Free State man builds 'Tintanic'
Gino Hart will be hoping not to repeat history by hitting an iceberg with his Titanic replica, writes Helen Grange
OVER the past two years, the quiet little Free State town of Villiers has been secretly manifesting something amazing – the world’s fourth-largest model of the Titanic. The “Tintanic” is an 8m-long, 1.8m-tall, one-ton model of the doomed ship that sank in the North Atlantic in the early morning of April 15, 1912, after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City.
Its builder, historian and Titanic enthusiast Gino Hart, has installed it in the design centre of his old school, Hoërskool Villiers, where it awaits its debut at a “Titanic fancy dress dinner” he is hosting on June 2.
The journey of its making is as compelling as the tale of the Titanic itself.
Hart first dreamt of modelling the ship as a 14-year-old schoolboy at the very school where his model has ended up, after watching James Cameron’s epic blockbuster, the Titanic, in 1997.
“From that moment, I was consumed by the Titanic and everything to do with her. By now, I’m an expert.
“I’ve collected dozens of books and a lot of Titanic memorabilia over the years,” says the affable Hart.
The “Tintanic” was built in sections, and has been filmed for a documentary on the making of it. It is an exact, scaled-down replica of the ill-fated vessel – except for the width and shape of the bridge windows (which were square), to avoid copyright issues, and most of its materials were sponsored.
It is made from 20 sheets of steel and aluminium for the hull, sponsored by Stelcor, and 100 000 pop rivets from Connectco.
The deck is made of sticks of 160m² of plywood sponsored by H& S Timbers, and it’s all kept together with strongbond adhesives.
“It took six months to drill the portholes and design the cabins,” he says.
The Tintanic has 1 000 individual window frames, and 4 000 doors, that Hart designed and created with resin and laser technology.
He has now embarked on the next phase of the project, furnishing and populating the interiors with no less than 1 523 resin figurines, including the famous crew members, that he’s making himself in his little workshop adjoining his model in the design centre.
His desk is spread with miniature furniture items such as dressers, chairs, couches, fireplaces, deck chairs, the famous mailbox cabinet and even toilets, which one figurine will be sitting on.
Hart has also collected hundreds of Coca-Cola bottles to make the windows and mirrors.
“The interiors will be installed over five years. It’s a long-term project.
“The third-class section will take one year in itself, and then we’ll have a party before moving to the next phase,” he smiles.
To look inside and see the interiors, Hart lifts off top pieces of his model, including the smoke funnels.
From the top you can see the famous ornate staircase sweeping down to the main first-class area, a strong focus of Cameron’s epic film.
The million-dollar question is, of course, how did Hart move the Tintanic from his lounge to its new home?
“It was moved in three sections, on a large 6m by 2.4m flat-bed trailer.
“My house is only a few blocks away, but the move took seven hours,” says Hart, adding that on its way out of his lounge, the Tintanic stern suffered a little damage. “It is rounded, so it was really difficult to move this section. It wouldn’t fit through the door,” says Hart.
Now that the Tintanic is in its new home, Hart’s activities inside the design centre have been a secret to all but the principal and teaching staff, as the windows have been blacked out to protect the model from sun damage.
“The children are very curious about what’s happening inside here. I arrive in the morning and often only leave at about 11pm, having spent all day planking the deck, or making figurines,” says Hart.
He is hoping that once his beloved Tintanic is launched as an attraction in Villiers, it will ignite some tourism interest in the small town, which is regarded as the midway thorough-way town between Joburg and Durban.
“By the time it opens, I’ll have the artworks of local artists exhibited, and there will be television screens showing footage of how it was made, as well as smoke coming out of the funnels.
“It will be a fun evening, and hopefully people will stay over in guesthouses in and around Villiers,” says Hart.
THE CHILDREN ARE VERY CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT’S HAPPENING INSIDE HERE. I ARRIVE IN THE MORNING AND OFTEN ONLY LEAVE AT ABOUT 11PM, HAVING SPENT ALL DAY PLANKING THE DECK, OR MAKING FIGURINES