Sneak peek at Hobbit set

TOM HUNT

It is meticulous, methodical, and repetitive work, but still more than 100 people flocked to Weta Cave to learn the art of making chainmail.

On Saturday, the Miramar facility had Weta Workshop artists Reece Dixon and Elise Brown teaching members of the public how to make the ancient armour, used in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

History buff Finley Biggs, 10, said it was fun getting to make plastic replicas of "what they used when there was knights and stuff".

Dixon, who could not confirm which Weta Workshop movie he is working on, said he got into making chainmail after being knocked unconscious by a chair leg during an ALF's Imperial Army mock battle in Dunedin eight years ago.

"It got me thinking I should have some armour and a friend showed me how to make chainmail and I got the bug.

"I used it as therapy."

Initially he sold his chainmail to "bogans and goths" in Dunedin for beer money. But six months ago he scored his dream job, making chainmail for Weta Workshop.

The art of chainmail was something people either understood or could not pick up, he said.

"There's some days you just look at it and you can't see any pattern."

James Little, 12, said making chainmail could be frustrating but "once you have done it a few times it gets quite easy".

AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY

Sir Peter Jackson's workers may be taking a well-earned Easter break, but keen Hobbit fans had a chance for a sneak peek at a set from the two-part movie.

The tall set is visible at Stone St Studios in Miramar.

The gates to the studio were open on Saturday when firefighters responded to an alarm at the set. Jackson's spokesman, Matthew Dravitzki, had not heard about it and assumed it had been a false alarm.

"We're all enjoying an Easter break and return to work on Tuesday," he said. During the incident, a security guard blocked a Dominion Post photographer from taking pictures of the set from the street.

Mr Dravitzki said part of the parking area on the corner of Southampton Rd and Stone St was private property. Shooting would continue at Stone St until July, he said.

Last year, The Dominion Post revealed the Fire Service had signed a confidentiality agreement with Stone St Studios and Weta Workshop.

- © Fairfax NZ News