Grond.

My first job when joining Weta back in 2000, was to be part of a small team building Grond.

The main beast was carved in foam with a large steel tube through it. The entire surface was covered in hand beaten lead sheet.

The structure was several repeated sections so masters were carved in balsa sheet over a wood frame. These were then moulded with fiberglass and resin castings made.

The wheels were done in wood and assembled with multiple castings to make the final pattern. This was then moulded to make the final resin wheels.

Lots of the smalled details were sculpted in plasticine to give a hammered metal look and then cast out in resin.

The final beast weight a good tonne and was suspended on chains on a steel frame inside the cradle.

Grond in the studio. The shoot was two weeks to do the traveling shots then the door smashing.

The gates were built in balsa and lead and pre-broken so Grond could smash through. It could all be assembled again for more takes.