Major Matt Makes Models

 I like to make models of my favourite spacecraft, especially ones that arent available as standard toys or kits. I also enjoy customising existing toys to make additional vehicles to flesh out the range. For convenience and practicality, I work small and generally quickly as time and parts are usually at a premium.

It's always been an ambition of mine to make a larger scale model of a Booster Rocket or a Nuclear Pulse - one of my favourites from SWORD or Spacex. Recently, my friend and fellow collector Paul Vreede sent me some shots of some models built by a gentleman in america, Frank May. Frank is primarily a Matt Mason collector, but also enjoys Spacex toys and the related ranges. Not content with the vehicles that Mattel provided for the good Major during his heyday in the late sixties, Frank decided that he would add a few more much needed craft to the series.

Being at Matt Mason scale, the problems of creating suitably scaled models to fit a six inch figure as opposed to a one inch one, increased exponentially. However, as you can see from these truly amazing photos, Frank has addressed these engineering and modelling practicalities with flair and vision.

First up, Frank has taken the Spacex/Golden Astronaut MEV (or Lunar Prospector as its confusingly known in the US release) and scaled it up to comfortably fit the Major. The single most notable part of this design is the wheels, because of their delicate, spoked shape - they are difficult to replicate at a larger scale. Speaking to Frank shortly after he built the Lunar Prospector, he told me he had created the wheels after discovering a desktop fan had just the right size and shape part for the job. The bodywork is a combination of wood and metal and the claw at the end of the fully articulated arm is taken from a Mattel Power Suit and actually works. Frank applied the small bellows from the suit to tie in with the Mattel range and add a little more 'believability' to the model. The radar scanner is also borrowed from a Firebolt Space Cannon.

 The second photo demonstrates the vast scale of the model in comparison to its diminutive cousin!

However Frank was not content with this major triumph and moved on to another model in the Spacex line, the Mobile HQ! This beautiful creation used cart wheels and custom made caterpillar tracks to take Major Matt and his crew on long distance journeys around the moon.

Frank is a prolific and professional builder and has prepared many other projects for his favourite astronaut - so watch this space for more info soon!