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Latest Matchstick Marvels is a 1970 Dodge Charger

T-R PHOTO BY SARA JORDAN-HEINTZ - Pat Acton’s latest work, a 1970 Dodge Charger, is constructed from a staggering 720,000 matchsticks, creating a 2/3-size scale model of the famed car from “The Fast and the Furious” movie franchise. It will remain on display at the Matchstick Marvels Museum until June 23 when it is shipped to Ripley’s Orlando-based warehouse for use in a future exhibit.

GLADBROOK — When viewed from a distance, Pat Acton’s latest work, a 1970 Dodge Charger, looks as though it could leap from its display and cruise right down the road. But when one looks closely, you can see the car is constructed from a staggering 720,000 matchsticks, creating a 2/3-size scale model of the famed car from “The Fast and the Furious” movie franchise.

Acton, the originator of Matchstick Marvels, completed the Dodge Charger in late 2018 — a piece commissioned by Ripley’s Believe It or Not!. It will remain on display at the Matchstick Marvels Museum, 319 Second St., Gladbrook, until June 23 when it is shipped to Ripley’s Orlando-based warehouse for use in a future exhibit.

“What makes it a little more unique than the other models I’ve done, is this is accurate inside and outside and underneath the car — everything is to scale on it,” Acton said. “It also has a lot of interactive features, which Ripley’s likes.”

The car’s front hood opens and closes, as well as the headlight covers. It has a blower motor, blower butterfly valves and rotating wheels. The turn signals work and the headlights have two settings. A set of dice hang from the rearview mirror.

Since 1977, Acton has created intricate wooden models made entirely from matchsticks. He would purchase matchsticks at the grocery store and cut off the sulfur tips. Today, he uses special matchsticks made without the sulfur tips. He retired from the Iowa Valley Community College District in 2012. Ripley’s has purchased dozens of his creations over the years, displaying them in locations around the world.

T-R PHOTO BY SARA JORDAN-HEINTZ - The car’s front hood opens and closes, as well as the headlight covers. It has a blower motor, blower butterfly valves and rotating wheels. The back license plate is authentic to the movies.

Acton began work on the Dodge Charger in July 2017, investing 3,000 hours in making the project a reality.

“To get the scale and detail, I used a little plastic model car, and all my drawings were based off that,” he said. “Ripley’s wanted a full-size model, but based on the amount of time that would take and the area of my workshop, I knew I had to make it smaller.”

The car was constructed in about 40 separate pieces so it can be disassembled and put back together to fit through doorways and be shipped around the world.

Acton said he will travel to Orlando to reassemble the car. That way, Ripley’s staff will know how to put it back together once it is put on display at one of its museums.

A technique he employs is sheet-building, which is glueing thousands of matchsticks together to create one large piece that can then be attached to another component of the display. He’s used the same yellow carpenters’ glue for the past 40 years.

T-R PHOTO BY SARA JORDAN-HEINTZ - The interior includes a realistic-looking dashboard.

In 2017, Acton acquired five million matchsticks from the company in which he purchases them.

“They’re being discontinued, but in the end, the company ran more for me, so once these are gone, I’m retiring,” he said.

An average display requires anywhere between 500,000 to one million matchsticks.

“I already have a half a million sticks glued for the next model I’m doing for Ripley’s in 2020 — a matchstick model of the Saturn V rocket and the Lunar Module Eagle — but it is not assembled yet,” he said.

While most of his creations are made solely from matchsticks and glue, the more elaborate, interactive models (such as his latest) require screws, glass and other hardware. To build the Dodge Charger, Acton began by constructing the frame of the car, then built the wheels, engine and drivetrain components. Curved parts have to be molded over pieces of plywood.

T-R PHOTO BY SARA JORDAN-HEINTZ - Curved parts, such as the tires, have to be molded over pieces of plywood.

“You just have to hope it fits together,” he said.

Acton said it is important to him to have the latest creation on display at the Matchstick Marvels Museum before it is passed on to Ripley’s, in addition to the others that are part of the permanent collection.

“After the fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral, tourists came for weeks to see my display of it,” he said.

The museum is open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. daily, April-November. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for kids 5-12, and those under 5 get in free of charge. It is handicap accessible.

Other displays include a 12-foot lighted model of the United States Capitol, the USS Iowa battleship and the space shuttle Challenger, among others.

“They’re a lot more substantial than people think, but on the other hand, the small details are fragile,” Acton said. “When you see a piece actually starting to come together, it really becomes a passion.”

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