Autofest City is India's largest collection of authentic scale models founded by brothers Clyde and Neil D'Costa. The collection has authentic replicas spanning over 500 years of transportation history, with special emphasis on automobiles.
Located in Mysore and housed in two exclusive buildings with a total display floor space of 1800 sq. ft., Autofest City has earned international acclaim for its unique displays which provide pictorial and written information about the model on display.
The early years
The collection began with two Scale 40 models by Maisto bought at a store in Mysore in early 1996 and today has over 1,800 replicas of historically important automobiles.
Autofest City is a collection of interesting and informative displays of scale models. Within each display are technical details of the real automobile with a list of highlights, detailed photographs of the real automobile, printed logos, a photograph of the automobile company's founder (where applicable), a miniature flag of the country of origin and any other piece of information to enhance the value of the model on display.
Autofest City's Firsts
The collection has authentic replicas of the world's first combustion engined automobiles, airplane and steam-engines.
Scale 26, 1829 Stevenson's Locomotive, the world's first practical steam engine
Scale 38, 1804 Trevithick's locomotive.
Autofest City's Series
Autofest City has its own exclusive series - The Decade Series, The Value Addition Series, The Nostalgic Cinema Series and the Car Of The (20th) Century Series.
The Decade Series (20th Century) features at least one outstanding automobile from every decade in the 20th century, culminating with Motoring Around The World, featuring three outstanding automobiles from three major automobile manufacturing continents.
The Nostalgic Cinema Series features automobiles either owned or used by film celebrities or used in motion pictures.
The Value Addition Series primarily features automobiles which have been customized by the brothers. The workshop scene displays too are a part of this series.
Autofest City is the only collection of scale models in the world with authentic replicas of the final 100 nominees of the Car Of The Century.
Models from Kits / Partially Scratch-built
Autofest City has a few models assembled from intricate kits, which in many instances have called for the use of more resourceful skills over the standard assembly instructions.
The City also has customized scale models. Here are a few examples:
Scale 18, 1956 Chevrolet tow-truck from a basic pickup by Mira. Modifications include, adding extra forward illumination on bumper, roof-mounted beacons, crane on the rear deck, overhead rear-illumination and hot-rod style, side-mounted muffler.
Scale 18, 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLS modified from a regular 300SL model by Bburago. Modifications include removal of bumpers, stock windshield, filling up of corresponding holes in the body and re-spraying, fabrication of an aeroscreen, tonneau cover over passenger's seat, roll-over bar aft of driver's seat and chrome detailing on headlamps.
Scale 16, 1930 Lincoln Towncar from an R Dietreich dual-phaeton body kit. Modifications include extending the length of the front door, re-hinging of rear door - 'suicide-style', fabrication of separator window and frame, fabrication of short top covering only passenger area, special two-tone town-car paint job.
Scale 24, 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Towncar from standard open top kit by Minicraft Models. Modifications made to this model are almost similar to those of the 1930 Lincoln Towncar.
Scale 24, Freightliner Tractor Trailer from wrecking truck kit by Minicraft Models.
Scale 24, 2000 Volkswagen Beetle by Bburago with dual body paintwork.
Autofest City's Diorama
Autofest City is essentially a family's effort. The D'Costa women are also actively involved gracing many displays with art and diorama.
Camping site: With a Scale 18, 1957 Cadillac Brougham and a 1957 Airstream Trailer, the other accessories are either bought out or hand-crafted by the D'Costa family for this display.
Recognition
Autofest City was first recognised by the Limca Book of Records, a Coca-Cola Company publication in India, in its 2006 edition.[1] Since 2007 the collection was listed among noteworthy museums across the country. In 2009, the collection is declared the largest in the country and conferred with a National Record.
The collection has been featured in a host of national magazines, national and regional newspapers,[2] and on two television channels. Rotary Mysore, the city's premier service club published a special edition bulletin on the collection after Neil delivered an audio-visual presentation at their club meeting jointly conducted with the Inner Wheel Club of Mysore.
Autofest City has won its second national award recognition in the India Book of Records since 2010.
Inspiration & Involvement
The collection has had visitors from all around the world. Everyone has been amazed by the presentation and the whole-hearted dedication of the D’Costa family that goes to make Autofest City remarkably unique. Many have drawn inspiration from Autofest City and started their own scale model collections.
Autofest City publishes a newsletter which informs its patrons, friends and well-wishers about various aspects of the collection, in addition to introducing new additions.
Automobile Passion
The brothers’ love for automobiles goes much beyond their scale models–their earlier Contessa Classics, their Kinetic Honda scooters, their TATA Indigos and Indica were impeccably maintained. At the Customer Meet 2007 organized under the joint auspices of TATA Motors and Mysore's dealers M/s. Urs Kar Service Centre Pvt. Ltd., Neil was among the top ten TATA car owners of Mysore to be honoured.
Related Research Articles
Mysore, officially Mysuru, is a metropolitan city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the third-most populous and third-largest city in the state, and is one of the cleanest cities in India. It is the seat of the Wadiyar dynasty and was the capital of the Kingdom of Mysore for almost six centuries, from 1399 until 1947. It is currently the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. Known for its heritage structures and palaces, including the famous Mysore Palace, and noted for its culture, Mysore is popularly known as the "City of Palaces", the "Heritage City", and the "Cultural Capital of Karnataka". For its pristine and calm ambience, it is also known as "Pensioners' Paradise".
A model car, or toy car, is a miniature representation of an automobile. Other miniature motor vehicles, such as trucks, buses, or even ATVs, etc. are often included in this general category. Because many miniature vehicles were originally aimed at children as playthings, there is no precise difference between a model car and a toy car, yet the word 'model' implies either assembly required or the accurate rendering of an actual vehicle at smaller scale. The kit building hobby became popular through the 1950s, while the collecting of miniatures by adults started to pick up momentum around 1970. Precision-detailed miniatures made specifically for adults are a significant part of the market since the mid-1980s.
Maisto is a brand of scale model vehicles introduced in 1990 and owned by May Cheong Group, a Chinese company founded in 1967 in Hong Kong by brothers P.Y. Ngan and Y.C Ngan. Head-quartered in Hong Kong, the brand has its offices in the United States, France and China. MCG also owns other model car brands such as former Italian brand Bburago and Polistil.
State Bank of Mysore was a Public Sector bank in India, with headquarters at Bangalore. It was one of the five associate banks of State Bank of India, all of which were consolidated with the State Bank of India with effect from 1 April 2017.
Bangalore is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is India's third largest city and fifth largest metropolitan area. Modern Bengaluru was founded in 1537 CE by Kempe Gowda, a vassal of the Vijayanagara Empire. Kempe Gowda built a mud fort in the vicinity of modern Bengaluru. By 1831, the city was incorporated into the British Raj with the establishment of the Bangalore Cantonment. The British returned dominion of the city to the King of Mysore, choosing however, to retain jurisdiction over the cantonment. Therefore, Bengaluru essentially became a twin city, with civic and infrastructural developments of the cantonment conforming to European styles of planning. For most of the period after Indian independence in 1947, Bengaluru was a B-1 status city, and was not considered to be one of India's "4 major metropolitan cities". The growth of Information Technology in the city, which is the largest contributor to India's software exports, has led to a decadal growth that is second to only that of India's capital New Delhi. The city's roads, however, were not designed to accommodate the vehicular traffic, growing at an average of 8% annually, that prevails in Bengaluru. This leads to heavy slow traffic and traffic jams in Bengaluru Foreign visitors are often shocked to see the state of infrastructure. Particularly during the monsoon season, commute becomes a challenge. The crippling infrastructure and lack of a robust mass transit network have led to the city having one of the worst average commute times in the world.
The Bangalore Cantonment (1806–1881) was a military cantonment of the British Raj based in the Indian city of Bangalore. The cantonment covered an area of 13 square miles (34 km2), extending from the Residency on the west to Binnamangala on the east and from the Tanneries on Tannery Road in the north to AGRAM in the south. By area, it was the largest British military cantonment in South India. The British garrison stationed in the cantonment included three artillery batteries, and regiments of the cavalry, infantry, sappers, miners, mounted infantry, supply and transport corps and the Bangalore Rifle Volunteers. The Bangalore Cantonment was directly under the administration of the British Raj, while Bangalore City itself was under the jurisdiction of the Durbar of the Kingdom of Mysore.
Bburago is a manufacturing company of toys and die-cast scale model cars formerly based in Italy. The company was based in Burago di Molgora, where all products were made from 1974 to 2005. At the height of its popularity, Bburago's main competitors were Politoys and Maisto, the latter of which was to become dominant in the 1:18 market segment around 2000.
Sanjevani is a major Kannada afternoon newspaper has its headquarters in Bangalore, Karnataka. It was started on 10 December 1982, thus completing 25 years in 2007. Sanjevani was the first South Indian language newspaper to be put onto the World Wide Web in the year 1998, and was chosen "No. 1 Kannada Newspaper" by a Microsoft survey in 2001. As of 2010, Sanjevani is published in 10 different centers in the state, becoming the first Kannada daily to do so. In April 2010, a mobile version of their website was launched.
The Railway Museum at Mysore, India is an outdoor exhibit of vintage locomotives.
The National Rail Museum in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi, displays exhibits on the history of rail transport in India. The museum was inaugurated on 1 February 1977. The museum spans over an area of over 11 acres and the indoor gallery comprises an octagonal building which houses six display galleries and a large open area is laid out to simulate the atmosphere of a railway yard. It is open every day except Mondays and national holidays.
Halasuru Someshwara Temple is located in the neighborhood of Halasuru in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. It is one of the old temples in the city dating back to the Chola period, it is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. Major additions or modifications were made during the late Vijayanagara Empire period under the rule of Hiriya Kempe Gowda II.
Polistil S.p.A. is an Italian toy brand and former manufacturing company headquartered in Milan, with production center in Chiari, near Brescia. Polistil specialized in die-cast and plastic scale model vehicles of all sizes.
Mysore Junction railway station, re-christened as Mysuru Junction railway station is a railway station on Mysore–Bangalore railway line serving the city of Mysore, Karnataka, India. Previously Mysore was connected to Bangalore by a single-line metre-gauge track. It was later converted into non-electrified broad-gauge line. It has now been converted to a double-line, electrified route.
Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, also referred to by his initials, MV, was an Indian civil engineer, administrator, and statesman, who served as the 19th Dewan of Mysore from 1912 to 1918.
Franklin Mint Precision Models were made by the Franklin Mint, originally a private mint founded by Joseph Segel in 1964 in Wawa, Pennsylvania. The company is now owned by a private equity firm headquartered in Midtown Manhattan New York City and Exton, Pennsylvania. Besides diecast automobiles, the Franklin Mint manufactured and marketed coins, jewelry, dolls, sculpture and other collectibles.
Leslie Charles Coleman was a Canadian entomologist, plant pathologist and virologist who worked as the first director of agriculture in Mysore State in southern India. He conducted pioneering research on the pests and diseases affecting agriculture in the region and was instrumental in establishing several agricultural research and educational institutions including the Hebbal Agricultural School which later became a part of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore and the Coffee Research Station at Balehonnur which became the Central Coffee Research Institute. He introduced improved tillage implements, sprayers, tractors, and played a key role in the establishment of the Mysore Sugar Company in Mandya. His major contributions to plant protection included measures to control a rot disease of coffee caused by Pellicularia koleroga known in southern India as koleroga. Coleman established measures for koleroga, a generic name for rot-causing diseases in Kannada, that caused complete destruction in areca plantations. Sprays of inexpensive Bordeaux mixture on the growing crowns helped control infection caused by what he described as Phytophthora arecae.
Bangalore, officially Bengaluru, is the capital and largest city of the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than 8 million and a metropolitan population of around 11 million, making it India's third most populous city and fifth most populous urban agglomeration, as well as South India's second-largest urban agglomeration, and the 27th largest city in the world. Located on the Deccan Plateau, at a height of over 900 m (3,000 ft) above sea level, Bangalore has a pleasant climate throughout the year, with its parks and green spaces earning it the reputation of India's "Garden City". Its elevation is the highest among India's major cities.
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