Modellbau Schleswig-Holstein in Neumünster and Miniatur Wunderland 2025

As I've written earlier in this blog, members of our Model Railway Club usually goes on annual tours to model exhibitions abroad. Visiting the 'Modellbau Schleswig-Holstein' in Neumünster has almost become a tradition in our club as it is not too far away from Norway being arranged in the Northern Germany (we lives in the Southern part of Norway). Last weekend we combined the Model Exhibition in Neumünster with a trip to Hamburg to visit Miniatur Wunderland - MiWuLa.

On my way down to our club house in Sarpsborg to meet the other guys before we set off to Germany, I passed a shop where I saw a familiar layout as a window display. This layout was built by us on request from the shop in just 4 evenings back in 2006. On this link there are some photos and further description (which you need to 'Google translate').

Modellbau Schleswig-Holstein

There were not only trains on the trade stands:

I had Michael (Wargaming with 54mm Toy Soldiers) in mind when seeing this vintage tinplate armored car:

After the 'Wargame in a Matchbox Challenge' I guess there are more of us having leftover matches after emptying matchboxes. Here are a couple of suggestions what you can make with your matches. Perhaps an idea for another challenge? 

There were several layouts there in different scales and gauges there;

G-scale:

Let's hope no president finds out that he wants to expand this by adding another face...

New jukebox at the Diner

I've always been fascinated by layouts with maritime elements and transition by trains and ships:

Lego:

More G-scale:

Some alpine H0m (Furka Oberalp):

Some old, classic vintage tinplate trains:

Not every layout was of the too serious type:

I am also very facinated by small micro layouts:

T-gauge; 1:450

T-gauge

T-gauge 

N-scale; 1:160

Less than T-gauge. Perhaps 1:750?

There were also other scale models on display. These were in plastic:

Some scale models in paper:

The Norwegian Oslo-Kiel ferry (which I travelled with 2 weeks ago)

A (Paper-) model of the model

There were also a larger exhibition of radio controlled models. This were some few of the boats:

This was the most numerous vessel in the German Kriegs Marine during WW2; Kriegsfischkutter in a number of about 600-700 

I love the weathering and details on this civilian fisch cutter.

A kind of unusual subject for RC boats.

In the RC section there were also a large proving ground for 1:16 scale Panzers:

Miniatur Wunderland

After the Model Exhibition in Neumünster we drove to Hamburg to visit the Miniatur Wunderland. We usually visit the this layout when we're i the area or on our way too other model railway exhibitions. MiWuLa is the world's biggest model railway layout.

I've posted some few photos from this model railway before, so in this blogger post I want to show whats new, or other things that might be interesting out of a 'military modeller point of view'. 
The Monaco part is the newest part of MiWuLa opened to the public:

The Circuit de Monaco is the center piece and is really innovative, and was developed by MiWuLa them selves:

The Prince's Palace of Monaco:

The wedding scene for Grace Kelly was based upon a black/white photo, so therefore the scene was modeled in black/white too: 

When in Monaco there is not so far away to Italy:

And in Italy they have modeled a False Front Frontier city as a Spaghetti Western movie set. 

How many Westerns can you name from these photos?

They have also made a busy airport in H0 scale, but it was actually the display of old aircrafts that caught my attention: 

Another reasonable new part of the layout that has opened is Antarctica:

Drake's Passage which divides Antarctica and Cape Horn:

On Cape Horn is the area of Patagonia (Chile and Argentine). I'm impressed that they managed to model H0e/H0n30/009 trains on 9mm gauge that actually runs on daily bases without stalling or derailments. 

A further bit longer north on the American continent is Mount Rushmore again. Seems like a popular theme when Germans are modelling North America. 

In North America the outskirts of Area 51 is included:

Even if most of the facilities are located underground:

MiWuLa is full of small cameos. This I saw hidden away in a Redwood Forrest:

The H0 layout at MiWuLa is enormous, and even if there are made a lot of military model railway accessories in H0 scale, you won't find many of them in MiWuLa. This camp and training facilities are located rearmost on the layout. Actually so far away that it was challenging to take photos of it:

This was located in Scandinavia:

The team at Miniatur Wunderland has not only made the largest H0 scale model railway in the World, but they have also made a series of smaller dioramas to H0 scale to act as a German History lesson showing the development through history on a similar scene. This is The History of Civilisation:

5500 - 2200 B.C.

770 - 1330

1300 - 1600

1600 - 1789

1789 - 1848

1848 - 1910

1910 - 1933

1933 -1942

So where this diorama series ends, a second diorama serie continues; A City Divided. This diorama serie shows the development of how Berlin was divided in several stages after WW2, and how it was finally reunited again. Western Berlin closest to camera and DDR to the back. The border in the midle:

1945 - 1949

1950 - 1954

1955 -1960

1961

1962 - 1964

1965 - 1988

1989 -1990

1990 - 1999

2000 - 2009

After a long day with a lot of impressions it's always nice to take a brake in the restaurant at MiWuLa and enjoy their Curry Wurst and local brew: