Hard luck—those are the words that first come to mind upon learning the story of Richard Plaud, his quest for a Guinness World Record, and the spectacular creation that didn’t quite make the cut. The Frenchman created a 23ft tall replica of the Eiffel Tower out of matchsticks over a span of eight years. It was his childhood dream to become a world record holder, and the 7.20-meter-high replica, at a 1/45th scale, was how the 47-year-old Poitevin-based artist from Montpellier-de-Médillan planned to achieve it.
It took the man eight years, 4,200 hours, 706,900 sulfur-less matches, 23 kilos of glue, and sheer grit to create the masterpiece. ‘Real in-depth work. I started in December 2015, and I stuck the last one on December 27, the centenary of Gustave Eiffel’s death,’ explained the model maker. He aimed to bring the cup home, defeating the previous champion, Lebanese Toufic Daher, by 67 centimeters.
Sounds inspiring, but unfortunately, while the structure itself is a great achievement and a commendable personal project, it will lack the seal of approval from Guinness World Records. Without so much as a glimpse at the creation, it was rejected by the ruling organization, stating that the 706,900 sticks were not commercially available and had been altered beyond recognition from their original form.
In addition, Plaud, who works in the artworks and bridges department of the Charente-Maritime departmental council in southwest France, bought 190,000 headless matches in bulk instead of scratching them off. This made his project invalid. ‘It’s disappointing, frustrating, incomprehensible, and not very fair play,’ he told The Times. His wife, on a lighter note, was simply happy to get her living room back after nearly a decade. People on social media were encouraging and called Plaud a winner nonetheless.
One Facebook user commented, ‘No need to be in the Guinness! You are a winner because of your prowess and so many hours of work,’ while another said, ‘Disappointed for you, of course, but it’s a magnificent project that you realized, and you can be proud of yourself.’
