This week marks the second month in a row that Randal Strong-Wallace has an exhibit opening featuring his model roller coasters. “Project 31: The Roller Coasters of Worlds of Fun,” opened Wednesday, June 1, at Union Station. The exhibit is free and will be displayed at Union Station until Aug. 11. It will be open during normal Union Station hours, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
The exhibit features hand-built working models of all five coasters that were at Worlds of Fun in 1980 (31 years ago, hence the Project 31 title). The five coasters are: the Orient Express, Screamroller, Schussboomer, Zambezi Zinger and even the park’s kiddy coaster, the Silly Serpent. The scale models are 1:48 scale, which is the same scale as Lionel trains.
In addition to the models, there are historic photographs of the coasters; an actual wheel from the Orient Express; an original 1980 park map and copies of the original blue prints for the Zambezi Zinger.
Strong-Wallace, a member of Congregation Beth Shalom, has been making roller coaster models since he was a young boy, and working models since 1990. The exhibit is dedicated to his late grandmother, Thelma, who took him to Worlds of Fun for the first time in 1979 when he was 11 years old. They made the trip from Wichita, Kan., where they both lived.
He explained his grandmother is also responsible for his interest in building roller coasters.
“She was attempting to make me a roller coaster cake for my birthday when I was in fifth grade, long before any of these cake building shows were popular. She made a coaster car out of construction paper, but it didn’t work for the cake. I found it and asked if I could keep it,” Strong-Wallace said.
Then he built a paper track and structure to go along with the car and played with it for hours.
“I kept making paper and balsa wood models throughout my teen years,” he said.
Besides the local exhibits, people can see his creations on his website, www.modelcoasters.com.
“A few years ago I decided to put a model coaster I had just finished, ‘The Flash,’ on YouTube. It became quite popular. Then the questions came, like ‘How did you build your model?’ and ‘What materials do you use?’ So late last year I started the website to provide info regarding my creations,” Strong Wallace said.
On the website you will find a photo gallery of his models and links to You Tube videos. Soon he hopes to implement a ‘how to build a model section,’ which will include video tutorials and resources for supplies.
The Project 31 exhibit debuted early last month at the Blue Djinn Gallery in Kansas City’s West Bottoms. It happened almost by accident, Wallace-Strong said.
“I had wanted to have an open house so my friends could see the roller coasters,” he said. “But I thought there would be too many people for my house and for my neighborhood.”
He thought it would be nice to make arrangements to have a First Friday exhibit in the Crossroads district. But that was easier said than done.
With no exhibit space secured, Strong-Wallace just continued his daily activities. While he was shopping at Doc’s Caboose — a local model train store he frequented — he started a casual conversation with the store’s owner, Doc Snyder. Snyder just happens to also own the Blue Djinn Gallery in the same building. Coincidentally, an artist had just cancelled an exhibit at the gallery, so there was a spot for Strong-Wallace. Even better, the space was offered free of charge.
“I owe Doc Snyder a huge thank you for providing a special place to kick off the Project 31 exhibit in Kansas City,” Strong-Wallace said.
The Union Station exhibit also happened by accident. Tony Cook, Union Station’s marketing and public relations manager, learned about the Blue Djinn Gallery from Snyder. He invited Strong-Wallace to move the exhibit to Union Station for June and July. Strong-Wallace jumped at the opportunity.
“I wasn’t looking forward to taking the models home and Union Station is a great place for people to see them,” Strong-Wallace said.
The first exhibit was greeted with great enthusiasm.
“Doc doesn’t have exact records, but we know we had 100 to 150 the first night. He believes that’s either the biggest or second biggest opening the gallery has ever had,” Strong-Wallace said. “I thought I’d know just about everyone who came, but I only knew about half of the people. The others read about it in the Star or The Chronicle.”
Strong-Wallace spent every Saturday during the exhibit at the Blue Djinn Gallery. He enjoyed meeting the people and said “it was a blast” discussing his roller coasters and answering the visitor’s questions.
When the exhibit leaves Union Station, it will be on display one more time this summer at Worlds of Fun. The one-day exhibit is Aug. 13 during Coaster Mayhem. The exhibit time has not yet been announced.
“I never dreamed this hobby would get to be so big,” Strong-Wallace said.
Strong-Wallace builds the models strictly as a hobby and he never imagined in his wildest dreams he would have public exhibits.
“My website is for fun and to showcase my models. I don’t build models for anyone else. I think it would take some of the fun out of my hobby.”
He won’t go as far to say he’d never build models for anyone else. But he’s still happy to build them for his own enjoyment.
And yes, he still loves Worlds of Fun, the park that’s the backdrop for this exhibit.
“I am a season pass holder and I go an average of twice a week,” he said.