I recently visited Spain and spent 5 weeks travelling around the country with my wife. It is a wonderful country with a rich history and very friendly people.
We travelled along the Mediterranean coast, and one of the places I wanted to visit was Málaga. Not for the beaches or the Alcazaba, which were also very enjoyable, but to visit Artesanía Latina.
I met with Niovis, the daughter-in-law of the original founder of the company, Jean Louis Martin, as well as one of his sons, Daniel Martin, and Jean Louis Martin’s grandson. We spent three hours together and the time flew by. It felt like we had known each other for years. Very funny and knowledgeable people.
I learned that the father-in-law, born in Paris, moved to Spain at a young age and founded what we now know as Artesanía Latina in Barcelona together with his wife Mercedes. It is still very much a family business, with the central warehouse in Málaga. They also have an office in Hong Kong that handles sourcing of parts and components.
My life before retirement was designing and building industrial bakery lines for customers in North America, so I understand the complexity of engineering and building equipment to meet customer expectations.
One of the most interesting things I learned are the challenges of designing and building kits that try to satisfy both beginners and experts. Many older people build the kits, but fewer young people are getting into the hobby.
I started modelling when I was about 10 years old, but working on ships while maintaining a job and family was not easy, and it took years to complete each model. I was fortunate to retire in my late 50s, and now I have the time and passion; I have built 4 ships in 6 years.
For Artesanía Latina, the future is about attracting more young people into ship modelling. We visited the Naval Museum in Madrid and it was an incredible experience, with many models, some up to 15 feet long. In the shop we saw Artesanía Latina kits and met a young family whose son was interested in starting a ship model. They were from the United States, and I explained that they can order the kit online and do not need to buy it there or transport it home. The internet definitely has value for companies like Artesanía Latina, as hobby shops no longer commonly stock ship models.
In Málaga we talked a lot about manuals and scales. I am currently building the HMS Victory Anatomy, and I mentioned that although I like YouTube videos, I still prefer a paper manual, as it allows me to jump between sections and complete sub-assemblies while waiting for other parts to dry. They are aware of the difference between beginners and experts and are already including paper manuals alongside step-by-step videos, like the recent Surprise release, offering both options in future launches.
We also talked about blocks, and their engineer explained that the companies producing them use very old machinery, which makes it difficult to maintain very high quality in smaller blocks. This is where the balance between cost and quality comes in.
In an effort to make kits accessible for all levels, sometimes we simply have to accept what is available. Some people can afford 3D-printed blocks, others cannot.
I also spoke with Juan, who builds the first prototype of every model. It was very interesting to hear how he works compared to the rest of us. He has the advantage of some good tools, but also works under deadlines. He built the Anatomy in 9 months. I can only imagine how demanding that must have been.
As we all know, you really have to love ship modelling to do it 40 hours a week, every week, and always perform at a high level.
I met the rest of the team and enjoyed a coffee along with some excellent pastries. I really enjoyed listening to their stories. One of the customer service staff mentioned that they receive over 1,000 customer emails per week, so it is important to keep that in mind and be kind to them.
I would like to thank the Artesanía Latina team for welcoming my wife and me, and I am very grateful for the experience.
Please forward this to others in your forums. I’m hoping it will provide insight to continue to help grow ship modeling.
