Also in my garage: 5000 model cars

By Charlie Calderwood

| 8 Dec 2023

Classic & Sports Car – Also in my garage: 5000 model cars

“I was born in Poland, and after WW2 we didn’t have anything. Toys didn’t really exist,” says Marian Gradus, standing in his Northamptonshire office, the walls all covered by display cases.

“But living in Kraków, I had access to lots of tourists, and every time I saw a car on a foreign registration I’d approach and ask them if they could send me some models. It worked pretty well.”

Working as an automotive engineer, Marian left Poland and, exposed to the shops of the West, has since amassed a collection of 5000 model cars, all housed today in his home.

Every European Car of the Year winner is present and neatly labelled

The collection started not with a car sent behind the Iron Curtain, but on a rare trip abroad.

“As a child I travelled to Paris with the Red Cross,” he says. “My father had discovered his brother was living there.

“In France I was given a Norev Citroën ID19 station wagon, which was my first model.

“I didn’t know people made model cars before that. I still have it, in storage in my garage with 3000 more.”

Figurines decorate some of the displays

The other 2000 are on show, most of them in Marian’s office.

Display cases are grouped thematically, with a shelf of ‘Popemobiles’, another of cars owned by British royals, and a third including every European Car of the Year winner.

There are also sets of Eastern European models that would stump many a British enthusiast, such as the GAZ 67 and 69, or Poland’s post-war icon, the FSO Warszawa.

Marian Gradus has collected model cars since childhood, now his collection numbers 5000-plus

“When I came here I discovered shops such as Beatties,” says Marian. “I spent any extra money I had on models.”

Living in Britain also allowed Marian the opportunity to immerse himself in the model-collecting community, attending swapmeets and making like-minded friends, but he has felt the hobby shrink in recent years.

“Of the friends I used to have, many have passed away,” he says. “Most of the shops have closed, too.

“Young people don’t seem to have hobbies in the same way, or not this hobby at least, so it is dying a bit.”

American classic cars feature strongly in the curated displays

Marian is unsure of the future for his collection – he describes his family’s attitude to it as “accepting rather than enthusiastic” – but he relates a sense of satisfaction that, whatever happens to the miniatures now, he has followed his passion.

“They have given me a lot of pleasure – I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, I spent my money on models instead,” says Marian, considering his collecting habit a relatively benign vice.

“When I would go on holiday with my wife, I’d disappear for a couple of hours.

“You might expect a young man to have gone off leering at women on the beach, but I would come back with two bags of model cars!”

Don’t forget to look up! Marian’s passion for collecting models extends to scaled-down planes, too

Now 75 years old, Marian is hoping to pass on his collection, or at least parts of it, but to still keep certain displays, such as the ECOTY winners, up to date every year.

Favourites include his Ford Zephyr estate, a model he painted himself to complete his collection of cars driven by Queen Elizabeth II, and his Morris Minors.

A fan of woodies in general, Marian’s dream classic is a Morris Traveller, his grandfather having owned one when he was a child.

Sadly, he had to leave his DKW 8 and Fiat Topolino in Poland; he now drives a Nissan Micra C+C, won in a competition.

This Ford Zephyr estate is one of Marian’s favourite classic car models

“My advice for anyone who wants to get into collecting model cars is to try and focus on a specific marque or model, and only buy 1:43 scale – they are more compact and collectible,” says Marian.

“My problem was that I bought whatever I fancied, and that’s how I ended up with such a massive collection.”

Images: John Bradshaw

Enjoy more of the world’s best classic car content every month when you subscribe to C&SC – get our latest deals here

READ MORE

Also in my garage: classic maps

Also in my garage: a fascination for the ’50s

1948’s game changers: Morris Minor

The tale of the wonderful classic British woodie