Small wonder

The first time Nikhil Shah 55 came across a miniature car was in 1988 when it came as a freebie with a bottle of Ferrari perfume Somebody sourced it from Dubai and wanted to sell the perfume to me It wasnt the scent that caught Shahs attention but the bitesized automobile So the man sold the perfume to somebody else and agreed to give me the car he laughsAt the time Shah owned a curios shop in South Mumbai When one of his clients saw the car he insisted that Shah should source scale models because there were sure to be collectors whod be interestedShahs Flora Fountain shop Miniature Model Zone stocks vintage and modern cars model aircrafts construction sets and electric trains A majority of his clients are male and aged 45 to 65 Landing a diecast model car is a hot pursuit among automobile aficionados he tells us All Shah has to do is broadcast the message of a new arrival on WhatsApp and he has enthusiasts making a beeline Collecting can actually be an expensive hobby which explains the demographic of his clientele Prices range from R1200 to R50000 and in some cases could go up to Rs 100000 depending on the scale and the manufacturer Although business has slowed down during the lockdown the organicallyearned fan base has helped keep the venture insulated from the economic slowdown That said logistics and delivery are a concern given that they are dealing in fragile items A model changes at least eight hands before it reaches the customer so we ensure its tightly encasedA 1961 Volkswagen Beetle SaloonShah thinks people dont mind spending big bucks because it is about fulfilling a childhood passion They are products of real craftsmanshipThe process of creating a model is laborious and detailed Shah says companies like Rolls Royce and Lamborghini invite select manufacturers to come and take thousands of pictures of the original car and measurements by hand The designers then work on scaling down the dimensions while retaining the details of the original automobile They create a mould and then build assemble and finetune each of the component parts Shah explains The original brand is fastidious to a fault when it comes to accuracy of replicating a miniature model because their reputation is at stakeRoutemaster RM a frontengined doubledecker bus built in 1954 in LondonAccording to him the easiest way to categorise model vehicles is by their scale size It could be as large as 112 to as small as 1160 the higher the ratio the smaller the car Lets say its 112 scale means that the model car is exactly 12 times smaller than the actual model Presently the bulk of manufacturing of scale models takes place in the Netherlands Germany Italy China Vietnam and Bangkok Among the models at Shahs store its the cars that are highest sellingA 1973 MercedesBenz Stritch and CoupeShahs first brush was with Italian brand Bburago which makes a variety of modern and classic Ferraris He is currently the official distributor for Macaubased Sun Star Models Development Ltd which manufactures diecast models in the 112 118 124 scales To be honest we knew very little about this business when we started out because it was so niche in India This is not the case abroad In America over six billion Hot Wheels cars have been produced since 1968 In the west the trade is supported by passionate collectors from USA Europe and Australia who engage in active dialogue on various forums That India lacks a manufacturing culture by auto brands means he is miles behind his colleagues in other countries A friend in Hong Kong who started the same business in 1990 has a scale model inventory of Rs 10 crore and runs five factories where she manufactures models Im still retailing a handful of carsNikhil ShahThe next generation is unlikely to carry on the passion according to him They prefer video games Even my own sons arent interested His family thinks it was a looney career move to deal in scale models but he has no regretsContact nikhilshah64gmailcomKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news