Historic Marine — Local services in Isle Mauritius

If you are staying in Grand Baie take a morning to tour the Model Ship factory Historic Marine by a short trip south by taxi. The art of ship modeling was brought to Mauritius by various sailors who visited this island. Le Port’s eye for detail and quality has many customers visiting them from around the world. The model ships are all hand made at the plant which you can see being built by their skilled employees.Their craftsmen are adept in the art of miniaturisation and the techniques of replica work. At times it requires more than six months for a craftsman to produce a particular model. They also create half models and replicas. These models are built out of pure wood using traditional plank on frame technique.The entire production is segmented. A few artisans are expert in decking up the model with metal strips, wires, cloth pieces used as ship hoists, etc.; and a few paint and polish or give it a final touch. A hostess takes you around explaining the process at each unit. You are also urged to buy ship models as it is considered a sign of good luck. We definitely didn't mind picking up a few for family and friends. They are carefully packed with customized boxes and packing material so that the models do not get damaged in...

En confiance après l’achat d’une maquette en magasin quelques années avant, nous avons commandé sur place la réalisation d’une (très chère) maquette sur mesure d’un chalutier pour lequel nous avions communiqué des photos. Après des mois d’attente, de rares échanges (et toujours à notre initiative), nous avons été livrés. Très déçus de découvrir un produit pas très fidèle à l’original sur lequel il manque beaucoup de détails et d’accessoires. Toutes les promesses faites en magasin concernant la qualité du produit fini, les compétences pour le réaliser, les délais, notre implication dans ce projet, n’ont pas été tenues. Nous avons manifesté notre mécontentement et demandé l’envoi de quelques accessoires et échantillons peinture pour «sauver» la maquette mais pas de réponse. Pas très correct considérant que c’est...

The owner was very friendly and showed us around the showroom and the workshop with explanation. It was very interesting to see the very detailed models ranging from 30€ to 1.000€. No pushing to buy anything, we gave a small...