Gino’s passion helps him set sail

Africa’s largest and the world’s fifth largest scale model of the Titanic, Tintanic, docks in Germiston.

“I was 12 when I first heard the name Titanic and it was like wind hitting me, it was my ‘aha’ moment and I knew this was what I was going to do for the rest of my life.”

These are the passionate words of Gino Hart, creator of Tintanic, Africa’s largest and the world’s fifth largest scale model of the Titanic, which is currently on display at Beer and Co in Germiston.

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Gino sat down with the GCN on Wednesday to speak about his creation, what she means to him and where their journey together has taken and will take him.

“Tintanic, so named because she is mainly built out of tin.

“This is something that people either overlook assuming it is a spelling error or get the play on words right away,” said Gino.

“Mostly it is done for copyright purposes for me as the artist but also her name distinguishes her from other Titanic models all around the world.”

Tintanic is Africa’s largest and the world’s fifth largest scale model of the Titanic.

Gino further explained that in 2012 alone he believed that over 3 000 books were published on the topic of Titanic and this name was his way of making himself and his model stand out above everything else.

“Now she can be recognised easily all over the world, as well as online and also the name shows that this is not a Titanic replica but rather an original Titanic model with her own character,” Gino said.

This project has been a lifetime in the making.

“I began building prototype models when I was 14 years old and then would take them to the Vaal Dam where I would sink them.

“Because how else do you get rid of a Titanic model but to sink it,” he joked.

He did this because he wanted to understand the layout of the ship and how the water had filled each compartment as the Titanic sank.

“Each model I built I got closer to the original design,” said Gino.

His model building became very quiet when Gino moved from the Free State and worked in advertising for seven years, but he always knew it was his passion.

“When the company I was working for closed down I found myself without a job and thought to myself it is now or never. I can go look for another job in advertising, which truthfully I didn’t want to do, or I can give my all to creating Tintanic,” he said.

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He decided to follow his dream.

“I used the skills I had learnt in selling advertising and applied it to finding sponsorship to build my model.

“My first stop was a company in Germiston which supplied the tin,” Gino said.

It took three years to bring the Tintanic to life because unlike the majority of scale models in the world, it is not a hollow shell.

Gino’s is the only model in the world to feature rooms on the inside, on every one of the nine decks.

“The three years of construction were some of the hardest of my life, being unemployed, not knowing whether people would understand or be accepting of Tintanic or would South Africans take it seriously as a piece of art,” said Gino.

But they did and Tintanic has already been exhibited at malls in Heidelberg, Brakpan and Benoni and will move to malls in the north of Johannesburg once it finishes its residence in Germiston at the end of August.

After which Gino is taking the exhibit to KwaZulu-Natal and Cape Town.

“This experience has been thrilling and rewarding.

“I cannot tell you how many Titanic enthusiasts I have met, child enthusiasts, who without this model may never have been able to connect with other enthusiasts.

“Now we have a club, the Tin Club, and we can correspond with other Titanic and Tintanic admirers, see collections and share information,” he said.

This is not the only door the Tintanic has opened for Gino who had the opportunity to be the leading historian for the 2015/2016 Titanic artefact exhibition in South Africa.

The exhibition included 144 genuine artefacts from the ship and saw him leading tours every hour for eight months, retelling the history of the ship to 25 000 visitors.

“I got the opportunity because of Tintanic.

“Even something as simple as coming here to Germiston and being able to go to the SAA Museum, which I’ve always wanted to do, has been made possible by Tintanic,” he said.

Gino feels that the success of the Tintanic has proven that he can do anything he puts his mind to and can offer encouragement to others that no dream is out of reach.

Gino hopes to travel the world with his beloved Tintanic before retiring her at the Titanic Museum in Belfast, Ireland.

“It is going to be a long journey, one where I will be adding to the Tintanic all the time,” he explained with a smile.

Visit www.tintanicmodelship.weebly.com for more information and membership of the Tin Club, or contact Gino on tintanicmodelship@gmail.com.

Have a story?

Contact the newsroom by emailing: Melissa Hart (Editor) germistoncitynews@caxton.co.za or Leigh Hodgson (News Editor) leighh@caxton.co.za or Kgotsofalang Mashilo (journalist) kgotsofalangm@caxton.co.za

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