Full Scale Ahead

There’s only one thing that automotive journalist Cyrus Dhabar loves more than his food — his collection of scale model cars.

- Alshaar Khan

THE YEARS HAVE FLOWN by, but the thought of my first visit to Cyrus Dhabar’s house, in the Parsi Colony of Mumbai’s Dadar neighbourhood, still reminds me of two things — the delectable dhansak and caramel rice cooked by his mother, and the sight of a scale model car collection like nothing I’d ever seen before. His expansive living room comprised two big showcases that were home to some of the most amazing automotive replicas, and he kept enthralling all his dinner guests by springing more of these out from his bedroom.

Today, my former colleague’s collection has easily crossed four figures, with some new shipments expected in the coming weeks as well. But the petrol head has matured as a collector, with time. “It’s not only about the numbers for me anymore. I’d buy everything whenever I had the money previously, but now I’m more mindful with my choices. I’m even selling some of them these days, within the scale model collectors’ community,” he says.