When Martin Foster was eight-years old, he went to the local funfair and took a ride on the ghost train. The experience left such an impression on him that he immediately rushed home and started to build his own replica out of a cardboard box. Martin revealed: "It was my first model and the fascination of seeing things I'm interested in and turning them into models has stayed with me all my life - even more so now that I'm older. I'm pleased to announce that I've moved on from cardboard boxes to building display aircraft models. "I've always had a passion for the B-17 Flying Fortress, so in 2011 I decided to build a 1:20 scale model of the front section of the B-17G Fuddy Duddy, showing as much of the interior detail as possible. Somehow I knew that I wouldn't stop there, and so continued building the rest of the fuselage and, ten years down the line, I'm just finishing the tail section. "I'm building this model in four sections and will eventually join them all together to represent the entire fuselage, which will be 3ft 8in long. I must be mad! Being an 'old-school' modeller, I've built it using simple material such as balsa wood, plastic card, wire, bits of aluminium and anything I have lying around that fits the bill. There are no CAD programmes or special tools here, just my Mk 1 eyeball! "This ongoing project has become a big part of my life over the years, as I have almost had to live, eat and sleep my way through staring at thousands of reference photos. There have been many highs, such as detailing the cockpit, and many lows, such as trying to accurately replicate the complicated ball turret, but I have to say that it has been the most exciting, challenging and enjoyable project I have ever done. Alongside the cardboard ghost train, of course."
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