Functioning miniatures of steam engines took pride of place at the summer exhibition by the Die-Cast and Scale Model Society.

The society, which traditionally holds an annual three-day exhibition towards the end of the year, has, for the past 10 years, been organising a separate one-day summertime edition too. The idea is to offer visitors a glimpse of a sample of the prized model collection owned by some of the society’s 50 members.

About 500 models of different means of transport, owned by 18 exhibitors, were on display at the Dolmen Hotel, in Qawra yesterday.

These included die-cast models of rescue, military and American vehicles, varying from 1:76 to 1:18 scales.

There was also a display of scratch-built models of vintage buses, made from recycled material.

The display of handmade models included trucks that were a common sight in Malta until recently, such as those driven by quarrymen, petroleum sellers and bakers. The model steam engines section is a novelty. Although miniature in size, the models are fully functioning using steam or air pressure.

The Die-Cast and Scale Model Society was set up in 2001 to bring together model collectors. More information is available on their Facebook page.