Saul Santos
(USA)

Saul Santos was a well known and highly regarded American model maker who actively made models during the 1960s through sometime in the 1980s. He specialized in building models of classic cars – early 1900’s as well as some from the late 1800’s, but… he also made a few from the 1960s, and at least one Indy car from 1974. The cars he made models of were primarily dictated by the commissions he received. Santos and his family lived and worked in Massachusetts. Unfortunately, little else is known about Santos, and whatever may have once been known, appears to have been lost to time.

Very rarely does a Santos model come up for sale. It seems that most have stayed in private collections. It is believed that most, if not all of his models, were one-of-kind pieces. Most were made in 1:16 scale, but he did make at least a few bigger scale pieces, the largest that we have seen was a 1905 Stanley Steam Car in 1:8 scale.

All Santos models were comprised of various materials…. brass, aluminum, wood, leather, canvas, and probably something else we’ve overlooked! Most featured opening panels, underside/chassis detail, and upholstered interiors. Many, as with the Marmon, were attached to a wood base, but could also be removed from the base. Santos made custom carry/delivery cases for many if not all of his models. The one shown is all wood and has a hinged side panel to load and remove the model & base.

The Marmon model shown here was commissioned in 1965 and completed in 1966 – built for the late Josiah K. Lilly III, who was President and CEO of Eli Lilly and Company – The HUGE pharmaceutical company.  J.K. was a well known car collector; he commissioned Santos to build models of many of his cars including his Marmon 22. Lilly’s 1:1 car collection, and his Santos models of those vehicles are in the permanent collection of the Heritage Museums & Gardens in Massachusetts and are not for sale.

This Marmon model is also featured on page 207 of the book: “Scratchbuilding Model Cars” by Saul Santos, Published in 1982 by TAB Books.