Every Model, Every Memory: A Private Tour of Sergio Goldvarg’s Collection - Part I

(Watch for several great videos coming from John Kuvakas next week. Until then, here's my recap of last night)

As we headed toward what would become the pinnacle moment of our Miami trip, one that already included visits to Awesome Diecast and the Dauer Museum of Classic Cars, I couldn’t stop wondering what, exactly, awaited us at Sergio Goldvarg’s personal model collection museum.

Were we going to his home? A public museum? Something in between?

As it turns out, it was all of that... and something far more special.

Sergio greeted us warmly at the door, immediately putting us at ease. After a quick stop in his kitchen for coffee, he led us past a beautiful pool and toward a frosted glass door. And in that moment, when he opened it, it felt exactly like the scene in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory when the kids step into a world of pure imagination. Every single one of us walked in with eyes wide and mouths agape.

No photograph on his website could have prepared us for what stood before us, although you can visit it here. This was Sergio Goldvarg’s life’s work—meticulously curated, immaculately displayed, and deeply personal. The collection began when Sergio was just four years old, receiving his first Matchbox model, and astonishingly, he has kept every single box in pristine condition. Matchbox. Dinky. Corgi. All preserved like artifacts in a museum dedicated to memory, passion, and precision.

What made it even more remarkable was learning that Sergio spent eight months—entirely on his own—designing, assembling, and curating the space exactly as he envisioned it. Every perfectly aligned display case told a different story: movie cars, Batmobiles, hearses, ambulances, Tour de France vehicles, cars from Argentina, and even one-off models he created from memories of buses he rode as a child or television station vehicles he remembered seeing on the streets.

For more than five hours, Sergio generously answered every question we threw his way, sharing the stories behind each model and explaining why certain vehicles resonated with him. Though he is a model maker himself, he is also an enthusiastic and open-minded collector. His shelves proudly feature work from Autocult, Brooklin, Minimarque, IXO, and many others—clear evidence of his respect for craftsmanship, regardless of the badge.

Eventually, we headed upstairs for a delicious Italian dinner, where the storytelling continued.

It quickly became clear that the second floor is where the real work happens. Sergio doesn’t have a staff boxing and shipping his newest releases—it’s all him. Every model is personally inspected, and none leave without his approval. In fact, he told us there is at least one model he has outright refused to ship because it didn’t meet his standards. He would rather absorb the cost of production than allow a single piece into the world that he isn’t proud of.

“Behind each of my models is a little bit of my soul,” he admitted toward the end of dinner.

Then came what may have been the most extraordinary part of the evening. Sergio began unboxing prototype white-metal models from his original series—projects that were in development when he relocated from Argentina to the United States. Ultimately, production costs here made them unfeasible, leaving us with a rare glimpse into what might have been. (Sorry for the blurry photo of the taxi. I was so excited to see that one that I rushed the shot.)

Here's Sergio with his very first casting of his very first model. It includes flocking on the interior, which he chose not to pursue because he realized it would attract and collect dust and be very difficult to keep clean.

Here's my favorite "what could have been model." It's a Nash:

(end of part I)