Redondo Beach man continues quest to build perfect Pan Am Boeing 747 model
Redondo Beach resident Anthony Toth has built a replica of a Pan Am 747 in a City of Industry warehouse. Initially he had a smaller version of this in his garage, but he outgrew the space. After collecting parts, supplies and memorabillia for over 20 years Anthony has replicated the interior first class cabin, clipper cabin and upper lounge of a Pan Am 747. File photo. Jan. 12, 2013. (Stephen Carr / Staff Photographer) By Brian Sumers, Daily Breeze
POSTED: 02/24/14, 8:25 PM PST |
Anthony Toth's replica of the Pan Am 747 cockpit. (Submitted photo)
It was a year ago, and Redondo Beach resident Anthony Toth was seemingly putting the finishing touches on his life’s dream.
He had rented a warehouse in the City of Industry, hired a contractor, spent more than $100,000 of his savings and built an exact replica of a large chunk of a Pan American World Airways Boeing 747.
He had rented a warehouse in the City of Industry, hired a contractor, spent more than $100,000 of his savings and built an exact replica of a large chunk of a Pan American World Airways Boeing 747.
Yes, a 747. The man dreams big.
From the outside, it didn’t look like much. But inside, it was perfect. In addition to an upper deck lounge with tables and yellow and orange chairs, Toth had a first-class section, complete with 18 seats, along with 26 powder blue seats in what the airline called Clipper Class, a premium economy-class section. And Toth had all the soft goods — the branded napkins, the drink stirrers, the headphones, the glassware — to go with it.
Twenty-five years ago, a few years before Pan Am folded, Toth had made nightly trips to an airline warehouse filled with the stuff, loading his Honda Civic with forgotten Pan Am-branded loot in the hope that he would someday re-create his favorite airplane.
Now he had achieved it. Former Pan Am flight attendants would marvel at his attention to detail. Sometimes, a few would come by and serve dinner to Toth and guests. The cabin was so familiar they knew what to do, remembering exactly how they served from the carts.
“It was just like the old days,” a former Pan Am flight attendant said after one dinner party.
Some people might have stopped there. They might have said that $100,000 was enough. They might have simply basked in the attention that comes with building a model of such impressive proportions. (Just about every television station in Los Angeles did a story on him last year.)
Not Toth.
Since he was last profiled a year ago by the Los Angeles News Group, Toth has been a busy man. He spent $6,000 on a cockpit, then took a week off work and spent another several thousand dollars hiring crews to transport and install it. While continuing to work as an executive at United Airlines, Toth also started renting out his aircraft interior for photo, film and television shoots.
The highlight of the past year? It might have been a one-week shoot by Playboy. There were a dozen naked women hanging out on board for seven days. “It was a shocking week for me,” he said.
Or it might have been a call from the AMC television show, “Mad Men.” He’s not allowed to say much about what he provided the show — that could give away a plot point for the notoriously secret program — but he was asked to provide specific props from a certain time period.
Whatever he gave “Mad Men” would have to be accurate. No corners could be cut.
“They want everything to be validated,” Toth said. “They are true to their craft. They re-create vintage aviation in the way I want it to be recreated.”
Toth now partners with Air Hollywood, a Pacoima company devoted to providing aviation props and sets to movie and television studios. He is considering moving his plane to the Air Hollywood headquarters, a switch that, while logistically difficult, would solve two main problems. For one, it could resolve tension at his city of Industry warehouse, where his neighbors sometimes seem puzzled about the catering trucks and other trailers that set up in the parking lot. For another, it would give him enough room to build a full 747 — nose to tail.
“If I want to play in this space,” he said, “I’m going to need a bigger airplane.”
In the past year, he has also had better luck renting out his ample collection of flight attendant uniforms. They include duds from a bunch of carriers, including Eastern Airlines, TWA, Braniff, Pan Am and British Airways. Renting uniforms is good for Toth’s bottom line, as acquisition costs are considerable.
A Pan Am uniform hat? That runs $700 to $800, he says. A Pan Am uniform? Toth says he recently bought two — for $1,000 apiece.
The uniforms are particularly tough to find. Pan Am was a special job for most of the flight attendants who worked there in the 1960s and ’70s.
“These are women in their 60s and 70s,” he said. “They don’t want to let go of them.”
From the outside, it didn’t look like much. But inside, it was perfect. In addition to an upper deck lounge with tables and yellow and orange chairs, Toth had a first-class section, complete with 18 seats, along with 26 powder blue seats in what the airline called Clipper Class, a premium economy-class section. And Toth had all the soft goods — the branded napkins, the drink stirrers, the headphones, the glassware — to go with it.
Twenty-five years ago, a few years before Pan Am folded, Toth had made nightly trips to an airline warehouse filled with the stuff, loading his Honda Civic with forgotten Pan Am-branded loot in the hope that he would someday re-create his favorite airplane.
Now he had achieved it. Former Pan Am flight attendants would marvel at his attention to detail. Sometimes, a few would come by and serve dinner to Toth and guests. The cabin was so familiar they knew what to do, remembering exactly how they served from the carts.
“It was just like the old days,” a former Pan Am flight attendant said after one dinner party.
Some people might have stopped there. They might have said that $100,000 was enough. They might have simply basked in the attention that comes with building a model of such impressive proportions. (Just about every television station in Los Angeles did a story on him last year.)
Not Toth.
Since he was last profiled a year ago by the Los Angeles News Group, Toth has been a busy man. He spent $6,000 on a cockpit, then took a week off work and spent another several thousand dollars hiring crews to transport and install it. While continuing to work as an executive at United Airlines, Toth also started renting out his aircraft interior for photo, film and television shoots.
The highlight of the past year? It might have been a one-week shoot by Playboy. There were a dozen naked women hanging out on board for seven days. “It was a shocking week for me,” he said.
Or it might have been a call from the AMC television show, “Mad Men.” He’s not allowed to say much about what he provided the show — that could give away a plot point for the notoriously secret program — but he was asked to provide specific props from a certain time period.
Whatever he gave “Mad Men” would have to be accurate. No corners could be cut.
“They want everything to be validated,” Toth said. “They are true to their craft. They re-create vintage aviation in the way I want it to be recreated.”
Toth now partners with Air Hollywood, a Pacoima company devoted to providing aviation props and sets to movie and television studios. He is considering moving his plane to the Air Hollywood headquarters, a switch that, while logistically difficult, would solve two main problems. For one, it could resolve tension at his city of Industry warehouse, where his neighbors sometimes seem puzzled about the catering trucks and other trailers that set up in the parking lot. For another, it would give him enough room to build a full 747 — nose to tail.
“If I want to play in this space,” he said, “I’m going to need a bigger airplane.”
In the past year, he has also had better luck renting out his ample collection of flight attendant uniforms. They include duds from a bunch of carriers, including Eastern Airlines, TWA, Braniff, Pan Am and British Airways. Renting uniforms is good for Toth’s bottom line, as acquisition costs are considerable.
A Pan Am uniform hat? That runs $700 to $800, he says. A Pan Am uniform? Toth says he recently bought two — for $1,000 apiece.
The uniforms are particularly tough to find. Pan Am was a special job for most of the flight attendants who worked there in the 1960s and ’70s.
“These are women in their 60s and 70s,” he said. “They don’t want to let go of them.”
Among many other things, I'm pretty sure the 747 doesn't have the "eyebrow" windows above the main wrap around windows, nor does it have a square glass panel on the centerline. Just grabbed any ole cockpit photo off the net?
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