Miniature aircraft models a hit among visitors

Aircraft carriers, fighter jets, cargo planes and transport aircraft, all crammed into a small stall.

At the ongoing air show, the miniature models are competing for attention with the real steel birds in the skies. And they are getting it in droves, as visitors are flocking in their hundreds to examine them, feel them and perhaps, even own them.

At least one firm, aptly named Aeroplane Models, has put up an exclusive stall with miniatures of multiple sizes and range. “There are 86 types of displays, to be precise. They are from World War I vintage to the modern-day aircraft,” explained Suhail Abbas, the brain behind the models.

The modelling and detailing were not elaborate, but the crowds didn’t mind. “We did the models after Internet research. We started by downloading images of an aircraft from all angles to prepare a 3D model. Then the mould was cast and the models finished in aluminium,” Abbas explained.

That basic research eventually morphed into bigger things, with the Taif Air Force museum in Saudi Arabia striking a deal to get a fighter aircraft model eight months back. Bulk orders followed, and there was no looking back for these Moradabad-based amateur aircraft modelers.