Boats in miniature are one of the traditional fine art products of Vietnam which are in great demand in many foreign countries thanks to their high quality and beautiful and delicate designs.
Boats in miniature are one of the traditional fine art products of Vietnam which are in great demand in many foreign countries thanks to their high quality and beautiful and delicate designs.
For many hobbyists, particularly businessmen, boats are considered the symbol for successful business, so the business circle from countries like China, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam often select the image of a boat as their business icon with the hope that they will make a big profit in business and have many successful commercial deals. For this reason, model boats are one of the best choices for them to display in their work rooms and private houses.
In Vietnam the craft of making model boats has existed for a long time and has strongly developed in Trang Bom district and Ho Nai ward in Bien Hoa city, Dong Nai province where there are plentiful resources of materials and a staff of veteran model shipwrights. Therefore, many big companies from Ho Chi Minh city often come to the province to order a large number of model boats for export.
Do Vy, who has been making model boats for 13 years and is now responsible for technique in a workshop in Binh Minh commune in Trang Bom district, said: “Model boats are completely made by hand. The more delicate and versatile features and details the model boat has, the more valuable it becomes.”
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Model boats made by Vietnamese artisans are in great demand in many foreign countries because they are made manually with delicate and versatile features and details. |
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Ancient boat models. |
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| Each part of a boat is made with delicate and details. |
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| At the display hall of model boats in Thien Huong Company. |
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| Besides traditional boats, Vietnam also makes many modern model yachts. |
To build a model boat, it requires the builders’ craftsmanship and it includes many stages, such as making the boat’s hull, putting details together, making the boat sail and painting-one of the most important stages which help the products durable and eye-catching.
Taking us to visit his workshop where there are 300 model boats for export, each over 1m long, Vy said: “Our workshop has eight boat builders and it took us a month to make these boats. For this craft, we have jobs all year round and during rush time we even need more artisans to meet the demand of customers.”
Model boats are mainly exported to the US, European countries, the Middle East and China. At present, the Vietnamese model boat making enterprises are facing a severe competition with companies from the Philippines and China which are the largest model boat exporters in the world. However, Vietnam has more advantages in this field because the model boats are manually made with high quality and intricately detailed designs. Furthermore, the Vietnamese companies have made miniature replicas of boats ranging from elegantly simple line models to those of exquisite detail to suit customers’ taste.
Vuong Dinh Sac, Director of Thien Thuong company, a famous model boat building enterprise in Binh Minh Commune, said: “At present old ships are the most favourite in the market and our company annually exports about 2,000 old ships, earning more than 5 billion dong.” He also added that the price of a 1m long model ship for export is about 150-200 USD. For longer ships with more delicate details like the HMS Victory of the British Royal Marine in the 18th century, it can reach 500USD/each.
In recent years, the export turnover from model boats has accounted for a large portion among the total export turnover from the Vietnamese fine arts products so the companies have made great effort to look for opportunities to develop the craft and participate in international fairs to promote the trademark of this type of product and expand foreign markets.
(Source: VNP)
