Philip Warren
British model ship maker
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Philip Warren (born 1930 or 1931) is an English ship model maker best known for building a matchstick Maritime Fleet. His collection includes models of over 500 vessels and 1,000 aircraft, as well as of all the Royal Navy ships since 1945.[1][2]
Philip Warren | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1930 or 1931 Dorset, England |
| Occupation | Model ship maker |
| Years active | 1940s–present |
| Known for | Building the "Matchstick Fleet" of over 500 ship models and 1,000 aircraft |
Life and work
Philip Warren was born in Dorset, England, and was a director of a stationery wholesale company before his retirement.[3] He started building models of naval boats at the age of 17 due to a fascination with ships.[4] His interest in warships came about due to going through childhood in World War 2.[5]
When he first began model making, he used balsa wood to make models.[4] He switched to matchsticks because he found that material more suitable for static waterline warship models,[4] and because matches were common.[3] His models are hand-built and are made in 1/300th of the scale, using matchboxes, matchsticks, a razor blade, and glue.[6][7] Completing his models requires him looking at photographs, drawings, and plans of real ships.[8] His largest model is 1 m (3 ft) long.[3]
Models
Warren's earliest model was the Royal Navy's HMS Scorpion.[4] Following its completion, he built a different destroyer, a battleship, a cruiser, and later an aircraft carrier.[4] As the years passed, his attention to detail and accuracy improved, making models with many moving parts, including missile launchers, radars, gun turrets, swing wings, and helicopter rotors.[9] His collection of models includes 500 vessels and 1000 aircraft from World War 2 battleships to nuclear-powered submarines and modern aircraft carriers.[1][10]
In his over 70 years[11] of model making, he built one or more of each class of Royal Navy ships from 1945 to the present day, including 7 Leander class frigates.[5][10] In addition, he has also built Commonwealth ships.[10] Warren has constructed 60 US ships, including four supercarriers, two battleships, and various cruisers. Additionally, he built around 50 ships from various Navies of other nations.[12]
Warren’s ships take him approximately 1,500 matches to build.[13] and can take over a year to finish.[12] Adam Aspinall from The Mirror states, “Each vessel is correct to the tiniest detail.”[12] In 1989, Philip gave the United Kingdom's Prince Andrew a model of the frigate Campbeltown.[9] Trend Hunter named Warren the “Hobby King of Hobbydom” due to having built models of all of Britain's warships since the end of the Second World War.[14]
Exhibits and recognition
Warren's work, has been displayed by the Fleet Air Arm Museum and Nothe Fort.[10][2][15] The Duke of Gloucester honored him with a glass trophy for his service to the Northe Fort community for his yearly display of his matchstick fleet.[15]
Personal life
Philip Warren was married to his wife Anita for 47 years until her death.[3]