Fun Fact: In 2019 Patrick received several inquiries about Notre Dame‘s construction from news and TV reporters at time of the devasting fire that destroyed the cathedral’s roof, spire, and more.
Notre Dame Cathedral
Construction started on Acton’s matchstick model of Notre Dame cathedral in August 2010 and was completed April 1, 2012. The model took 298,000 matchsticks to complete. Although not his biggest model, this is one of the most detailed structures he has made. Many years earlier Acton had identified Notre Dame as an interesting subject for a model, but until the early 2000s he could not find information necessary to design and draw the model to exact scale.
Acton used a paper model to help with 3-dimensional visualization and scaling proportions, although much of his drawings and planning was developed through information he accessed on the Internet. Unlike the real cathedral’s construction, which was built beginning with the Apse in 1163, Acton began by building the west façade, then the transept, followed by the nave, choir, and roof and spire.
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