Springvale Station Officer David Luketic’s impressive collection of Metro Melbourne and Australian passenger trains is like a living history of rail transport. Even more impressive is that David has made all of them himself. 

David hand-builds his models from plastic, or designing and 3D printing them.

The trains are then moulded, cast and painted.

“I was around 16 when I started making models,” David said.

“It was basic stuff back then. Now the models I make are mainly passenger cars and various locomotives from Melbourne and around the country.”

The intricate models are detailed and incredibly accurate, down to the livery and body shell to the bogies and couplers.

David keeps some of his models but sells others to collectors. His love of trains has also seen him travel on some of the world’s most iconic railways.

“I’ve been on the Indian Pacific and the Shinkansen in Japan. But I’d love to travel on the TGV in France, the Ghan in Australia and the Andean Explorer in Peru.”

David says he’s not tempted to recreate international trains.

“All of my models are Australian, and I’m not looking into other countries,” he said.