TRUNG HỌC DUY TÂN - PHAN RANG

[SNOW WHITE]

The matchstick oil rig Man spends 15 years making oil rig out of four million matchsticks. A former oil rig worker spent 15 years building an exact replica of a North Sea platform - out of more than four million matchsticks.. Picture: REX FEATURES David Reynolds, 51, spent up to 10 hours each day painstakingly crafting the half a ton model of the Brent Bravo rig in his living room.. Picture: REX FEATURES Each matchstick was individually polished and then glued in place to create the 21ft long, 12ft high masterpiece.. Picture: REX FEATURES The rig is so big it had to be built in stages, one piece at a time.... Picture: REX FEATURES ...David used his living room and conservatory to build the sections and the finished work was stored in his sheds and loft.. Picture: REX FEATURES The completed model comprises 14 sections and is so big it had to be moved by two lorries to the Bursledon Brickworks and Industrial Museum, in Southampton, Hants.. Picture: REX FEATURES Now retired, David, from Southampton, is hoping to secure a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for his efforts. He said: "The current world record for a model is 3.5 million matches so I'm just waiting for someone to come and adjudicate.". Picture: REX FEATURES David says his model building started when his 22-year-old son Mark bought him a matchstick train to build. He said: "I built the model train within a few weeks so Mark suggested that I should build a tanker or an oil rig....". Picture: REX FEATURES "...I decided to try and build a small oil rig similar to the one that I worked on for five years. Then I started on the large rig and got a bit carried away. Once I started I just had to finish it.". Picture: REX FEATURES David used his experience of working on the rig and as a maintenance technician at Esso at Fawley Power Station, Hants, to build the model.. Picture: REX FEATURES David used every spare minute and burned the midnight oil as he fashioned the replica, which he has dubbed the Cathedrals of the Sea. Everything is built to the finest detail, including the accommodation block for the rig workers, the flotilla of ships moored to the rig, the platforms and towers.. Picture: REX FEATURES He added: "Earlier this year I thought about destroying it because I wanted the space in my sheds. My wife Julie said it would be criminal not to put it on display after all the years of hard work I had put in. Fortunately the brickworks museum said they would display it for me.". Picture: REX FEATURES David says he gathered some used matches from friends but his main source was from a wholesaler, dramatically trimming the cost. David said: "If I had bought all those matches from the cornershop it would have cost me about £46,000. It actually cost me £1,600.". Picture: REX FEATURES David's wife Julie, 49, has been living with the model for the last 15 years - and she said she was delighted to see the back of it. She said: "We never dreamed that it would get so big when he started building the model - if I had known I would probably have said no to the idea. Over time it just became part of our lives. We just accepted it....". Picture: REX FEATURES "...but it was still a relief when it was finally taken away. I had forgotten what our house actually looked like. I said to David that once it leaves it is never coming back.". Picture: REX FEATURES