Eddie Schild of Murray Bridge has been building things all his life and cannot think of anything better than the feeling of accomplishment and sense of pride, when finally sitting in front of another finished project.
Having been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in late 2010, Eddie could not sit idle, he discovered Model Building and took to it, like a fish to water.
Eddie Schild of Murray Bridge proudly sitting behind his first model, the Sovereign of the Seas - a 17th-century warship of the English Navy.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a lifelong condition that can affect the brain and spinal cord, causing a wide range of potential symptoms, including problems with vision, arm or leg movement, sensation or even balance.
Born in Lameroo in 1957 and after leaving school, Eddie found himself working on tractor drawn harvesters for a local Riverland Engineer - until one day, at smoko, he noticed an engineering opportunity being advertised in Port Lincoln. “Yeah, this casual look in the local rag really kindled my sense of adventure and I was off – and I couldn’t wait to start some serious fishing,” Eddie said. Within two weeks, Eddie was a Boiler Maker and Welder in Port Lincoln, close to all the spectacular fishing beaches he had heard about on South Australia’s iconic Eyre Peninsula.
Years later, that sense of adventure raised its head again and Eddie was off to the gold fields of Western Australia, supporting both Gold and Nickel mines with CPC Engineering (CPC) from their new Engineering Shop in Kambalda, about six hundred kilometres east of Perth – this time Eddie settled in for a 25-year stint.
“I started on decent minimum wage of $50 per hour in 1987 and by 2012 I was on $190 per hour, doing night shifts – not bad hey”, Eddie said. “While I was there, Dad and mum sold the farm, and they moved to Port Elliot on the Fleurieu Peninsula, where years later my father passed away.”
“Yeah, unknown to me, it seems my MS stared in about 2010, while I was still with CPC. Looking back, I was finding it hard to walk around the sites in my last couple of years at CPC,” Eddie said. “It was on one of my visits to see Mum, that she noticed my stance and walking had changed – like all Mums, she encouraged me to get it checked-out.”
“I was diagnosed with MS in late 2010 and was in my Gopher by 2014,” Eddie said. “It was during this time that I decided to move back to SA to be closer to family – especially Mum.”
Initially, Eddie found some work and lived in Woolpunda, east of Waikerie in the Riverland, where he designed and revolutionised an exciting new Vine Pruning Machine. “I wished I had patented that idea,” Eddie said.
After a few years, Eddie determined it was time to move to Murray Bridge to be closer to his two brothers and the support of Country Health Connect, but due to their unworkable COVID restrictions in 2020 he decided to move to Genuine Support Services Australia. “How lucky am I, they’re so helpful and caring, my Support Workers are brilliant, they just can’t do enough for me,” Eddie said. “They have been exceptionally helpful and understanding of my passion for Model Building>”
“I’m just lucky I chose GSSA, right place at the right time, they move heaven and earth for me,” Eddie said. “They clean, tidy, make my bed and prepare my evening meals. I may need in-home care and high intensity in the future, but I feel very fortunate to have GSSA on my team.”
Eddie is currently working on his biggest model project yet, a two metre long, 25 kg, RMS Titanic, the infamous British passenger, and mail carrying ocean liner – he is expecting it will take at least twelve to eighteen months to complete.
Eddie’s kit supplier’s image of his RMS Titanic when completed.
“My first model, the Sovereign of the Seas, took four years. It is a 17th-century English warship and was originally commissioned as a 90-gunship, but by the time it was launched it was armed with 102 bronze guns at the insistence of the then king,” Eddie said.
Image of The Battleship, Bismarck, model built by Wolfgang Wurm, like Eddie’s model, which is currently with a close friend, as Eddie prepares his home model-building studio. Image courtesy of the International Maritime Museum, Hamburg.
Years of model building have seen Eddie’s skills develop into much shorter build times. It took Eddie three years to complete a 23 kg scale sized model of the Bismarck-class battleship, like that pictured above. “It took me 18 months to finish my Back to The Future Delorian,” Eddie said. “It’s heavy, it’s about 98% steel and weighs in at least 20 kgs,” Eddie said.
“I’ve got a few projects on the go, I’m also working on a model Ferrari F40, the GT from Maranello was designed for the road, but born for the track, the iconic F40 was created as a celebration of Ferrari's first 40 years in business,” Eddie said. “Modelling is definitely a good mindful activity; it really provides me with a sense of calm and peace.”
Eddie believes that engaging and focusing his mind on a challenging activity such as modelling, has a wonderful therapeutic effect.
Eddie, with his model 1981 DeLorean DMC-12. When he isn’t building his models, he enjoys his regular shopping trips in his trusty Gopher and home-made trailer.
“You often hear about the benefits of focusing your mind on the present in relation to mindfulness, well, model-making can also do just that,” Eddie said. “Time flies and wandering thoughts can waft in and out as you become fully immersed in the detail of your creation.”
“I’ve been offered respite, but I’m just too busy working on my projects – and honestly I really enjoying being in my own home,” Eddie explains. “Life is good, I enjoy my life, every morning I say, if you’ve got another day, you’re going well.”