Rogers, Wathel.
Walt Disney, who liked to tinker with miniatures and mechanical things,
found a sympathetic ear on his own staff in the person of Wathel Rogers,
who, while beginning in animation, sculpted on his own time. Walt asked
him to build props and miniatures for live action films, and eventually
turned him loose on Project Little Man, which led to Audio-Animatronics.
With two others, Rogers set up the model shop at WED, making architectural
models for Disneyland, and continued to work on park projects for the
remainder of his career.