When Andy Davis donated his most favourite toy, Woody, after a little hesitation, to little Bonnie at the end of Toy Story 3 , even some self-proclaimed machos silently wept in cinema halls. The tears were a testament to the value that even a little piece of plastic can possess. Toys, even for grown-ups, might mean something. They could, for instance, kindle within, bitter-sweet memories of childhood.
Aditya Menon, 37, lingers on memories of his childhood while talking about his first-ever car model — a long Chevrolet police vehicle. “I must have been around three or four. At that age, I had a room full of cars and they would be lying around, I would be playing and living with them.”
Karnataka Bengaluru 13/10/2019 Miniature Car Model Collecters with their favourite models , Pic to go with Metro Plus Report. Photo: Sampath Kumar G P /The Hindu
Like Andy in Toy Story , Aditya, too, grew out of his toys. “I lost touch with them, moved into sports. Then, TV came along.” But he did not part with his cars and adds that some 12 or 13 years ago he revisited his toys. Ever since, he has not put them away and now has about 300 cars.
Aditya found fellow admirers of model cars and discovered the Beantown Car Model Collectors Club last year. What is Beantown in the world of cars? “Oh, the name has nothing to do with cars,” chuckles Aditya. “We are all from Bengaluru, which is known for coffee. So, coffee beans... Beantown.”
The group has 19 members, including a teenager and a sexagenarian, while most others are office goers. And, they are all serious about their little cars. Even if they are ridiculed for it.
Karnataka Bengaluru 13/10/2019 , Pic to go with Metro Plus Report. Photo: Sampath Kumar G P /The Hindu
Mukul Gondi, 25, an MBA student, says two children at a toy store laughed at him. “You still buy these cars?” they giggled. He says, “Initially, people do make fun of this hobby. But understand when they see our collection.”
Mukul owns a little over 500 models of the group aggregate of about 15,000.
Karnataka Bengaluru 13/10/2019 Miniature Car Model Collections , Pic to go with Metro Plus Report. Photo: Sampath Kumar G P /The Hindu
The group has models priced from ₹99 to ₹45,000. The members disapprove them being addressed as toys. “They are scale models,” corrects Aditya. The difference is in the details. “You can see the engine, the seat belt, gear lever and the brake pedals. So, they are not just toys.”
It is not easy to collect rare ones. They come in limited edition and are available only abroad. So, a little diligence is required in this hobby. Yet Beantown members allocate time for it.
Why?
“It gives happiness to see the cars that you like,” says Mukul, “For example, I am interested in super cars from the 1990s because I used to play video games like Need For Speed. So, I wanted to have models of those.”
Ajay Padmanabh, 45, likes colours, which is why he started collecting stamps as a kid. Then, when he started getting gifts of model cars from relatives abroad, he slowly started accumulating them and moved on from stamps to cars. Now, he has over 5,000 models. “I love anything that has wheels. Maybe I associate them with progress,” he says.
Navin B, 33, in his adolescence, was into biking and car racing. “For someone who could not afford high-end cars and bikes, I was happy collecting model.”
Karnataka Bengaluru 13/10/2019 Miniature Car Model Collections , Pic to go with Metro Plus Report. Photo: Sampath Kumar G P /The Hindu
Aditya reckons these models can even be an investment. “Each car is limited to a number of pieces. If I get it during its launch for, say, ₹1000, two or three years later, you will not find this car any more and its value goes up.”
Rohit Shastry, says he learnt about model cars after joining Beantown. “I used to collect Hot Wheels, the 1/64 scale. After getting into the group, I learnt about other sizes, like 1/18, 1/32. And, I also know how difficult it is to collect some of the vintage models and maintain them.”
