Is it a model or a mini-superyacht?

Model Maker Group

One of the perks that comes from spending over 30 years writing about yachts is getting to know the many of the world’s most talented yacht designers and builders who build the world’s largest and most expensive superyachts.

And that’s most certainly the way I feel after meeting MMG’s Giuseppe Capobianco. In fact, he and his team build many of the world’s largest yachts in their state-of-the-art facility in Italy. Actually, they build many of the world’s largest, most detailed, most accurate, most inspiringly gorgeous scale models of the world’s largest and most expensive superyachts in the world.

MMG stands for Model Maker Group—the company Capobianco founded to feed his passion for scale yacht model building 20 years ago. “I’ve been obsessed with building models my whole life,” he says. “I had my small CNC machine in the living room, but my mom hated the dust! I quickly moved to the garage. I took my first order from a shipyard close by. And I’ve been building models ever since.”

While the company he started in his parents’ home has grown into a full-on-ultra-high-quality, model building juggernaut with the guidance and leadership of his wife (and CEO) Elisabetta Fantasia, it’s obvious that Capobianco still feels the same love and passion for model building now that he did then.

So, what’s the big deal with scale yacht models that have hyper-realistic lights, opening doors, swimming pools, Heli-pads, and people that look exactly like their full-scale counterparts you ask? Well, apart from being stand-alone works of art that will grab the attention of anyone who loves yachts and the ocean. MMG’s highly detailed scale models are in high demand by shipyards and designers to give potential clients a chance to see what a prospective yacht may look like in 3D (and yes, possibly encourage them to make a significant deposit) before construction begins.

As a result of the increased demand, the MMG team is made up of 35 experts who combine meticulous and skilled craftsmanship with the latest technologies. Over 400 museum-level models with realistic details and materials like teak decks, life-like pool water, and special fabrics and furnishings are built per year.

And, as I’ve seen for myself firsthand, large, intricate, highly detailed MMG-models are displayed in every major yacht show in the world. In fact, over 100 MMG-built models were displayed at the Monaco Yacht Show last year. And in true superyacht-style, he and his team build custom trunks to transport every model they build, and personally hand deliver and install almost every model they’ve built as well.

But, I also see in Giuseppe’s eyes that the models he builds have way more soul than mere marketing collateral. And as I learned, many of his clients are yacht owners—very large yacht owners—often want a MMG models of their yacht in their land-based homes to commemorate the joy and memories that designing, building and owning a specific yacht makes possible.

“I prefer to call what we build ‘mini superyachts,’” he says with a remarkable combination of humility and pride. “Each is 100% custom built. Each is built with the exact materials and details of the full-size yacht. Our challenge is always to find an exact match to every detail. We get the specifications from the shipyard we can to match everything—colors, materials, and proportions—exactly. Our mini superyachts are realistic sculptures. And every model has a story.”

His clients all over the world agree. “I have a client in Germany,” he says. “The first model we made was for his 27-meter yacht . Then we made one for his 50-meter. He has an entire collection of special models that represent good times he spent with his family.

But few stories can top the one Giuseppe told me about a particular VIP client. “He loved our yacht models so much that he wanted to come to Italy to see how we build them. Of course we were excited to welcome him when he arrived in a van with his bodyguards. We had a great visit. He asked us to build a few large models for him. But as he was leaving the client said ‘There’s only one problem. The next time I come visit, I want to come straight from the yacht. We need a place land the helicopter.’”

And it just turns out that MMG has outgrown its current facility and will be expanding to a site nearby that has lots more room to build models. And yes, room to land a helicopter too.