Pristine model kits found in Bristol loft

For many men of a certain age it would be their childhood dream realised.

You open the loft hatch in a mysterious house, flick a switch, and there among the dust you find thousands of plastic models, untouched in their boxes and all ready to be glued and painted.

And that's what happened when valuers from auction house Dreweatts 1759 ventured into the attic of a two-bedroom bungalow in March and found a 3,500-strong hoard of pristine planes, boats and cars. Now they are selling off about 1,000 models at an auction in Clifton on Tuesday.

Among the lots up for grabs are classic fighter planes from both World Wars, including Sopworth Camels, Spitfires, Hurricanes and Flying Fortresses.

Newer models such as Phantom Jets and Hercules transport planes are also going under the hammer, as well as a few World War II battleships and two or three road vehicles.

All the major model makers are in the collection – including Airfix, Frog, Heller, Tamiya and Hasegawa – and most are in 1/72 scale.

And while the models are being sold at auction, most of them are still available at pocket-money prices.

The majority of kits will sell for between £3 and £5, and the most expensive lot – an Airfix Avro Lancaster B1 bomber dating from about 1960 – is expected to fetch between £40 and £50.

Peter Rixon, head of the collectors department for Dreweatts 1759, said he had never before seen such a grand collection.

Mr Rixon said: "It is practically untouched. It seems to have started out as an extension of a childhood hobby, as most of them were bought new. Normally a glance in an attic produces little more than a boiler and some old Christmas decorations, but in this one there were more than 3,500 models.

"The gentleman must have started buying them in the late 1950s and continued until his death about a year ago. It was his lifelong passion, and is the largest I have ever seen."

The collection was shipped in from the house in Tunbridge Wells in a large van, which was full.

Mr Rixon said most of the models had been bought new, and nearly all were still in excellent condition in their boxes.

He said: "For collectors today it is often the artwork on the box that is particularly important, as most kits have pictures that were specifically commissioned to give a vibrancy and flavour of the sort of action the aircraft would have seen.

"What is amazing is that the vast majority of people would have been eager to get out the glue and paintbrushes and get on with making them as quickly as possible, but this collection has survived untouched."

Tuesday's auction is expected to attract bidders from far and wide.

Lots have been arranged according to scale and manufacturer in order to maximise the appeal to buyers, young and old.

The sale is valued at £4-5,000. About 1,000 models were sold in May, and the rest will be listed at a later date.

In total, the collection is expected to fetch between £12,000 and £15,000 for the man's estate.

The models are available to be viewed this morning and all day on Monday, before they go under the hammer at about 10.30am on Tuesday at Dreweatts 1759's Apsley Road auction house.

Mr Rixon said: "It truly is an astonishing collection, and is a bit like being let loose in a model shop stock room where all the cupboards are left open.

"For some people it will be all their Christmases come at once."

For more information on the auction, contact Dreweatts on 0117 973 7201.