Patent ID: 7028965

Claim:
An apparatus for retaining model structural members in position during construction of a model structure, comprising: a base member having a plurality of recesses therein; and at least one one-piece retainer having an integrally connected peg, flange, lobe and handle, said peg having a first transverse dimension complementally sized with said recesses for removable receipt therein, said flange having a second transverse dimension greater than the first transverse dimension and sized for holding a model structural member between the base member and the flange, said lobe positioned between the flange and the peg, said lobe having a greater cross-sectional area than the peg to resist entry into a recess of the base member and having a transverse dimension which is smaller than the second transverse dimension of the flange whereby a model structural member may be held between the flange and the base member by the retainer, and said handle extending from the flange opposite said peg, wherein said peg is sized and configured for pivoting within said recesses and for frictional engagement with the base member surrounding said recesses, said retainer being formed as a unitary member whereby turning of the handle causes the retainer to pivot about the peg as a whole when the peg is received within one of said recesses and the frictional engagement with the base member resists such pivoting when the handle is not turned; said apparatus further including at least one model structural member having a thickness, said engagement surface of said lobe having a height between the flange and the peg substantially corresponding to the thickness of the model structural member.