Everything you might ask

Marea is a UK headquartered maker of bespoke scale ship models, run as a haute craftsmanship maison rather than a factory. We build one of a kind models of yachts, superyachts, commercial vessels, naval ships and historic ships for private owners, shipyards, brokers and the wider maritime industry. Every commission is unique, designed around you, and finished to be inspected up close.

We work as a creative studio in miniature. Every commission opens with a free session with our creative director, includes full design support and 3D visualisation, and runs in one to two months rather than the industry's usual three or more. One dedicated project manager carries the whole build, from first sketch to white glove delivery, customs and paperwork included. Our agents around the world speak the local language too, so you can deal with us in your own.

Marea is headquartered in the United Kingdom. Production runs through our own craftsmen and a hand picked network of partners across the UK, the Netherlands, wider Europe, the Far East and the USA, all working to one master process. Every model is quality controlled and signed off in our UK studio before it leaves.

Marea is more than bilingual. The core team works fully in French and English, and our agents add further languages including Arabic, Italian, Eastern European and Scandinavian languages. Wherever you are, you can speak to a local point of contact in your own language, and they bridge you to the UK studio. We understand the cultural nuance between them too.

Start by filling in the online quote request form with your vessel and your brief. We then arrange your conceptualisation session, a free fifteen minute conversation with our creative director, where we learn the vessel, the brief, your timeline and your budget, and prepare a quote. Once approved, we render your model in 3D for sign off, document every detail in a model maker's brief, build it, quality control it, and deliver it by hand.

Five steps. The conceptualisation session, a free conversation with our creative director, followed by a quote. The 3D visualisation and model maker's brief, which you sign off before any material is cut. The build, by our craftsmen and supplier network. Inspection and quality control at different stages of the build. And packing and delivery, white glove logistics with customs, taxes and insurance handled for you.

Yes. Before any material is cut we render your model in 3D and document every detail, sizes, scales, colour codes, materials and finishes, in a model maker's brief. Nothing proceeds until you have approved the renders and the brief. During the build you receive photos at the milestones, and final photos for sign off before delivery.

A no charge conversation with our creative director to understand your needs, your brand, your timeframe and your budget, for a personal or a corporate commission. It gives us everything we need to prepare your quote and to shape the concept, so the project manager and team build to a precise brief. Most makers stop at the model. We start before it, and we do not charge for it.

Yes. We can build a scale model of any ship at any size, working from your drawings or from none at all. Through partnerships with maritime museums and yacht clubs around the world, we can recover the lines and detail of almost any vessel, whether it is still afloat or sank to the seabed centuries ago.

To prepare a quote we need your contact details, general arrangement plans, high definition photos and the model size or scale. A walk through video of the ship and 3D modelling files help but are not essential. If you have no plans at all, we research the vessel for you.

Indicative price ranges by model type and size are shown in the pricing grid on the What We Build page, so you can see where a commission starts before you enquire. Final price depends on the vessel, the scale, the level of detail, the range you choose and any signature options. After your conceptualisation session and your photos or plans, we confirm a fixed quote, usually within forty eight hours.

A fifty percent deposit confirms your quote and secures your manufacturing slot. A further thirty percent is requested at the seventy five percent build stage, and the final twenty percent on completion once you approve the final photos. Packing and delivery are quoted separately at completion, because sea and air freight rates fluctuate.

Yes. A fifty percent deposit secures your build slot and begins the work, which is standard practice for bespoke model making. You receive build photos at the fifty and seventy five percent milestones, and nothing ships until you have seen the finished model and signed it off, fully satisfied.

Usually within forty eight hours of your conceptualisation session and once we have your photos, plans and the size or scale you want. The quote is fixed, not an estimate that drifts, and it includes an indicative delivery estimate. Final freight is confirmed at completion.

One to two months for most commissions, against the industry's usual three months minimum. We achieve this with modern fabrication, 3D modelling and printing, digital lathes and laser routers, without ever shortening the time spent on the finish. The final touch stays in the human eye and the human hand.

Yes. Our Fast Track service delivers an eighty to one hundred centimetre model in three to five weeks, for a launch, a board decision, a trade show, an anniversary or a gift that has to arrive on the day. The team works in shifts so the work moves faster. It is not a rush job and no corners are cut.

We bring modern tooling to the build floor, 3D modelling and printing, digital lathes, laser routers and precision assembly, which moves the work fast and keeps tolerances tight. The finish, the paint, the decals and the finesse stay where they have always been, applied by eye and by hand. Speed by design, not by shortcut.

Both are Marea craftsmanship. High Tide, the signature range, carries the maximum detail the scale permits, full creative direction, 3D visualisation and a finesse made to be inspected up close, with an acrylic display case included. Low Tide, the standard range, distils each vessel to its essential character, with refined detailing and a longer production time, which makes it more attainable.

No. Low Tide carries the same Marea eye for the lines that matter. It is a more restrained level of detailing with a refined rather than exhaustive finish, and a longer production time, all of which make it more accessible. It is the place to begin for those who want an attainable Marea model.

Yes. Both High Tide and Low Tide are available across all eight categories we build, from yachts and superyachts to cruise ships, commercial vessels, naval ships, workboats, leisure craft, historic ships and half models.

Eight categories. Yachts and superyachts, cruise ships and liners, technical and commercial vessels such as container ships, tankers and bulk carriers, naval and military ships, workboats and offshore vessels, leisure craft, historic and tall ships, and half models mounted on a backing board. Any vessel, any scale, with or without plans.

A half model is a vessel split lengthwise and mounted on a backing board, so it sits flat against a wall like a framed piece. It comes in two forms: a half hull, just the hull on the board, or a fuller half model that keeps the deck detail and a section of the mast where the vessel has one. Either is a classic, space saving way to display a ship, and we can build one of almost any vessel.

Scale is a ratio. At 1:100, one centimetre on the model equals one hundred centimetres on the real ship, so a 60 m superyacht becomes a model around 60 cm (24 in) long. The larger the second number, the smaller the model. We help you choose the scale that suits your space, your detail expectations and your budget.

When we talk about size we mean the length of the model, with width and height following in proportion. Display lengths commonly run from around 50 cm (20 in) up to 150 cm (59 in) or more, and Fast Track models are built at 80 to 100 cm (31 to 39 in). On a model with masts and sails the height can exceed the length, and where that happens we always quote the height as well.

We select materials to suit the vessel, the scale and the finish, combining hand finished hardwoods, precision composites and 3D printed components where they serve the detail. The choice is made for accuracy and longevity. Every surface is hand finished, with paint flawless under glass and decals true to scale.

It depends on the range. High Tide, the signature range, carries the maximum detail the scale permits, finished to be inspected up close and delivered with a magnifying glass and white gloves, an open invitation to scrutinise every panel. Low Tide, the standard range, distils the vessel to its essential character, a more restrained yet refined level of detailing that still holds the Marea eye for the lines that matter. There is a French expression, belle de loin, mais loin d'etre belle, beautiful from afar but far from beautiful. Most of the industry lives there. We do not.

Yes. You can choose the base type, mirrored, wood or acrylic, the colours and tints of hull, deck, livery, varnish and base, interior LED lighting inside the model, perimeter LED lighting around the base, and an open or transparent acrylic display case.

Three signature ways to present a model. Magnetic levitation, the model suspended in mid air on a magnetic base with no visible support. A tinted transparent resin block, the model embedded as if afloat. And a water line presentation, the model set on a digital screen that animates the sea around the hull.

Every High Tide model comes with an acrylic display case included. For a Low Tide model, you can order a display case separately. A case protects the model from dust and helps preserve its detail and value over time, and we can advise on the right one for where you intend to display the piece.

Yes. We make bespoke travel cases on wheels, built to keep a model safe in transit and sized to be accepted on planes, ships and trains, as well as in vans and lorries. It is the right option if your model needs to move between homes, offices, shows or events.

Yes. We deliver worldwide. Your dedicated project manager books, insures and delivers the model, and will set it in place by hand where required. Final freight is quoted at completion because sea and air rates fluctuate, and an indicative delivery estimate is provided with your original quote.

We do. Your project manager handles the import duties, taxes and paperwork, so none of the admin falls on you. It is part of the white glove service, handled the same way the model is, effortlessly.

For maximum protection, each model is packed in a fully reinforced crate with polystyrene and bubble wrap protection inside. The crate is then mounted on a pallet for stability in handling and transit. The piece is insured to its full replacement value, so it arrives exactly as it left the UK studio.

Dust gently with a soft brush, a camel hair brush works well even on rigging, and follow with a light pass to stop dust resettling. Keep the model out of direct sunlight and away from heat sources. A display case greatly reduces cleaning. In a clean room, every three to six months is enough.

Yes. Built and finished to be lived with, a Marea model is made to endure. Keeping it cased, out of direct sun and away from heat preserves the paint and detail for the long term. The display case protects against dust and handling, the two things that age a model fastest.

Yes. Marea models are commissioned by owners as keepsakes, by shipyards to mark a handover, by brokers as a signature gesture, and by companies for launches, milestones and executive gifts. The Fast Track service exists precisely for dates that cannot move, a launch, a board decision or a gift that has to arrive on the day.

Yes. We work with private owners, shipyards, naval architects, interior designers and brokers. The model becomes the lasting touchpoint after a sale or a delivery, something a client lives with long after the vessel leaves the dock. Talk to us about partnership and referral arrangements.

Yes. Marea is international by nature, with agents already in the UK, the Middle East, Italy, Eastern Europe and France. We are expanding into Monaco, America, the Bahamas and Australasia, and anywhere else. If you are passionate about boats and scale models, talk to us about our agent package.