Former sailor spends 900 hours building a matchstick Mayflower

Former sailor spends 900 hours building a matchstick Mayflower as his wife praises the 70,000-piece vessel for keeping him out of the pub

  • David Reynolds, 61, used 70,000 matches to create his Mayflower ship replica 
  • The 4ft high and 5ft long model has tiny anchors and rigging blocks along side
  • The creation weighs nearly 16lb and took 900 hours to build over two years 

It is 400 years since the Mayflower sailed the Atlantic. 

For retired sailor David Reynolds it must, at times, have felt like it was taking nearly that long to build his matchstick replica of the ship.

Mr Reynolds, 61, used 70,000 matches to capture every detail of the historic vessel – which sailed with the Pilgrim Fathers to North America in 1620.

David Reynolds, 61, used 70,000 matches to create his Mayflower ship replica over two years

His stunning 4ft high and 5ft long model has tiny anchors and rigging blocks along the side, and Mr Reynolds has even carved out the ship’s emblem towards the stern. On the deck is a tiny lifeboat with miniature oars and seats.

The replica, which weighs nearly 16lb and took 900 hours to build over the course of two years, is held together with whipping yarn – usually used in rugs, PVA glue and cord. 

Mr Reynolds, father of one, began making models out of matches in the merchant navy. ‘Now I’m retired, I decided to rekindle my passion for it,’ he said.

‘I see it as just a hobby that gives me something to do while I watch the news in the evening. My wife Julie says at least it keeps me out of the pub.’

The replica, which weighs nearly 16lb and took 900 hours to build

The Mayflower sailed with the Pilgrim Fathers to North America in 1620

The replica (left Mr Reynolds with his creation and right a painting of the Mayflower leaving Plymouth), which sailed with the Pilgrim Fathers to North America in 1620, weighs nearly 16lb and took 900 hours to build

Father-of-one Mr Reynolds began making models out of matches in the merchant navy and now has 40 stored in the spare room of his home in Southampton

Father-of-one Mr Reynolds began making models out of matches in the merchant navy and now has 40 stored in the spare room of his home in Southampton 

The Mayflower is one of 40 ships he has built over the years that are now crammed in a spare room in his three-bedroom house in Southampton. 

The Mayflower left Plymouth for America with 102 people on board on September 6, 1620. Just over two months later it reached the shores of what is now Massachusetts.

Mr Reynolds’ model is dwarfed by his 21ft replica North Sea oil platform – which broke the record for the world’s biggest matchstick model. 

It took 15 years and used 4.1million matches. 

Mr Reynolds' 4ft high and 5ft long model has tiny anchors and rigging blocks along the side

Mr Reynolds’ 4ft high and 5ft long model has tiny anchors and rigging blocks along the side

The former sailor (pictured with the matchstick Mayflower) said his hobby 'gives him something to do while I watch the news in the evening'

The former sailor (pictured with the matchstick Mayflower) said his hobby ‘gives him something to do while I watch the news in the evening’

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