Tributes to a model father
A MODELMAKER whose meticulous craftsmanship earned him international repute and permanent exhibits in world-leading museums has died aged 76.
Anthony Tyrer, known as Tony, lost his battle with cancer last Tuesday.
His daughter, Michelle Tyrer, of Charles Road, paid tribute to a "brilliant, clever man," who always made time for his family and friends.
Working from his garage in Denham Close, Tony handcrafted fire engines and other heavy mechanised vehicles to exact scales, complete with working parts powered by compressed air.
What began as a hobby became his occupation after his first model sold well at Christie's auction house. Later pieces, which took up to eight years to produce, would set new records for engineering models sold at the London auctioneers.
Born in Ruislip, Tony began his engineering work in London, producing master versions for mass-production runs by Scale Model Technical Services before moving to Hastings in 1969.
His work quickly achieved recognition, and was picked up by The Science Museum as well as others as far away as New York. Attention to detail was his signature trait – his lamps had candles in and his bells were given bell-pulls.
Despite failing vision, he kept working until his death.
Michelle said: "Every piece of his work was exact and precise. In the mechanical engineering world he was recognised as outstanding. There was a very talented man living in the midst of this town. He had creative genius and loved making things.
"He would happily stop working and knock up a jigsaw puzzle on his bandsaw. He shared his skills.
"People these days don't develop those skills, much of it is digital now. A lot of the technology came too late for my dad."
Anthony Tyrer leaves a daughter and two grandaughters. His funeral is on Wednesday, at 11am.
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Weather for Hastings
Monday 28 May 2012
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