincidence: Appearently, the associates of the MIWULA Traffic Dept. also went on strike in the Hamburg section. Not single S- or U-Bahn moved out of the depot. So far, nobody knew the reason for the strike :)

The Hamburg Volksparkstadion (a famous soccer arena in Hamburg) was renamed in August. Frank Rost (Keeper of the HSV) revealed the new lettering on the (model) HSH Nordbank Arena with 1:87 firework.

Another highlight for the Swiss section was created in August: We built a large open air concert featuring DJ Bobo. More than 24,000 little Preiser figures wanted to attend …

… the inauguration gig of DJ Bobo’s new show.

In September, all went 'full speed ahead' because the date of the opening was set now. Slight drawback: the Ticino – area was nothing more than a carcass.

Since it was time to think about prototypical train consists for Switzerland, Maik sorted, categorized, and built trains for the Swiss section.

Meanwhile, it is October and the opening is coming closer. This means that nights shorten considerably. Gerrit worked his brains out on the lighting control…

… while Dag and Joachim fired up the trains control system.

Then this! November 9, 2007, just three days before the opening, the complete Speicherstadt complex was flooded. How lucky we are that the exhibit is located in the third and fourth floor. Just imagine wet feet…..