Germania
For the burning model scene, lesser quality buildings were cast out of plaster. Plaster was used to avoid the toxic fumes that would have been created by burning plastic buildings. Plaster buildings also lasted longer in the flames. In all, over one hundred and thirty buildings were made this way. They were painted a neutral gray to match what Speer had done on his models.
On set, all of the buildings were left independent of one another so that they could be configured in different ways for different shots. As a final touch, the model was dressed out with miniature people, vehicles, tree flags and statues to help give the model a sense of scale.
The Germania model was interesting to build both because of its impressive architectural style and because of the unique history behind the original Germania designs and what they symbolized. Luckily, the original Germania never made it off the drawing board.
