Subash Sanas eats, drinks, thinks and dreams cars. Those who attended the Vintage Car Rally last month, were given a little peep into his passion for cars, especially of the vintage kind. But to have almost a hundred of them stacked away inside his house?! With another hundred on the way! And that too, not just sedans, saloons and sports cars but even the many varieties of commercial delivery vans of yore? Red, blue, green, yellow, black and white, they grace his spare bedroom, his drawing room and even his office. Large rooms, you wonder. Guess again. The cars are actually miniature replicas.``Manufactured by Franklin Mint, these are all precision models made on a scale of 1:24,'' explains Sanas. Each part, whether it is the engine, wheels, steering, seats, pistons, down to a spare tyre and the tiniest nuts and bolts are absolutely correctly proportioned miniaturised replicas of the actual vehicles. The front hoods open easily as do the boots and each of the four doors. There is a 1961 Lincoln Convertible, a golden 1948 Tucker to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the firm, a 1957 Chevrolet Belair of the Hot Wheels series.Jet black, with red and yellow painted flames and two bat like wings leaping up on either side, it is the car Batman has often been depicted with. A 1947 Chrysler has the same polished wooden finish of the original model. A 1940 Dusenborg has the same spring coils and net-covered radiator. A 300 St. Mere Gullwings is sheer elegance. The most amusing perhaps are tow Chevrolets, one painted red for the Fire Chief and the other black for the Police Chief. Both have tiny caps of the respective chiefs along with a fire extinguisher for the former and a pair of handcuffs for the latter, kept on the front seat. You almost expect to see a diminutive figure stride up and zoom off on duty.If these are the Classic series, then there are the Vintage series also made by the same firm. These include older models like a 1910 Cadillac, a 1905 Green Rolls Royce, a red and white 1904 Mercedes Simplex, a rare 1929 Bugati Royale and many more. All these models are about eight inches long.In a smaller size (about five inches long) are the commercial delivery vans which plied on the roads of Europe in the earlier part of this century. They are named the ``Days Gone'' series and are manufactured by LLEDO, England. Painted on the sides of these vans, are the colourful logos and names of products like Holstein Beer, Kiwi Boot Polish, Castrol, Toyland Biscuits, Imperial Leather or Orange Chocolate.``I buy all of them from the Egyptian Hall at Harrods,'' reveals Sanas, cradling each little model lovingly in his palms. ``In fact, I have been told by their salesmen, that other than a person from Kuwait, I am the only one to have ordered such a large range of models. Each year on my trip to England I buy the latest models that have been manufactured. But since they are packed in large thermocol cases I can't bring along more than two or three at a time. So I leave the rest with a friend who sends a few with others who are coming to India.''Collecting these expensive models (they could cost as much as 250 Pounds each) has its roots in his school days when he had a hoard of Dinky cars which he played with. ``I still keep them in my Mumbai house, but recently, about half of them were stolen when the house was being painted,'' he says regretfully. Of course, the present lot is much more expensive and has collector's value. Sanas also keeps a sharp lookout for the full-size working models which at auctions are fetching anywhere upto millions in British pounds.He has had specially designed glass cupboards made for his little toys, but space is bound to fall short as another hundred are on the way. Dust still gets in despite the care, and it is here that wife Neelam steps in, carefully cleaning them with a soft cloth and cotton buds. It is a time-consuming job, no doubt. Beside, he also preserves their packing boxes and the certificates of sale.The pride of place, it seems, will go to a SEL 500 Mercedes, which arrived by special courier, 20 days ago from London, ``It is a gift from the manufacturers who know about my hobby,'' remarks Sanas, unpacking the elaborate cardboard packing to reveal a gleaming black beauty.Boys will be boys and remain just that, and so it seems as he admiringly rotates this midget version of the elitist car, totally absorbed by its sleek contours.
