Did you know that this extraordinary, 2.5 meter-long, 3D-printed model is an accurate snapshot of what the Belgian coastline looked like during WW1?
It was based on aerial photographs of the time and each detail was painstakingly recreated in 3D.
When walking along the Belgian coast today, you would never guess that 100 years ago it was the scene of one of the bloodiest wars in European history: World War I. Only a few traces remain – in Raversijde, you can spot bunkers peeking out from the dunes, including, if you look closely, some remaining coastal artillery. The Atlantikwall Museum in Raversijde allows visitors to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of WWI, and a new exhibition about munition in WWI will bring the coastline of 1914 even more to life. The star of the exhibition is a massive, highly detailed, 3D-printed model which is an exact replica of the coastline as it was during the war.
During the First World War, the Belgian coastline played an important part in German defense strategies. The German army established a number of bunkers which were meant to stop allied ships from embarking, one of which was the Aachen Battery, which is still visible today at the Atlantikwall Museum. Using old aerial photographs taken during 1914-1918, researchers at the museum have precisely recreated an exact digital model of the coastline, faithfully replicating the details down to the last artillery unit. 3D Printing was an obvious choice for realizing the model – compared to hand-made scale models, 3D Printing allowed the museum to obtain an exact, sturdy, perfectly detailed model in a minimum of time.