Gizmodo featured a story about Match Stick Artist Patrick Acton and his 1/26 scale model of the International Space Station. The model took 82,000 matchsticks, 8 gallons of glue and 1,950 hours of perseverance. The entire project included a Second set of ISS modules at 1/13 scale, with cutouts that show all the details within the station. The level of detail is amazing, as is the size: ISS is 13 feet by 9 feet.
It turns out this isn't Pat's first rodeo, and he runs the Matchstick Marvels Museum in Gladbrook Iowa, just to house his many projects - probably upon Mrs. Acton's insistence. He has modeled over 68 projects over the years, from a simple Church to Hogwarts, and Notre Dame Cathedral.
He estimates he has used over 4 million match sticks. After nearly ten years of model building and cutting the heads off 100,000 matchsticks, Acton contacted the Ohio Blue Tip Company and learned matchsticks could be purchased without the sulfur tip. He now buys them direct from the source saving himself the fire hazard of removing the tips.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by tynin on Friday May 09 2014, @06:45PM
What an amazing eye for detail. I used to paint pewter figurines for D&D and Battletech and sell them, and at the time I thought that was a lot of detail oriented work, this guy makes me feel lazy by comparison.
That said, I would have loved to see 100k+ match heads get lit.
(Score: 4, Informative) by egcagrac0 on Friday May 09 2014, @07:51PM
From TFS:
(Score: 4, Informative) by Foobar Bazbot on Friday May 09 2014, @08:47PM
Also from TFS, emphasis added:
Hence GP's thoughts about the 100,000 matchheads from before that discovery, and what it would be like if Acton had kept them all, and lit them off at once. (GP is no doubt aware of the fire hazard that would result from storing 100,000 matchheads in one place, and thus that Acton probably disposed of them in relatively small batches. But it's still fun to think about...)
(Score: 2, Funny) by Buck Feta on Friday May 09 2014, @06:59PM
I can't wait for the video of the 100,000 match heads being ignited all together.
- fractious political commentary goes here -
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Woods on Friday May 09 2014, @07:05PM
I could not find a video with 100,000 match heads lit together, but the Mythbusters did do one with 1 million match heads [youtube.com]...
(Score: 3, Insightful) by metamonkey on Friday May 09 2014, @08:13PM
That is so beautiful. I'm so glad there are people in this world who make things like that.
Okay 3, 2, 1, let's jam.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday May 10 2014, @04:13AM
Yep, I'm seriously impressed.
And I wish I had the patience to do something like that!
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 1) by Freeman on Monday May 12 2014, @10:18PM
I was thinking the same thing, but about the Mythbusters video.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 09 2014, @09:17PM
My in-laws live a short drive away from this matchstick museum and the bastards have never mentioned it. Next time we visit them, I'm going here. My wife will go, since she grew up reading Harry Potter.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Gaaark on Friday May 09 2014, @10:48PM
Can he build it in minecraft in hardcore mode?
THEN i'd be impressed. :)
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---