A touch of Hollywood has zhooshed up the scale model of Canberra, located at the National Capital Exhibition, using the same model makers who built Heath Ledger’s armour in Ned Kelly and props in Queen of the Damned.

Canberra’s miniature scale model was in dire need of an upgrade, built in the ‘80s and lacking new landmarks such as the Australian War Memorial extension, the Red Shed, Light Rail, several diplomatic embassies, and the “fly swat” Manuka Oval lighting.

So, who better to add 74 new miniatures than film and TV model-maker, Roger Mitchell of Cineart Studios, who also happened to fabricate Belco’s phallic Powerful Owl (size doesn’t matter, no job too big or small).

“I worked on the Ned Kelly film and made all the armour for Heath Ledger, and I worked in the art department making props and miniatures for [mini-series] The Pacific, Where the Wild Things Are, and Ghost Rider [starring Nicholas Cage],” said Roger.

Miniature props like the new flag installations at Rond Terrace may not be as exciting as movie props but they were well overdue.

The old panorama was built in pre-Internet times.

“Because they didn’t have satellite back in the day, they flew over with planes, took photos and then made the map from that,” Roger said. “When we used geospatial mapping with Google Earth and mapped it, it wasn’t quite right so we had to just morph it into how they had done it, it was really finicky.

“We kept true to the old model. When they first made it, they made it really well, but they made it with what they had back in the day, whereas we’ve got 3D printers now.”

Our bright red light rail trains were replicated using 3D printers. However some landmarks, such as the Captain Cook Fountain, had to be made by hand (using material such as fishing line and wire).

The three-month reno was made even trickier because Roger and four other specialists had to balance on planks suspended half-a-metre above the miniature city. They were also restricted to working weekends to avoid school excursion crowds.

There were also a lot of repairs made and missing pieces replaced due to thousands of visitors’ hands poking the model over the decades.

Canberra’s general aesthetic was also improved with new mini trees, an updated Captain Cook Memorial Jet, and the addition of several apartments and commercial buildings in Civic. 

“Little things like car parks, we just cut out a bit of mat and painted it and put the lines in for the car parks, it’s a bit of fun,” Roger said. “It keeps it a little bit real when you’re not making everything 3D printed. We wanted to keep true to the model and not go too nuts or make the things we put in stand out too much.”

The scale map is so detailed that it includes every single light rail stop and every single sculpture along ANZAC Parade.

The National Capital Exhibition at Regatta Point is open seven days a week. Info: nca.gov.au/attractions/national-capital-exhibition