Many people wondered what was going on when a man gifted Transport Minister K B Ganesh Kumar a toy car at a recent public event in Kochi. It was a ‘secret deal’ only both of them could understand.
“This is an apt gift for me,” the minister told the man, Muhammad Aneesh of Vypeen, as he gratefully accepted the car.
Well, Ganesh and Muhammad are united by a passion for miniature vehicles. On learning the minister was in town, Muhammad was eager to present him a unique model from his collection.
“I had read about his passion for miniature cars long before. Recently, I came across a picture of Ganesh sir sitting in his office. I noticed a miniature toy car of the latest version of the Land Cruiser on top of the table,” says Muhammad, 41.
“I was sure that the minister wouldn’t have the vintage model – the Land Cruiser 18 series. Then I came to know about the event, just a stone’s throw away from my shop. I attended the same just to meet him and give him the present.”
Muhammed is an ardent automobile enthusiast. “I used to do the business of buying and selling cars so that I could try out the machines of various companies and models. I started with the jeep, my all-time favourite, and dealt with over 100 vehicles,” he says.
His craze towards vehicles fuelled him with a novel idea seven months ago – setting up a shop exclusively for diecast scale model car collections. The car aficionado says his ‘Abba Shoppe’ caters to middle-class car enthusiasts.
While brands like Hotwheels and Solido have rolled out toy cars worth lakhs, Muhammad makes it a point to only deal with affordable scale models (miniature cars). That explains the price range of toy cars, which vary from Rs 100 to Rs 7,600.
His collection of miniatures includes models of Land Cruiser, Porsche, Mustang, Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini and Mercedes. “It’s not a business for me, but a hobby fuelled by passion. That there are not many such shops is another reason for me to start the venture,” says Muhammad.
“I was heartened by the response. People of all ages stop by my shop at Kalamukku Junction. There are customers even from outside the state.”
Diecast models are crafted through a metal casting process in which molten lead, zinc alloy, or plastic is poured into a mould. His passion for model automobiles arose when he was a small boy. “I still remember a Hotwheels car gifted by my father when I was young. Since then, I have been collecting such miniatures.”
Currently, he has collections of over 200 model varieties in many sizes, starting from 1/64 scale (the smallest) to 1/18 (the biggest). “What I gifted to Ganesh sir was that of 1/24 scale 18 series Land Cruiser,” he says.
