A superb and entirely hand crafted model of Manchester United's Old Trafford Stadium by the artist Peter Oldfield-Edwards, scaled at approximately 1:2

A superb and entirely hand crafted model of Manchester United's Old Trafford Stadium by the artist Peter Oldfield-Edwards, scaled at approximately 1:220 to measure overall approximately 4 feet square, in a customised display case, the sale price to include transportation and installation of the model by Peter Oldfield-Edwards to any address in the UK, prospective overseas bidders should contact the auctioneer for further details The Old Trafford Model in the words of Peter Oldfield-Edwards Inspiration I wanted to build a model of a stadium that would grace any home, museum or institution; a model that would draw you in and captivate you, a model that would wow the kids and fascinate the parents. When I first visited Old Trafford in 2004 to look into the possibility of building a model of this stadium, I immediately felt inspired to the challenge of creating a work of art that was instantly recognisable as one of the great sporting arenas of the world, and a piece that would be correct to the eye in all its intricate detail. At the same time I wanted put my own interpretation into this piece. I felt excited at the thought and it was something I had an innate desire to do, but where would I start? How the model was made I began researching and studying as many aerial images as I could find, along with my own photographs I had taken during the 2004 visit. I needed to familiarise myself as much as possible with the stadium and also read as much as I could about its history. Then I thought about sizing the piece. I decided to work in 1.220 scale and finalising how much of the surrounding area around the stadium I would need to incorporate. The finished size would be about 4 ft. square, which would be a good workable an practical size by the time it was presented in a display case. The first thing I do with all my models is to put a rough pitch guide in called a prop. This will be replaced later with a finished pitch and surround track. The model is built in sections and is easily dismantled. This allows me to work easily on any part of the model at any time, and on completion also allows the model to be disassembled for transportation. The upper decks and both quadrants come out as does each roof. Every part of the stadium comes apart in sections so that all is left is the base with its pinewood surround. I started with the inside of the stadium first building the South Stand terrace up to executive box level, and continued this all the way around the stadium finishing in the south west corner, incorporating the players tunnel area in the south-west corner, disabled area in the south-east corner and dugouts on halfway. This is the base for the whole stadium and has to be absolutely correct to guarantee success and is a highly involved process. I calculated the degree of angle for each section of terrace. The South Stand in fact has three different degrees of angle which all conjoin on one level. Being Old Trafford's main stand it houses all the privileged seating and hospitality areas. The other three sides of the stadium and the four corners only have two degrees of angle. The seats were carved in blocks. With the bowl of the stadium now in place I could then built the North, East and West upper decks and their supports, and furnished them with seating before adding both quadrant terraces with their respective seating. The next task was to cut all the vomitory passages, these are all the entry and exit points for spectator seating throughout the stadium. I then painted all the seats in a high gloss enamel paint. Work could now begin on forming the stadium's perimeter and surroundings. Because Old Trafford was redeveloped in stages, each side of the ground is remarkably different from the outside and has very little uniformity. Gradually I created the outside walls and columns from balsa wood, leaving the first level of detail till later. Once proportioned, I started thinking about the land surrounding the stadium. This is built in one piece using a wooden frame, carved to the camber of the land, with a separate section behind the South Stand to incorporate the railway and platform area. Both these sections are screwed down to the base, and mounting card is then used to cover the entire frame. Next I started putting in the first layer of detail to the back of the stands starting with the North Stand. Plastic sheets are corrugated and etched by a scalpel, cut to size and fitted, then painted. This is repeated all around the stadium. I then installed the finished pitch which is fabric-based and mounted on balsa wood platform. The goal posts are removable and the nets are made from a very fine nylon mesh. It was now time for the roof structures, which required lots of experimentation to get right. I wanted to stay clear of the simpler method of photo-etching so as to maintain the complete hand-built integrity of the work. The model has five separate roofs and all use a cantilever design, which means they all have to support themselves individually. I started with the North Stand and used a clear Perspex for the general surface area while achieving the corrugated effect with a scalpel and then painted the non-clear sections. A plastic coated wire was used for the basic cantilever structure, using cotton threads as guide lines. I then strengthened this structure with diagonal rods made of nylon and cut precisely to size and glued into place. The East, West and Quadrant roofs were made in a similar way but using different diameter rods. The South roof proved the hardest to make because the cantilever structure was a lot smaller in diameter. I had to use brass rods supported with plastic diagonals again cut precisely to size and glued. Using tweezers, over 700 individual pieces were installed on this one roof! In fact the stadium's entire roof structure would take in excess of 350 man hours to complete. Next I cut and installed Old Trafford's vomitories, all 111 of them. These are made from 1mm. plastic and all cut using a scalpel. Fascia boards were then printed and positioned. I then sculpted the railway lines using modelling clay and formed the station platform and grass bank behind the South Stand. The canal behind the North Stand is made from 6mm. glass with clay used again to shape the banks. Then the turnstiles were printed and cut in. In fact it required another visit to Old Trafford to take some photographs of all the turnstiles and outbuilding detail. All the turnstiles in this model have the correct signage printed, although the scaling is minute and takes a keen eye to read them. There are also turnstiles housed under the North, West and Quadrant areas employing the same high level of detail. Then all the glass paneling is made for the East Stand and Quadrant areas. These panels are removable. With all the main features now made and fitted, it would take me several months to add all the fine, finishing details such as outbuilding, roads, bridge, tarmac areas, trees and foliage, car parks, signage and other miscellaneous detailing. Even the vehicles are hand made and painted. With the sole exceptions of the human and canine figures, the model has been constructed entirely by my own hands. Materials used A wide range of materials has been used to build this piece. Hardwoods like balsa, which is lightweight, versatile and easy to work, have been used for the main structure. Plastics were used in many forms, including 2mm. clear thick sheets for the roof, and 0.5mm. to 1mm. used in a lot of finishing surfaces. A range of nylon and brass rods of varying diameters have been used for the cantilever structures. Decoration has been achieved with both water and oil base paints. Time scale Although started in 2004, the project had to be mothballed temporarily while Old Trafford was being redeveloped further with additions of the East and West Quadrants. Most of this model was built between June 2008 and September 2009. Around 3,000 man hours have been spent on this piece. Conclusion The Old Trafford model is a hugely complex piece of art and has challenged me in so many different ways I can't begin to communicate it fully. It's the best model I have built in my career to date. It is the only fully detailed scale model of Old Trafford in the world and I will never repeat it. I have found this project to be a massive learning curve. I am enormously proud of the finished piece and of the degree of workmanship which is true to the standards I had set myself from the outset of the project. Although naturally a part of me doesn't want to let it go, I of course look forward with great anticipation to personally installing the model in its new home. Peter Oldfield-Edwards September 2009.