Sculptor Dr Willard Wigan reveals micro-tribute to Queen

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Dr Willard Wigan's model of the Queen's Coronation CarriageImage source, Darren Shipman/PA Media
Image caption,

Dr Willard Wigan's model of the Queen's Coronation Carriage fits inside the eye of a needle

A famed microsculptor has created a replica of the Queen's Coronation carriage inside the eye of a needle.

Dr Willard Wigan worked up to 17 hours a day for several weeks and assembled more than 200 pieces under a microscope to create the miniscule model.

The artist dubbed his Platinum Jubilee feat the "tiniest biggest tribute" to Her Majesty.

Dr Wigan, 65, from Wolverhampton, also worked on a tiny figurine of Queen Elizabeth II as a young woman

He painted the microscopic monarch with an eyelash attached to the end of a needle.

Image source, Darren Shipman/PA Media
Image caption,

He has worked on a model of Queen Elizabeth as a young woman

The sculptor, who was honoured with an MBE for services to art in 2007, previously created a tiny 24-carat gold crown for the Queen's 2012 Diamond Jubilee, describing it as his "proudest moment" at the time.

But he said his pieces had "evolved and moved on since".

He likened his works, which have included the world's smallest handmade BMX and a tribute to Albert Einstein, to "trying to put a pin through a bubble without bursting the bubble".

The incredibly detailed carriage was "the hardest thing" he has done during his career, Dr Wigan said, and admitted the process had left him worn out.

"I finished about five or six days ago - I didn't think I would finish it in time," he said.

"I could sleep for England. But the glory is at the end."

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