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Dubai-based Indian entrepreneur boasts over 3,000 scale model planes
Gulf News
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2/17/2025
Dubai-based businessman Kalpesh Mehta has a rare hobby.
Mehta, who is passionate about aeroplanes, has a collection of scale models of aircraft in his home and office.
Read the full story here: https://gulfnews.com/uae/meet-indian-businessman-in-dubai-with-a-collection-of-over-3000-scale-model-planes-1.101746024
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#UAEnews #Indian #hobby
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00:00
I've been living in UAE since 1992 and this is my hobby, collecting aircraft die-cast
00:15
models since 82.
00:18
So it's almost 42 years since I've been collecting and have almost around 3,000 pieces
00:26
from the time I've started collecting.
00:28
Lots of different models, lots of different kinds, I mean, you name it, from the 727s
00:34
to the 737s to the 747s, 757s, 767s, the 300s, 310s, 320s, 330s, 340s, from all the variants
00:44
available which are there, which are made to us available.
00:48
First time in 82, the British Airways had come out with plastic models and that time
00:53
the Concordes and all were there.
00:55
So the first aircraft model was bought, we had to send a demand draft from India all
01:00
the way to UK.
01:01
The money goes to them and then it used to come in a plastic case, it's a 1-250 scale
01:06
that time, was the most popular.
01:08
And those, the six models which I had got, which I still have, all of them still exist
01:13
and all of them are in my collection as of now.
01:15
At least 7 to 10 days, if I work 4 to 5 hours to clean everything, to remove it, get it
01:21
back in its place, take pictures of it, where it was placed, because once you remove, you
01:27
cannot not know where to put it back.
01:29
Because it doesn't go in the same place, it doesn't get, then the models become extra.
01:34
So on an average, if in a year, if I clean it twice, it would take me around two weeks
01:40
minimum to clear everything out.
01:43
So this is the full collection here, with all the 747-400s, 777-200s, A330-200s, A310,
01:53
which is already long gone.
01:56
That's the one Emirates uses, 777-300, their main fleet, Qatar Airways, the Star Wars collection
02:02
of all Nippon Airways.
02:05
These are all the 1-400 scale of all the aircrafts, from DC-10s to 321s to 737-200s, 319s, MD-80s,
02:18
the aircrafts with special liveries, McDonalds, very hard to find.
02:26
Then the Pokemon series, the Universal Studios series, it's very, very hard to find, very
02:31
difficult, you cannot get them anymore.
02:32
These are very, very old.
02:34
My favourite is the Air India 747-200B, the oldest, with the cheat lines, with the India
02:42
written both in Hindi and English.
02:44
These are bigger scale, mostly 1-200, 1-250, and these two pieces are 1-300 scale, which
02:51
were hardly produced.
02:53
The rest are some plastic models, some old livery of Emirates when it was introduced,
02:58
the 777-200.
03:00
Most important, all the new ones, these are A350-900s, LATAM, Vietnam, Cathay, all the
03:06
new liveries are here, the new aircrafts, and some of them on the top, like the North
03:10
West Orient, American, which don't exist, these liveries don't exist anymore.
03:15
South African, Eastern, some of the smaller planes, some of the smaller liveries which
03:21
you cannot get anymore.
03:23
As long as I'm living, it will stay with me.
03:26
After that, I would, I mean, that is what I think that I should give it to the airport
03:30
or put it at Dubai airport, give it to them and let other kids, other people, because
03:35
it's not only kids, plane, any man, if a plane takes off from the top, he will look at the
03:41
top.
03:42
That is the way it works.
03:43
You always look on the top.
03:45
So if there are plane models, they will stand and they will look at the plane models.
03:49
It is like you give a small boy one gift, plane model, he will end up buying tomorrow
03:55
one more when he goes to see, because that is the way, that is the way hobby is made.
03:59
It's just, you start with one, then you want second, then you want, and it never ends after
04:03
that.
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