GLADBROOK — Patrick “Pat” Acton created his first model out of matchsticks in 1977, a church, using 500 matchsticks. This year he completed his 80th piece — Disney’s Cinderella Castle — using 607,000 matchsticks. His career total: a whopping 9,767,772 matchsticks used.

He began work on the castle in March 2024, wrapping it up just last month. He noted the multi-level castle measures nine feet tall, eight feet wide, and seven feet deep from front to back. It took him about 2,800 hours to make, working from his home studio.

His unique talent caught the eye of Ripley’s Believe It or Not, an entity he sold 27 models to between 1993 and 2024. His pieces are in Ripley’s museums around the world, plus in private collections spanning the globe. Many of his matchstick creations are housed at the Matchstick Marvels Museum, 319 Second St., Gladbrook. Seeing Cinderella Castle to fruition has been on his wish list for a while, and the model will be a permanent part of the museum.

“I told Ripley’s that with the limited number of sticks I had left, I just wanted to build stuff and keep it here, so that’s the intent,” Acton said.

He purchased matchsticks in bulk, without sulfur tips.

“The last manufacturer of the wooden sticks in the United States closed in 2017, so my last source for matchsticks was gone,” he noted. “Before they closed I ordered five million matchsticks, and out of that, I have about 700,000 sticks left. I have enough for at least one good-sized and maybe a couple (smaller) models. And at that point, I’ll be officially retired because I no longer have a source for the sticks.”

He added that the castle is a Disney icon people can visit in person in Orlando at Disney World. The company has also used it for years for marketing purposes. Acton’s interpretation is no less impressive. Carved Disney characters are sprinkled through the display. A variety of trees line the premises, while the clock face was replicated with intricate detail.

His other models include trains, ships, racecars, animals, windmills and even the Gladbrook Water Tower. He has immortalized the U.S. Capitol in matchstick form, as well as Apollo 11, Notre Dame Cathedral and the USS The Sullivans. His piece from 2015, Steampunk Plane Loco, is his largest. It was commissioned by Ripley’s. He used more than one million matchsticks and 35 gallons of wood glue, which took him approximately 3,000 hours to create. It measures more than 20 feet long and nine feet high, with a wingspan of 13 feet. The Millennium Falcon, also commissioned by Ripley’s, weighs 700 pounds.

“In general, I like to make the models big, because the bigger they are, the more detail I can get into them,” he said. “That’s what visitors at our museum really like. I’ve heard it called ‘the wow factor.’ They can’t believe it. We get bus tours from all over.”

Moving the models from location to location isn’t as challenging as one may think.

“All the models I make are made in sections that will fit through a regular doorway. So the castle, excluding all the little pieces for the landscaping I did on it, has seven major pieces in it. So it all stacks on one another like a cake…The subsections are small enough to fit through a doorway and fit back together kind of seamlessly.”

His next creation will be the Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014. It will harken back to the golden age of steam-powered locomotives. Acton is in the planning and drawing stage, but won’t start work on it until August or September. It will be finished in 2027 or 2028 and permanently housed at the museum. This year, the real-life train is set to tour the U.S. in honor of the country’s 250th anniversary.

Acton credits the people of Gladbrook with providing support of his work. The museum, which opened in 2003, is run by volunteers and has a paid manager. Before it was established, Acton took his work on the road, exhibiting at festivals, shows, libraries, schools, and more. The cost to insure the pieces for travel was high, and the trips cut into time at work and at home.

“It was wonderful when we got the museum opened,” he said.

It is open to the public daily 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. April 1 through November 30, minus major holidays. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for kids 5-12, and those age 5 and under get in free of charge. Cash only. Tours available.