YOU wouldn't believe Chris Plaister's obsession with the silver screen if they made it into a film.

To say that Chris is an individualist is a bit like saying that Casablanca was not a bad film, or that Lauren Bacall was fairly attractive.

There are several collectors or museums in Britain that have preserved a few old cinema projectors for posterity.

Chris Plaister's dedication goes much, much further than that. "In fact I've got several hundred projectors scattered around Wales in five secret sites," he says.

"I don't think there is a bigger collection of film equipment in Europe, or anywhere else in the world for that matter."

For most of his 40 years Maindee-born Chris has been obsessed with the cinema and with projection rooms in particular.

"I've always been fascinated by electrical and mechanical things. Our family home was just behind Newport's Odeon Cinema in Clarence Place.

"At Lliswerry School we had a camera club and my particular interest was photographing transport and railway subjects but also old cinemas.

"A school friend and myself often used to walk past the old Coliseum where occasionally the projection room was open.

"It was like the door to a new world to me. Stan Wilson was projectionist at the Coliseum since the days of silent movies and knew everything there was to know about projecting. I became totally caught up in his world."

Chris studied radio and electronics at college and is now sound and projection engineer for Odeon cinemas covering Wales and the West of England.

"Some years ago I had a job which took me all around the Valleys and I was sad to see cinemas up for sale and film equipment from workingmen's institutes virtually being thrown on the scrap heap.

"I started making offers for some of this stuff. People didn't think I would be able to get the projectors away from the projection rooms but if you know what you are doing you can break them down into their components and move them that way.

"The old machines in particular were precision instruments designed to run for tens of thousands of hours without a hitch. They were perfection; electrically, mechanically and optically.

"Nowadays, the projectors are made in Italy and there is not a single British manufacturer left. I feel that I have saved a piece of our heritage."

The exhibition of Chris's film equipment at Swansea Museum in the city's Victoria Road runs until the end of January, but for Chris it is the first shot in a campaign to find a permanent home for his collection.

"The problem is, that with several hundred machines in several locations there is an awful lot of this stuff.

"Some museums have shown an interest in cherry-picking the bits they think will be a crowd puller, but I think the collection should remain together under one roof.

"As well as the projectors I have fittings and furnishings such as the doors of the old Monico cinema in Cardiff, spot lights and illuminated signs and posters and even ice-cream ladies' trays.

"People love this stuff. Some are interested in the technical side of things but most are nostalgic for the world of the cinema as it was. It takes them back to their childhood.

"I wouldn't want to make too much of this but some psychiatrists say that getting in touch with things that remind you of your childhood is good for the mental health.

"If this collection stays hidden away and only comes out in dribs and drabs it will be a great shame.

"I have had a lot of support from the National Sound and Screen Archive for Wales but the National Museums and Art Galleries of Wales have told me that it is not within their remit.

"Swansea museum officials came to Newport to look at what I had and were impressed enough to take a decision more or less on the spot.

"Ideally of course, I would like somewhere in Newport to place what must be the most comprehensive collection of projectors and cinema equipment in the world."

l The Ideal Kinema Exhibition at Swansea Museum, Victoria Road, Swansea, has been extended until the end of January. Admission is free. 01792 653763 for further details.