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Hello from a newbie from Melbourne, Australia - looking for help from Aussies (and others).

A

aussie43

Joined
Jul 19, 2025
Messages
21
Points
28

Location
Melbourne, Australia
Hi,
I am 82 yo bloke from Melbourne. Have done some plastic kit modelling of WW2 planes and tanks, but no wood.
My wife doesn't like war planes and tanks - they kill people - and suggested that I build a ship.
But the choice in plastic is uninspiring, so I am thinking of wood. After spending a day searching and reading logs and posts, I have narrowed it to the Santa Maria or Pinta kits.
And to two brands - Artesania and Amati.

Amati: There does not seem to be a retailer in Australia who sell Amati. Amati themselves apparently don't ship to AU, and Premier Ship Models, although having some AU presence, ship from the UK at an incredible A$100 shipping fee.
Can you please suggest a cheaper way to get the Amati kit?

Artesania Latina: Plenty of places where to buy the kits from, and also all their bits and pieces. One bricks-and-mortar shop not far from where I live. But there is some complication there -
The AL Santa Maria is available in two versions - original 22411 and 22411N - improved. I have read some pretty strong critique of the N version. Very thin plywood, flimsy, difficult to get the parts together true and square.
But on the other hand, it has some improvements maybe worth having. Could they be purchased as extras?

Also, although the price - without shipping - of the Amati kit is only a bit higher, some people say that the Amati SM is a much better quality kit than the AL kit.

So these are my problems at the moment - what to buy. I am too old to start at the bottom of the ladder and get all the answers by my own experience. Also, I have to be careful with my money. The Santa Maria could be my first and last wooden kit.

Any help, advice, suggestion will be welcome.
Joe
 
welcome aboard!!

You can try Cornwall Model Boats in UK

Cornwall Model Boats Ltd

Suppliers of quality model ship and model boat kits, model boats, model boat fittings, hardware, radio controlled and static display models available. Our Worldwide mail order service offers modellers with a large range of model ship kits, ship fittings, ship plans, building materials, books and...
www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk
 
Hi Joe..welcome from another Aussie here in Perth where the most common kits available (without incurring postage) are indeed Artesania Latina.
My first build was the AL Santa Maria…undoubtedly the original version as I purchased it about 20 years ago. I am currently on my 4th and 5th builds all of which have been AL so I can’t make a comparison with other brands but I have found no problems with them.
Santa Maria is a good starting level kit with which you can increase your skills as you progress to more complex kits.
Be aware that importing kits from overseas, besides the exorbitant postage, will also incur customs charges upon arrival so local or interstate purchases are certainly recommended. There are a number of retailers located on the east coast that you might consider but being able to walk into the shop and buy your kit is certainly the best option.
Good luck
Gary
 
It think the AL version (as advised by Cornwall Model Boats) does not come with an instruction book, but online or CD instructions. You might want to double check on that unless it isn't a problem to you. Cheers.
 
Hi everybody,

Thanks for the Welcome posts.
After two days of full time searches and enquiries I found out that the old version of Artesania's Santa Maria is no longer available - and I don't want the new version.
So I started looking for the best price I could get importing the the Amati SM from Europe, but eventually one local Melbourne shop told me they could get it for me - and at a surprisingly good price.
So now I am doing some more reading of building logs to see what is in front of me, but have more than less decided to get it.
I still have some plastic kits to complete, so I will slowly get ready for the new adventure.

cheers
 
aussie43 said:
Hi,
I am 82 yo bloke from Melbourne. Have done some plastic kit modelling of WW2 planes and tanks, but no wood.
My wife doesn't like war planes and tanks - they kill people - and suggested that I build a ship.
But the choice in plastic is uninspiring, so I am thinking of wood. After spending a day searching and reading logs and posts, I have narrowed it to the Santa Maria or Pinta kits.
And to two brands - Artesania and Amati.

Amati: There does not seem to be a retailer in Australia who sell Amati. Amati themselves apparently don't ship to AU, and Premier Ship Models, although having some AU presence, ship from the UK at an incredible A$100 shipping fee.
Can you please suggest a cheaper way to get the Amati kit?

Artesania Latina: Plenty of places where to buy the kits from, and also all their bits and pieces. One bricks-and-mortar shop not far from where I live. But there is some complication there -
The AL Santa Maria is available in two versions - original 22411 and 22411N - improved. I have read some pretty strong critique of the N version. Very thin plywood, flimsy, difficult to get the parts together true and square.
But on the other hand, it has some improvements maybe worth having. Could they be purchased as extras?

Also, although the price - without shipping - of the Amati kit is only a bit higher, some people say that the Amati SM is a much better quality kit than the AL kit.

So these are my problems at the moment - what to buy. I am too old to start at the bottom of the ladder and get all the answers by my own experience. Also, I have to be careful with my money. The Santa Maria could be my first and last wooden kit.

Any help, advice, suggestion will be welcome.
Joe
Click to expand...
Welcome Aussie 43
Billing Boats have some nice plank on frames models and the Marie Jeanne is a nice starter model and the link below for down under sells their kits and all the tools ect you may need. https://premiershipmodels.com.au/product/marie-jeanne-model-boat-kit-billing-boats-b580/
 
Hi Shellback,
Thanks for your welcome and advice, but I am now committed to the Amati Santa Maria from a local shop who gave me a good price. Apparently they get it from an US distributor.
Premiership models' price is a bit lower for the model itself, but their agent in the UK charges A$120 for shipping to Australia.
The difference will buy me a lot of other stuff that I will need, and it is nice to have a relationship with a brick-and-mortar shop a few minutes drive from home.

cheers
 
Hello from perth, I started with the Harvey model (cheap one from China) which was not bad but no instructions in the kit, but it was very ceap less than $AU10.00, Next I bought the Harvey 1:50 model, this was not cheap ( I bought from Hobby shops AU) but instructions were great - a DVD disk. Provided photos on my build of le Hussard. You will learn everything, almost, on this build

Halcon 1.jpg
 
aussie43 said:
Hi everybody,

Thanks for the Welcome posts.
After two days of full time searches and enquiries I found out that the old version of Artesania's Santa Maria is no longer available - and I don't want the new version.
So I started looking for the best price I could get importing the the Amati SM from Europe, but eventually one local Melbourne shop told me they could get it for me - and at a surprisingly good price.
So now I am doing some more reading of building logs to see what is in front of me, but have more than less decided to get it.
I still have some plastic kits to complete, so I will slowly get ready for the new adventure.

cheers
Click to expand...
Welcome aboard Joe,

Glad you could get the kit you wanted. I hope the shop was Float a boat. They have been very helpful to me for parts. Premier Ship are more expensive for freight as they use premium freight option. Only bought off them once as they had the kit on 40% discount and even then there was arguments as their calculators didn't work correctly. Anyway, I happened to pick up the AL Santa Maria through Facebook Marketplace a few years ago. One of many waiting to be started.

Rob
 
Robmelbourne said:
Welcome aboard Joe,

Glad you could get the kit you wanted. I hope the shop was Float a boat. They have been very helpful to me for parts. Premier Ship are more expensive for freight as they use premium freight option. Only bought off them once as they had the kit on 40% discount and even then there was arguments as their calculators didn't work correctly. Anyway, I happened to pick up the AL Santa Maria through Facebook Marketplace a few years ago. One of many waiting to be started.

Rob
Click to expand...
Hi,
Yes, it is Float a Boat. They only have the Amati Nina on their website, but I decided to try and give them a ring. Rhonda said she could get me the Santa Maria., so I said yes. Now it is on its way to Melbourne.
I was afraid of the Artesania kit because people say that their "N" improved kit uses only 2.8 mm thick plywood, and I could not find the old kit anywhere.
So while I am waiting for the kit, I am gathering tools and bits and pieces I think I will need. And watch YouTube and logs here on S0S.

cheers
 
aussie43 said:
Hi,
Yes, it is Float a Boat. They only have the Amati Nina on their website, but I decided to try and give them a ring. Rhonda said she could get me the Santa Maria., so I said yes. Now it is on its way to Melbourne.
I was afraid of the Artesania kit because people say that their "N" improved kit uses only 2.8 mm thick plywood, and I could not find the old kit anywhere.
So while I am waiting for the kit, I am gathering tools and bits and pieces I think I will need. And watch YouTube and logs here on S0S.

cheers
Click to expand...
That's cool,

Rhonda is very helpful. I will be getting a couple of more parts from her in the near future. You may have seen in the newsagents a few years ago kits that you could get week by week. I have seen there were several ships. If you bought them that way you were looking at the $2000 or more. I have paid no more than $150 for them. One set for free, etc. I am about to put on the market a complete set of Del Prado Build the Bounty. I also have Hatchette build the Titanic, which has 3 issues missing. I have a complete set too and can provide a copy of the instructions and missing parts which can be copied. I will check in the next few days what they are and see if I have the right bits in my spares, if you like.

I got the old kit from Facebook Marketplace. I only buy if the price is right

There was a guy in Geelong Giving away a whole lot of AL spare parts and timbers and metals he acquired over the years for free. It was worth the trip from Bentleigh to get them, just in case.

Anyway, these week by week kits can be an easy way to start as they have good, easy to follow instructions, and with the prices at less than 10% of retail of the original, give it a thought. I also have spare tools you may like to look at purchasing too. Again all through Facebook Marketplace.
 
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