With more than 5,000 hand-painted soldiers, the battle of Waterloo is represented in all its glory on the dining room table of enthusiast Joe Galea Debono.

The diorama represents the relative positions of the Napoleonic French army (in blue) and the British army (in red) and those of its allies – the Dutch, Belgians, Brunswickers and King’s German Legion – in the opening phase of the battle.

Also depicted are miniatures of two large farmhouses – Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte – which both played critical roles in the 1815 battle.

Having painstakingly painted each soldier during the weekends over a period of 12 years, Dr Galea Debono took up the hobby quite by accident after his wife bought him two boxes of miniature soldiers as a joke.

Joe Galea Debono at work on his battlefield.

This week marked the 200th anniversary of the battle of Waterloo, which had significance for Malta. Dr Galea Debono pointed out that had Napoleon won the day, all that had been agreed by the European powers a year before – including that Malta should pass permanently under the protectorate of the British Crown – would most probably have been reversed and the fate of the islands over the last 200 years could have been entirely different.

The 200th anniversary is being celebrated in Belgium on the site of the battlefield 15 miles south of Brussels until tomorrow with daily re-enactments involving over 5,000 re-enactors, even from Malta.

“As I could not go to Waterloo for these re-enactments – although I have been to the site three times over the past few years – I decided to set up a miniature one in my home to mark the occasion,” Dr Galea Debono said.