Wooden Model Boat Kit Brands: Mantua to Keil Kraft

How the wooden kit market is organised

Wooden model boat kits fall into two broad traditions, and knowing which one a brand belongs to tells you a lot about what’s in the box.

• Static display kits. These are mostly sailing warships, clippers, yachts and historic vessels, built plank-on-bulkhead and rigged for display. Italian, Spanish and British makers dominate here.
• Working (radio-controlled) kits. These are tugs, fishing boats, launches and classic power boats, built to float and run (see our radio control setup guide). German, British and American makers have historically been strong in this area, and many working kits mix wood with fibreglass or ABS hulls.

The second useful split is current versus vintage. Some well-known names are still producing kits. Others closed or were absorbed into other companies, so you’ll only find their kits secondhand. Several brands in this guide have changed ownership over the years, so always check a maker’s current catalogue before assuming a kit is still available.

Italian makers

Italy has been one of the biggest sources of wooden ship kits for decades. Italian kits are known for walnut and other hardwood planking, cast metal fittings and large, ambitious subjects. If a kit’s fittings disappoint, see our guide to wooden model sailing ship parts and fittings.

Mantua Model, Panart and Sergal

If you’ve searched for “Mantua model ships Italy”, this is the company you mean. Mantua Model is named after Mantua (Mantova) in Lombardy, northern Italy, and it sells kits under three related labels:

• Mantua Model is the core range, covering everything from small fishing boats and launches to large warships.
• Panart is generally the more detailed, more demanding line, aimed at experienced builders.
• Sergal is a historic brand within the group, known for large display models of famous ships.

Mantua’s catalogue includes big subjects such as HMS Victory and other ships of the line, as well as smaller beginner-friendly boats. Its large kits are serious projects. Builders often say the plans are detailed but the written instructions are brief, so expect to work mostly from drawings. We compare Mantua’s Victory with rival kits in our guide to wooden HMS Victory model kits.

Amati

Amati, based in Turin, is one of the oldest names in the hobby. It makes a wide range of static ship kits, plus some classic motor yachts and runabouts. Its “Victory Models” line, designed by Chris Watton, earned a good reputation for clear instructions and well-engineered parts. Amati has also offered Riva-style runabouts, which we cover in our Chris-Craft and Riva runabout kit guide.

Corel and Mamoli

Corel (Bologna) and Mamoli (Milan) were major Italian kit makers through the late 20th century. Many builders still remember their HMS Victory, USS Constitution and frigate kits. Both now turn up mostly on the secondhand market rather than in current shop catalogues. They’re still worth considering if you find a complete kit, but check the contents carefully (see the buying section below).

Spanish makers

• Artesania Latina, from Catalonia, is a large maker with a wide range, from beginner boats to big sailing ships. It has a long record of introducing new builders to the hobby with simpler “first kit” models.
• Constructo is a long-running Spanish brand with many small and mid-sized ships and boats, often at modest prices.
• Occre is a newer Spanish maker known for detailed laser-cut parts and photographic instruction manuals.
• Disarmodel has made a name with smaller, carefully researched subjects.

Spanish kits are often a good middle ground: more approachable than some large Italian kits, and widely stocked in Europe.

British makers

Caldercraft and Vanguard Models

Caldercraft kits, produced by JoTiKa in England, are known for Royal Navy subjects from the 18th and 19th centuries and for well-regarded working kits. Its 1:72 HMS Victory is one of the best-known large Victory kits. The range also includes the “North Light” Clyde puffer, a 1:32 working model with a pre-formed hull (see our guide to Clyde puffer and beam trawler models).

Vanguard Models is a more recent British maker founded by Chris Watton, who designed kits for Caldercraft and Amati before starting his own range. Its kits are known for precise laser-cut parts and thorough instructions.

Keil Kraft, Aerokits, Lesro and other vintage names

Keil Kraft was a British company founded by Eddie Keil in the 1930s. It’s best remembered for balsa flying model aircraft kits, which many people built as children. Its catalogue also included model boat kits and it distributed other makers’ products. That’s why “Keil Kraft model boat kits” turn up in lofts, at auctions and on resale sites. Today they’re collectable vintage items rather than current products. Builders tend to treat them as nostalgia projects or as sources of plans.

Other British names that come up often in vintage boat kit searches include:

• Aerokits, famous for working models of post-war British motor boats, including the Fairey Huntsman 28 and an RAF crash tender.
• Lesro, a maker of semi-scale power boat kits in the 1960s and 1970s. We look at its Arrow and other classic power boats in our guide to classic power boat models.
• Veron and other small British makers who produced balsa and plywood boat kits for the hobby shops of the era.

Some UK makers now specialise in fibreglass hulls and fitting sets rather than all-wood kits. These are popular for working models of tugs, lifeboats, paddle steamers and fishing boats.

Northern European makers

• Billing Boats (Denmark) is one of the most widely distributed wooden kit makers. Its range includes historic ships, fishing vessels, tugs and well-known subjects like the Bluenose and USS Constitution. Many Billing kits can be built as either static or working models.
• German makers such as Krick, Graupner, Robbe and Aeronaut have long been associated with working scale boats: tugs, fishing boats, launches and classic yachts. They usually come with ABS or fibreglass hulls and wooden superstructures. Some of these brands have since changed hands or narrowed their ranges.
• Dusek (Czech Republic) makes smaller, finely detailed historic ship kits that are well regarded by experienced builders.

American makers

• Model Shipways, now part of Model Expo, makes American subjects such as USS Constitution, the Bluenose and many schooners and small craft. Its kits come with well-regarded instruction manuals and full-size plan sheets (see our USS Constitution kit guide).
• Bluejacket Shipcrafters, based in Maine, is one of the oldest American kit makers and is known for solid-hull kits and American naval and merchant subjects.
• Dumas makes classic American power boats, including Chris-Craft runabouts, built as working or display models.
• Midwest Products offered simpler wooden boat kits that introduced many American builders to the hobby.

Comparing brands at a glance

Buying vintage and secondhand kits

Old kits can be bargains or headaches. Before buying:

• Check that it’s complete. Ask whether the plans, instructions and fittings bags are present. Missing plans are the hardest thing to replace.
• Look at the wood. Old balsa and plywood can warp, dry out or delaminate. Sheet parts that have been stored flat in a dry place usually survive best.
• Expect dated materials. Vintage kits often use die-cut rather than laser-cut parts, so you’ll do more trimming. Glues, finishes and electrical parts (motors and so on) will usually need replacing.
• Value plans on their own. For many vintage Keil Kraft, Aerokits and Lesro designs, the plans are the most useful part. Some can also be found through model boat plan services and magazine archives (see our guide to model ship plans, and our roundup of free balsa model boat plans).
• Don’t assume rarity means value. Prices for collectable boxed kits vary a lot. Unbuilt, complete kits in original boxes tend to sell for more than started or partial kits.

Choosing a brand for your first or next kit

There’s no single best brand. The right kit depends on your experience and what you want to build.

• First kit: Choose a small, simple subject with good instructions, from makers such as Artesania Latina, Billing Boats, Model Shipways or Amati’s beginner ranges. Avoid starting with a large first-rate ship of the line.
• Second or third kit: A schooner, cutter or small brig from Caldercraft, Vanguard, Occre, Mantua or Model Shipways will teach you planking and basic rigging.
• Working model: Look at kits with pre-formed hulls from British and German makers, or classic launch and runabout kits from Dumas and others.
• Big showpiece: Large Victory, Constitution and clipper kits from Caldercraft, Mantua/Panart, Amati and Model Shipways can take a year or more of spare time.

Reading a few build logs on ship modelling forums before you buy is one of the best ways to find out how a particular kit behaves in practice. If you’d rather start in plastic, see plastic model ship kits by scale.

Popular subjects and where to start

Many builders choose a famous ship first and a brand second. These guides cover the most popular subjects:

• Wooden HMS Victory model kits: Caldercraft, Mantua and Corel compared
• USS Constitution wooden model kits: Model Shipways, Mamoli and others
• Cutty Sark wooden model kits, and how hard they are to build
• Famous ship models, including Royal Yacht Britannia and the schooner Bluenose
• Paddle steamer model kits and the Waverley
• Working boat models: Clyde puffers and beam trawlers
• Classic power boat models: the Lesro Arrow, Fairey Huntsman and Bluebird
• Chris-Craft and Riva runabout wooden model kits