Eight years of his life gone up in smoke.
Richard Plaud, who spent 4,200 hours attempting to set the record for the world's tallest matchstick Eiffel Tower, saw his performance invalidated by British Guinness
Book
judges .
At issue: his choice of matches.
“The matches used to make the Eiffel Tower had to be purchased commercially, with their flammable part which had to be removed by scratching it, without cutting it
,” explains this model maker based in Charente-Maritime to our colleagues from
20 Minutes
.
To save time, Richard Plaud preferred to obtain supplies directly from a French manufacturer of matches, which were delivered to him in 15-kilogram boxes, and without red sulfur tips.
706,900 matches
“It’s disappointing, frustrating, incomprehensible and not very fair play
,” he also denounced, distressed, to
Le Parisien
.
“(The judges) considered that these matches were not marketable as they were.
“It’s a part of the dream that is slipping away
,” also commented the forty-year-old, who had assembled no less than 706,900 matches.
And he confided:
“This subtlety was mentioned in the specifications, but I only consulted it last October, because I waited until the final stretch to apply for Guinness World Records.
And yes, I read it correctly.
Despite everything, I remained confident
,” says the man from Poitou.
The model maker's work was admired by 4,000 people in Saujon (Charente-Maritime) last month.
An influx that pushes Richard Plaud not to lose hope.
He even wants to file an appeal.
“But judges are not required to answer them.
Their decision is final and without appeal.”
The record is therefore still held by a Lebanese, who managed to have a 6.53 meter high Eiffel Tower validated.
That of Richard Plaud measured 7.19 meters high, according to an expert surveyor.