Model car builder Stan Ziegler

Stan Ziegler likes to say the one-eighth scale 1932 Rolls Royce he built is the Cadillac of car models.

“They’re super detailed,” he says. “That’s the kind of stuff I really like. The more intricate the model, the better it is for me.”

The 62-year-old has been building model cars since he was 10 years old, a hobby that led to his career as an automotive technician at Fischer’s Foreign Cars in Peninsula. On disability retirement for the past two years, he now devotes a lot of time to meticulously crafting miniature cars, boats, helicopters and more.

At Fischer’s, Ziegler loved taking on the toughest problems. “I’m the last resort guy,” he says. “I never, ever had a car I could not figure out.”

He applies that same diligence to his models. When he’s not at his craft table in his Akron living room, you might find Ziegler at the Blue Door Cafe & Bakery in Cuyahoga Falls, where he does maintenance for Owner Michael Bruno — whom he met while fixing his Porsche 911 at Fischer’s. We chat with Ziegler about his biggest build, veering from the instruction manual and pie baking.

What sparked your interest in model cars?

SZ: I was bored most of the summer, and we didn’t have much money, so I would cut grass for my neighbors, make a few dollars and then go down to the toy store and buy some models.

How many models have you built?

SZ: Maybe 7,000.

How does your wife feel about you building models in the living room?

SZ: My house is clean, but my model table is unkempt. [Sylvia] loves it — it keeps me out of her hair.

How did you meet Sylvia?

SZ: We had a youth group that met at the Norton [Apostolic Christian] church. She felt attracted to me. I spent a lot of time at home taking care of my mom, and she said that’s the kind of man I want. She asked for me [to marry her]. You have to go through the ministers, and they set up a time to meet and do the proposing for you. I was astonished and humbled.

What’s the largest model you ever built?

SZ: The Space Shuttle [Challenger]. It says on the box it’s the largest plastic model kit ever created. It’s over 4 feet tall, and I built it on its mobile launchpad and made a searchlight. I used flashlights wired to a switch and crisscrossed them so the light would go across the front of it, just like it showed in Time magazine.

What are you working on now?

SZ: A Mississippi riverboat, the Robert E. Lee. It’s a wooden kit. I’ve never built anything like this. You have to plank the decks with real planking, measure them, cut them, glue them down. It’s really a pain in the butt, but it looks like a real boat. The instructions are in Italian. I can’t read Italian, but I can read specs.

Have you ever not finished a model?

SZ: A regular model kit will take about a week. I get an attitude sometimes about how long this has taken me, take a break and walk away from it. But then, that’s what I did at the shop if I had a car I couldn’t figure out. Go do something else, come back to it, and finally I’ll get the answer.

Do you ever modify the kits?

SZ: I never follow the kits anymore. I build them how I want to make them. I found a French bus model, and I thought, I can make a British double-decker if I had two. So I got two, painted it red, handmade the rear steps and flashing. I found a bunch of British-themed stickers about the right scale, so I put those on the side.

What else do you enjoy doing?

SZ: I like to be outdoors a lot, to do yardwork and plant a garden.

What’s your favoritething from the garden?

SZ: About 18 years ago, I planted an elderberry bush in my backyard, and now this thing is 20 feet tall and 35 feet across. I get an abundance of elderberries every year, and I love elderberry pie. A friend from church taught me how to make it, so now I know how to pick them, clean them, freeze them and make elderberry pie whenever I want.

Which model is up next?

SZ: An aircraft carrier, about 4 feet long. It’s probably a 30-year-old kit. I have so many in the basement. It’s hard to make a decision.

How do you feel when you finish a model?

SZ: Thank goodness that’s done! But I enjoyed doing it so much, I hate to have it done. I think, What can I build next that’s even more fun?