Yesterday I was able to insert around 50 figures and many individual shields into the diorama again. I've always created scenes now, interacting with the British and the Zulu, including in a lot of melee scenes. There are still almost 500 completely painted figures that I still have to insert into the diorama.
Yesterday I was able to use another 30 figures in hand-to-hand combat on the northern barricade. However, I still have 40 British and about 470 Zulu warriors that I have to put on the diorama. It is still quite time consuming if you let the figures on the diorama interact but also have to deal with the already existing scenes.
But I know that's the best thing about building a diorama, when you can create a large, believable scene. However, you cannot be completely creative, since the historical course is predetermined.