Iowa Man Uses 7.5 Million Matchsticks to Make Unreal Models of Ships, Castles, Cathedrals, US Capitol

Iowa Man Uses 7.5 Million Matchsticks to Make Unreal Models of Ships, Castles, Cathedrals, US Capitol
Main: (Courtesy of Patrick Acton); INSET: Tamer Adel Soliman/Shutterstock
Epoch Inspired Staff
Updated:
0:00
Disclaimer: This article was published in 2023. Some information may no longer be current.

It was a match made in Heaven.

Patrick Acton loved working with his hands—and matchsticks were cheap to come by. These two were paired together thanks to long winters in Iowa during the 1970s; and what began as a hobby crafting old country barns and churches out of matchsticks launched Acton to worldwide fame. His matchstick milieu was thrown into the spotlight, garnering him his dream job with Ripley’s Believe It or Not! and even his own museum—Matchstick Marvels.

Now 70, Acton still works in the same old basement workshop he started in 40 years ago, but instead of building tiny replica barns, he’s making an entire fantasy world filled with wonders: a life-size flying locomotive made of a million matchsticks, a scaled-down Millennium Falcon, a two-headed dragon with matchstick scales, castles galore, and the U.S. Capitol building. All these were crafted down to the last detail out of tiny, insignificant sticks of wood.

“The first thing I ever made was a little country church out of about 500 matchsticks and that just took, as I recall, a few days to make,” Acton told The Epoch Times. “I cut the tips off the sticks for 10 years … which was very tedious, and I probably would have given the hobby up.”

When Acton’s wife suggested he order the sticks plain, without sulfur heads, and buy them by the caseload, that was a game changer.

A rear view of Notre Dame Cathedral, made of 298,000 matchsticks, completed in 2012. (Courtesy of Patrick Acton)
A rear view of Notre Dame Cathedral, made of 298,000 matchsticks, completed in 2012. Courtesy of Patrick Acton
A model Millennium Falcon made out of 910,000 matchsticks, completed in 2017. (Courtesy of Patrick Acton)
A model Millennium Falcon made out of 910,000 matchsticks, completed in 2017. Courtesy of Patrick Acton
(Left) A model church made out of 500 matchsticks in 1977; (Right) A model barn made out of 5,000 matchsticks in 1978. (Courtesy of Patrick Acton)
(Left) A model church made out of 500 matchsticks in 1977; (Right) A model barn made out of 5,000 matchsticks in 1978. Courtesy of Patrick Acton

“They’re not going to sell sticks to some whack job in the cornfields of Iowa to model,” he thought.

“She finally convinced me. I did write them a letter and it was just a matter of a few days; I got a letter back with quantities and prices,” he said. “All of a sudden, the dimensions of the things I was making then [went from a] few hundred or thousand sticks … to literally tens of thousands of sticks.”

It was the ultimate jigsaw puzzle. Acton was enthralled by the planning and preparation. Using tiny models as reference, he found the challenge of building up matchstick mockups a rewarding pastime. The wood was bonded with regular glue and through techniques he developed, such as sanding, he could create almost anything. Then, while reading James A. Michener’s “Chesapeake,” Acton was inspired by the highly-detailed descriptions of the stages of shipbuilding.

A model of the USS Iowa, made of 137,000 matchsticks in 1998. (Courtesy of Patrick Acton)
A model of the USS Iowa, made of 137,000 matchsticks in 1998. Courtesy of Patrick Acton
(Top-Left) Acton poses beside the USS Enterprise, made of 18,000 matchsticks, completed in 1992; (Bottom-Left) The General Civil War locomotive, made of 78,000 matchsticks, completed in 1993; (Right) Acton poses with his sculpture of Paul Revere, made of 18,000 matchsticks, completed in 1994. (Courtesy of Patrick Acton)
(Top-Left) Acton poses beside the USS Enterprise, made of 18,000 matchsticks, completed in 1992; (Bottom-Left) The General Civil War locomotive, made of 78,000 matchsticks, completed in 1993; (Right) Acton poses with his sculpture of Paul Revere, made of 18,000 matchsticks, completed in 1994. Courtesy of Patrick Acton
Acton poses with his model Apache attack helicopter, made of 26,000 matchsticks, completed in 2004. (Courtesy of Patrick Acton)
Acton poses with his model Apache attack helicopter, made of 26,000 matchsticks, completed in 2004. Courtesy of Patrick Acton

Acton launched his own maritime matchstick foray. It started with Old Ironsides—the historic USS Constitution—Acton being a huge United States history buff. His ships progressed with increasingly larger models of USS Iowa, accurate down to the tiniest detail—every gun turret, lifeboat, rigging, and radar dish.

“My wife used to say, ‘Why do you feel this need to make him so big?’” Acton said. “Well, the bigger they are, the more accurate I can get and the more detail I can put in.”

So they got bigger. And still bigger. And the details multiplied.

Both the scale and realism of Acton’s creations were taken to the next level through innovation. Around 1985, his child asked him to make a Pinocchio out of matchsticks. He thought, “There’s no way that I can make Pinocchio because there’s too many shapes and curves.” But where there’s a will, there’s a way; Acton realized he could simply crimp the wooden sticks using needle-nose pliers to create curves to form just about any shape you can imagine.

Acton's two-headed dragon made of 272,000 matchsticks, completed in 2016. (Courtesy of Patrick Acton)
Acton's two-headed dragon made of 272,000 matchsticks, completed in 2016. Courtesy of Patrick Acton

This sent him in the direction of constructing his own portrayal of Paul Revere, a brontosaurus dinosaur, and eventually, a massive dragon for Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, complete with stretched wings and twisting tail.

Another innovation came as his ambitions grew industrial in scale. “I learned that I could build sheets out of matchsticks [by gluing] them directly to a sheet of plexiglass or acrylic,” he said. Thus, Acton now had his own matchstick plywood stockpile ready to tackle any project, no matter how huge.

He and Ripley’s had teamed up by then. The collaboration began with their seeing him in a magazine around 1990 and buying a few of his matchstick pieces. His models were such a hit that they eventually hired him full-time, which led to the creation of his largest model, a life-size “flying” locomotive.

“We came to an agreement in 2012, and I took an early retirement from the college, and I started building for them,” Acton said. “They wanted a steampunk locomotive.”

Headlamp. (Courtesy of Patrick Acton)
Headlamp. Courtesy of Patrick Acton
Matchstick sheets premade for the production of large-sized models. (Courtesy of Patrick Acton)
Matchstick sheets premade for the production of large-sized models. Courtesy of Patrick Acton
A rear view of Acton's two-headed dragon made of 272,000 matchsticks, completed in 2016. (Courtesy of Patrick Acton)
A rear view of Acton's two-headed dragon made of 272,000 matchsticks, completed in 2016. Courtesy of Patrick Acton

The steam engine would stretch some 23 feet in length and incorporate Michelangelo-inspired wings into its design. As the full-size project neared completion, Ripley’s made another request: “You’re coming close to a million sticks,” they told him. “It would be a boon for us if we could … say this is made out of a million matchsticks.”

Fourteen months later, they had their mega-matchstick, full-scale flying choo-choo.

To date, Acton has used around 7.5 million matchsticks in his creations.

Besides promo works, Star Wars and such—not to be diminished in their impressiveness—Acton is particularly proud of his historical architecture. And no wonder. He’s built not only the supremely imposing U.S. Capitol building down to the last entablature, pediment, and Corinthian colonnade out of matchsticks, but also a replica of Notre Dame cathedral—façade, flying buttresses, and all—in all its matchstick glory.

A model of the U.S. Capitol, made of 478,000 matchsticks, completed in 2001. (Courtesy of Patrick Acton)
A model of the U.S. Capitol, made of 478,000 matchsticks, completed in 2001. Courtesy of Patrick Acton
Detail of a pediment with Corinthian columns on the U.S. Capitol building. (Courtesy of Patrick Acton)
Detail of a pediment with Corinthian columns on the U.S. Capitol building. Courtesy of Patrick Acton
A model of Notre Dame Cathedral, made of 298,000 matchsticks, completed in 2012. (Courtesy of Patrick Acton)
A model of Notre Dame Cathedral, made of 298,000 matchsticks, completed in 2012. Courtesy of Patrick Acton
It was around 2000 when he announced to his wife the Capitol building was “the most majestic building” and threw his efforts into modeling it. With the advent of the internet, designing would be far easier than previously. Yet he worried. By the 2000s, you could find almost anything on the web, and Acton was on the Capitol website all the time.

“I was waiting for the FBI to show up and arrest me!” he said. “Wow, look at all these floor plans.” The majestic model stretches 12 feet in length.

Working for Ripley’s is one thing. Having your own exclusive museum to support your hobby is something else. For Acton, it was a dream come true; the razing of an old hardware store in his hometown of Gladbrook saw the realization of Matchstick Marvels. With basically just “two addresses on main street,” the rural town was on the brink of death and needed a tourism boost. In return, Acton got a “beautiful space” where around 17 of his creations are always on display. “It was kind of a win-win,” he said.

A model Charger made of 720,000 matchsticks, completed in 2018. (Courtesy of Patrick Acton)
A model Charger made of 720,000 matchsticks, completed in 2018. Courtesy of Patrick Acton
A model The General locomotive, made of 9,000 matchsticks, completed in 1991. (Courtesy of Patrick Acton)
A model The General locomotive, made of 9,000 matchsticks, completed in 1991. Courtesy of Patrick Acton
A model USS Midway aircraft carrier, made of 16,000 matchsticks in 1986. (Courtesy of Patrick Acton)
A model USS Midway aircraft carrier, made of 16,000 matchsticks in 1986. Courtesy of Patrick Acton
Acton works on a model urban scene with the new One World Trade Center, made of 486,000 matchsticks, completed in 2013. (Courtesy of Patrick Acton)
Acton works on a model urban scene with the new One World Trade Center, made of 486,000 matchsticks, completed in 2013. Courtesy of Patrick Acton
A model urban scene with the new One World Trade Center, made of 486,000 matchsticks, completed in 2013. (Courtesy of Patrick Acton)
A model urban scene with the new One World Trade Center, made of 486,000 matchsticks, completed in 2013. Courtesy of Patrick Acton
A model One World Trade Center Memorial Park, made of 486,000 matchsticks, completed in 2013. (Courtesy of Patrick Acton)
A model One World Trade Center Memorial Park, made of 486,000 matchsticks, completed in 2013. Courtesy of Patrick Acton
A model of the Cutty Sark, made of 38,000 matchsticks, completed in 1995. (Courtesy of Patrick Acton)
A model of the Cutty Sark, made of 38,000 matchsticks, completed in 1995. Courtesy of Patrick Acton
A model of Minas Tirith from "The Lord of the Rings" films, made of 42,0000 matchsticks, completed in 2010. (Courtesy of Patrick Acton)
A model of Minas Tirith from "The Lord of the Rings" films, made of 42,0000 matchsticks, completed in 2010. Courtesy of Patrick Acton
A model B-17 Flying Fortress bomber made of 14,000 matchsticks, completed in 1990. (Courtesy of Patrick Acton)
A model B-17 Flying Fortress bomber made of 14,000 matchsticks, completed in 1990. Courtesy of Patrick Acton
A model of Hogwarts from the "Harry Potter" films, made of 602,000 matchsticks, completed in 2006. (Courtesy of Patrick Acton)
A model of Hogwarts from the "Harry Potter" films, made of 602,000 matchsticks, completed in 2006. Courtesy of Patrick Acton
A model of Christopher Columbus's Santa Maria ship, made of 27,000 matchsticks, completed in 1991. (Courtesy of Patrick Acton)
A model of Christopher Columbus's Santa Maria ship, made of 27,000 matchsticks, completed in 1991. Courtesy of Patrick Acton
A model of the Governor's mansion in Terrace Hill, Iowa, made of 193,000 matchsticks, completed in 1996. (Courtesy of Patrick Acton)
A model of the Governor's mansion in Terrace Hill, Iowa, made of 193,000 matchsticks, completed in 1996. Courtesy of Patrick Acton
Acton poses beside a model two-headed dragon made of 272,000 matchsticks, completed in 2016. (Courtesy of Patrick Acton)
Acton poses beside a model two-headed dragon made of 272,000 matchsticks, completed in 2016. Courtesy of Patrick Acton
Acton poses in front of a model of the U.S. Capitol, made of 478,000 matchsticks, completed in 2001. (Courtesy of Patrick Acton)
Acton poses in front of a model of the U.S. Capitol, made of 478,000 matchsticks, completed in 2001. Courtesy of Patrick Acton
Share your stories with us at [email protected], and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Inspired newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter
Epoch Inspired Staff
Epoch Inspired Staff
Author
Epoch Inspired staff cover stories of hope that celebrate kindness, traditions, and triumph of the human spirit, offering valuable insights into life, culture, family and community, and nature.
Related Topics