New Zealand airport to remove an eagle sculptures with Hobbit theme

For more than a decade, a few Hobbit-inspired eagle sculptures have been a vigilant eye on visitors to Wellington Airport in New Zealand.

But the gigantic birds will be released from the ceiling on Friday to make way for a new mystery exhibition, said airport authorities.

The Eagles appear as messengers in JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit, which were adapted to film by Sir Peter Jackson van Nieuw -Zeeland.

The spectacular new -Zeeland landscapes in Mr Jackson’s films are a consistent draw for tourists who are greeted at the airport through the Eagle sculptures.

“It is not unusual to see in the airport in the air from Wellington airport, but in this case it will be emotional for us,” said Matt Clarke, Chief Executive of Wellington Airport, in a statement.

The gigantic eagles are placed in storage and there have been no long -term plans for them.

Each eagle weighs 1.2 tons (1,200 kg) with a wingspan of 15 m (49ft). Driving on the back of one of the birds is a sculpture of the Wizard, Gandalf.

Made from polystyrene and with an internal steel skeleton, each eagle has hundreds of feathers, the longest of 2.4 m (8ft).

Although the iconic eagles will soon have disappeared, not everything will be lost for fans of the franchise: Smaug the Magnificent, the dragon in the Hobbit, will continue to be displayed in the check -in area.

The Eagles were unveiled in 2013, around the time of the release of the Hobbit trilogy. The gigantic sculptures were produced by Wētā workshop, the company established in New Zealand that made costumes and props for the Lord of the Rings Franchise.

“We work with Wētā workshop on a number of exciting plans for a unique replacement with local theme to take their place,” said Mr. Clarke. “We will reveal what will be later this year later this year, so keep looking at the sky.”

In 2014, one of the Eagles came down during an earthquake. Nobody was injured in that accident.