‘ Chips , Snips & Burnt Fingertips ’ Mark Turner ’ s Unique Vintage Aircraft Models are Stunning Works of Art
Story and Photos by Staci Elder HENSLEY
It ’ s a rare thing when an artist can claim that no one else does what they do . Mark Turner , however , is one artist who can do just that . Through long years of trial and error , he ’ s developed a method of creating exquisite one-of-a-kind models of vintage military aircraft . It ’ s an intensely time-consuming hobby , but one that results in works of art that are true conversation pieces .
Turner ’ s love of building airplanes began at the age of 9 , when he received a plastic model airplane kit during a Christmas gift exchange at Jefferson Elementary School . That first kit was all it took , and Turner has been building model airplanes ever since .
Eventually , though , he became bored with traditional model kits and began experimenting on his own designs .
Over the next two decades , while raising a family and working full time , Turner slowly began developing and perfecting his own individual technique , utilizing stiffened copper wiring , old computer chips and thousands of electronic resistors , which are individually sautered into place . He uses scale model plans normally designed for balsa wood aircraft as a basic reference and then adapts them as needed .
“ Basically , it ’ s chips , snips and burnt fingertips !” he laughed .
Given that each plane can take up to several hundred hours to complete , that ’ s a lot of burnt fingers , but for Turner it ’ s well worth it to have created a unique form of art that , to the best of his knowledge , no one else is doing .
“ People say that this takes patience , but I say no , it takes passion ,” Turner said . “ I don ’ t have a lot of patience , but I do have a lot of passion .
“ The process is my psychic fortress of solitude , so to speak , where I can lose myself in my craft ,” he added .
The beginning of Turner ’ s creative journey started at the Moore-Norman Technology Center in the late 1980s , where he had enrolled after becoming bored with working in construction . “ There was a public event , and we all made small creations out of computer chips and wire to show what we were doing , mostly caterpillar-like things ,” Turner said . “ I said , ‘ I can make
“ I do sell them , and they ’ re not cheap because of the time and materials involved , but for me it ’ s more about making them than selling ,” he said . “ The bugs , for instance , I give away all the time . I think it ’ s better to make friends than to make money .”
12 NormanMagazine . com | JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2022