Hobbit airplane to be unveiled on Saturday

Hobbit airplane to be unveiled on Saturday

As we ready ourselves for the Wellington premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on Wednesday 28th November, the action is stepping up a gear from this weekend in the capital.

Darren's World of Entertainment will be in Wellington for the Hobbit premiere, so stay tuned to the blog for pics and  tidbits from the whole event next week.

First up, Air New Zealand's got something a little special planned:

Official word is:

"Tight security and total secrecy surround an Air New Zealand Boeing 777-300ER aircraft sequestered in a closed hangar at Air New Zealand’s Auckland Technical Operations base this week as it is transformed into a flying billboard for the soon to be released film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Details of the unique Hobbit inspired livery are under wraps until the official reveal event this Saturday when the aircraft will emerge from the hangar for the first time in front of a group of more than 100 VIPs and invited guests.

Air New Zealand’s General Manager Marketing and Communications, Mike Tod, says the design is simply stunning.

“The hobbit imagery will cover the length of the 73 metre Boeing 777-300ER aircraft - the longest aircraft in our fleet - it will take six days and nearly 400 man-hours to install and at 830 square metres it’s the largest ever graphic to be applied to an aircraft.”

Once the aircraft is revealed on Saturday it will then depart for London via Los Angeles returning to New Zealand in time to play a starring role in the global premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in Wellington on Wednesday 28 November.

And believe it or not, Kate from Lost will be back on the beach on Sunday.

Evangeline Lily will be joining Sir Richard Taylor and Martin Baynton at Lyall Bay to try and build as many sandcastles as they can and break a world record....