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[VC]

Compared to the modelling environment available to most members on this forum, we in India are light years away. I am attaching some pictures of the rudimentary boat kits manufactured in India. The first two are of a 39cm Motor Boat and the next two pertain to a 46cm Cabin Cruiser. Aren't you thankful for what you have?

However, there IS a bright side. These boats are priced under $ 12 each. Beat that! Not only that, the scant availability promotes scratch building abilities amongst the select few that are really interested. (The forum has seen some wonderful examples of scratch building,  in the recent past, from an androgynous modeller from India  )

Regards,

VC

[Circlip]

Used to be called Keil Kraft EezeBilt over here, did the plans get shipped out to India with the drawings for the  AJS strokers??  

  Regards  Ian.

  

[Jonty]

  Not the only models to end up in India. The dies for some Dinky toys, I particularly remember the Gloster Javelin, were in use there for quite a while. In Calcutta I met a man (who had also scratch built his own full-sized sports racing car) who manufactured the Mills 75 in the basement of the family hotel. Headroom was so limited the workers had to sit cross legged at their lathes which were at floor level.

[triumphjon]

they were even still making triumph heralds and morris oxford cars until not many years ago !

[davidm1945]

     Pretty sure they still make Royal Enfield Bullet motor bikes there as well !





Dave

[VC]

Jonty, it is nice to know that you were in Calcutta, it is where I was born and spent the best years of my life. The person that you are referring to is probably one Mr. Kumar who owned the famed India Hobby Centre. It was once the Mecca of Aeromodelling in India, sadly it now a shadow of its former self. Mr. Suresh Kumar passed away last year. One of his sons Rishi, is carrying the flag, but I doubt if he possesses the same zeal of spreading the hobby amongst the masses. The Late Mr. Suresh kumar is remembered as the Godfather of Aeromodelling in India. The hotel that you are referring to is probably The Astor, which was once owned by the family and has since been sold off. Rather Dickensian, wouldn't you agree? Their Mills engines, sold under the brand name 'Aurora' are much sought after all over the world today. I do possess a number of "Dinky" toys made from the dies that you are talking about. They must be worth a fortune today.

Triumphjon, sadly the Herald died out here in the sixties, but a derivative, the Standard Gazelle survived till 1977, when it was phased out. It's a pity that these marques are only seen at vintage car rallies or in the collections of a noted few now. Just the other day, they were everywhere.

The original 1954 Morris Oxford was sold in the early sixties in India as the Landmaster and later was modified into the iconic Ambassador. it is alive and kicking despite Tsunami like competition from Japanese and Korean models! Guess what - The Ambassador was exported to the UK under a new name as the 'Fullbore Mark 10'. It was a catastrophic disaster and sales were abysmal! However, I quote from Austin Rover Online - "Even so, few Mark 10s were sold from Fullbore Motors' base in Kensington, West London, and as a consequence, they are likely to be an expensive rarity in the future."

davidm1945 - Oh yes Sir, the good old Bullet is thumping away to glory and is also being exported in sizeable numbers for aficionados all over the world. It is very much an Indian way of life, a true classic. I am a maverick who possesses a Yamaha RD 350 (also manufactured in India between 1983 to 1990) but that is a different story.

Thanks for tuning into India!

[tobyker]

They don't make proper Bullets any more - they use that nasty modern eco-friendly (or less unfriendly)  fuel injection on the 500 so-called Classic and they don't make the 350 at all! Fortunately I managed to get one of the last (2007) carburated 350s.

[funtimefrankie]

My Hyundai i10 was made in India

[Jonty]

  You're dead right about The Astor, VC. On Shakespeare Sarani as I recall it. I actually spent much more time in Delhi, a quiet backwater in those days, compared with Cal. Sorry to hear about Kumar, a nice chap.

  There were some real motoring oddities in India. How about a Rover SDi with an ancient Standard Vanguard engine? A four door Herald with the back doors about as wide as a letter box? Somewhere I have pictures of motor racing near Madras with Reliant Robins dicing with Marutis! And in The Pasta Lanes area of Bombay I met V.J.Malliya's brother-in-law who looked after his collection, this long before Malliya and Kingfisher were known in the West.

  I spent five years or so pottering around India in the days before economic liberalisation, and was totally fascinated. Not everyone's cup of Darj, perhaps, but I'd recommend anyone with a robust tum to at least have a look for themselves.

[VC]

Dear Jonty,

"in the days before economic liberalisation" that would be the mid to late eighties, if I am not mistaken. You are an odd one, I must say. You refer to the Astor being situated at Shakespeare Sarani, while we still remember it by the original name Theatre Road! However, seeing that the Bard is in mention here, you are condoned for this affront!

You make me nostalgic with your mention of the Vanguards and the Reliant Robins, my Dad used to talk about them, I was too young to understand, however, I remember the names. There was a bloke called Karivardhan in Madras (Chennai) who used to be a racer and blazed the tracks at Sholavaram (a disused RAF air base during WW2) in what was known then as a Formuila Maruti.

Were / are you a tea man Jonty? The reason that I am asking is due to the fact that I spent close to a decade in tea around the mid eighties to the mid nineties before changing tracks to Beahavioural Psychology. However, as a tea man, you would have spent more time in Cal and perhaps in Darj or Assam, than in Delhi. Perhaps I am wrong. Didn't mean to intrude. I hope you will forgive me, but then again it is wonderful to correspond with someone who has spent some time in Calcutta.

Warm regards,

VC