A Coventry man who recreates iconic sporting venues out of toothpicks has unveiled his latest model – and it’s a little closer to home.
Shaminder Singh, 34, from Wyken , has created a miniature version of the Ricoh Arena using 45,000 toothpicks. Shaminder has hit the headlines in the past for his bold reconstructions of Wimbledon’s Centre Court, Old Trafford and a cricket stadium. Impressed by what he saw, Lord Mayor of Coventry , Councillor Tony Skipper, approached Shaminder last year to ask if he would recreate the Ricoh Arena in time for the Lord Mayor’s Charity Fundraising Dinner. Shaminder duly obliged, and even took time off work to complete the project in time to present it to Cllr Skipper at the event, which was also held at the Ricoh Arena. The model will raise money for Zoe’s Place Baby Hospice , which is also a charity partner of Wasps.
“I drive past the Ricoh Arena every day on my way to work and I think it’s a beautiful stadium. "I’m a keen sportsman, so I was more than happy to make this model,” said Shaminder.
“The time-consuming part when creating models such as these is getting the shape of the building as accurate as possible, as I had to study satellite images in great detail and cut each toothpick to various lengths to achieve this.
“I’m hoping to make more models in the future which can be auctioned off for charity – including the reproduction of some prestigious cars.” Shaminder also received support during the build from Sikh Union Coventry, Coventry Mercia Lions Club and Coventry City Council .
The miniature Ricoh Arena model now resides at the real-life Ricoh Arena for visitors to admire after the Lord Mayor decided to donate the model to Nick Eastwood, the chief executive of Ricoh Arena and Wasps .
