n. A large-scale model of something.
2001
Of the 68 miniature sets and models in The Lord Of The Rings, about 30 were dubbed 'bigatures' because they were so large and detailed, people could have actually lived in them.
2001 (earliest)
Other locations were created with 58 miniature sets, into which blue-screen and digital characters were composited. 'Richard Taylor [director of Weta's Workshop] quite correctly called them 'bigatures,' because they often would fill the sound stage,' says Barrie M. Osborne, producer.
This word is constructed from the oxymoronic phrase big miniature. So far its use has been restricted to some of the sets created for the film, The Fellowship of the Ring, so it remains to be seen whether it will garner a wider audience.