Welcome to my links page. This page serves both Warship Models Underway and SeaPhoto Mariitme Photography. If you have a link to suggest, by all means email me. Thank you!
SeaPhoto is my company, and is the proud sponsor of Warship Models Underway.
We welcome Sirmar / PSShips as our new Sponsor!
Sirmar is a long established UK based supplier of high quality hulls and fittings for both the US and Royal Navy Modeler. Recently the company was aquired by respected modeler Paul Simpson, and now can supply completed models as well.
Homeport models makes Laser Cut Superstructure kits that can be used in conjunction with Scale Shipyard Hulls to dramatically reduce your building time - be sure to check them out.
This is my brother's company - give him a try!
IMPORTANT NOTE: For the most part, these links are simply people I know, or have purchased from. Where I do have a business relationship, I will clearly state that.
I have divided this page into the following sections:
Large Scale Model Warship Suppliers
Online sources for complete kits
Plans, photos and other references
Electronics for radio control model
Services for the model warship builder
Tools for building model ships
Personal Site and How to pages
Model Clubs for large scale warships
Radio Control Scale Submarines
Online sources for research information
Sites for smaller scale models
Large Scale Model Warship Suppliers - people who make the hulls and parts for large scale radio control ship models
The world's premier supplier of fiberglass hulls and detail parts, you will be seeing a lot of this companies products displayed as this site develops. Offers hulls ranging from small tugboats to giant Nimitz class carriers in 1/96 scale. Their Iowa class hull and fittings kit is very popular, as are their Fletcher, Gearing, Baltimore, and Aegis cruisers and destroyer offerings. Lots of Kriegsmarine units, and Yamato too. Check them out!
A new start up company - their first kit, the USS Blueback, is being very well received. If you would like to get into r/c submarines with no experience, and are looking for a reasonably priced, highly engineered kit that requires only modest skill to complete, you would do well to check this company out. Now offering a Kilo class Russian Submarine kit.
Loren Perry influenced many warship modelers in the early and mid 1980's both with his models and through his job as editor of Scale Ship Modeler. Unfortunately he has dropped all his 1/96 scale products, but still is a great source for 1/200 and smaller details if you build those small critters <grin>
Mosquito Boat Hobbies - If you are looking to build the 1/20th scale Dumas PT-109 kit - STOP!!! At least until you have visited Mosquito Boat Hobbies, who offer upgrade kits, building videos (including how to correct a glaring error in the Dumas hull) and complete kits for both Elco and Higgins PT Boats. Vietnam era Swift and PCF boats as well - worth a look if you are into brown water navy.
West Coast Warships - a new company that specializes in 1/48 scale warship hulls. Currently they have a Admirable Class Minesweeper, and a Sims class destroyer, and are working on several new projects as well. Check thier page for the latest information. The site is part of the larger 48th Fleet club site, a Los Angeles area club devoted to building large scale models.
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Loyalhanna Dockyard supports Warship Models Underway through Advertising Banners:
We supply hull, fittings, complete kits, flags, running gear, motors, radios, speed controls, custom and technical support services. We have Caldercraft, Slipway, Metcalf, Kingston Mouldings, Microglass, Mount fleet models, Ocean Voyage, Radestock, Cheddar Steam Plants and Deans Marine is now coming on board in the very near future. We are Sirmar's sole U.S. Distributor and Fleetscale also. We have a 250 page illustrated catalog and offer over 300 different boats and kits. We also have informational sections and fittings listings along with BECC flags.
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Sources for complete kits, as well as parts
BaD Ship Models - Makers of traditional plank on frame warship kits for modern subjects.
Battleship Models - Makes kits for Essex Class Carriers, USS Indiana (BB-1); also source for wood strips.
CNC Models - Makes cnc cut superstructures, running gear, kits, reference material, and more.
Dean's Marine - A highly successful manufacturer of warship kits in 1/96 scale, among others. They have an emphasis on English subjects - see the magnificent Dreadnought model they make - , but also offer models for other countries - for example, a Fletcher class destroyer, and a German Type 1936 destroyer that sure looks pretty in the pictures! (Hey, I am thinking ahead to when I get that Scharnhorst or Gneisenau model done some day...it would be nice to have an escort for her!). Available in the US from Loyalhanna Dockyard, among others.
Dreadnought Model Shipyard - makes custom hulls for modelers, as well as fittings.
Fleetscale - makes an extensive line of 1/128th scale fiberglass warship semi-kits. If you have to build a battleship, but cannot fit a 1/96 scale model in your living room, this could be a good option. Their semi-kits tend to be more complete than US equivalents, and require less scratchbuilding. They also offer a semi kit for a 1/96 scale Yamato, USS Olympia (cruiser), 1/72 scale modern British warships, 1/48 scale Flower class corvettes and more.
The Floating Drydock - while more widely known as a premier source of plans and photos, they carry a number of fittings for US Warships - lines included John Haynes, J&D, HR and some imported items such as stud link anchor change and photo etched stanchions.
GMS Model Building Firm - Complete models and kits from Russia
HR Products - manufacturer of metal fittings for ship models in a variety of scales - lots of 1/96 scale and larger fittings.
J and D Productions - A small, but high quality line of 1/96 scale fittings, including weapons and directors not available elsewhere. Also builds models on commission see below.
John Haynes - Makes very nice fittings for US and other ships, carried in the US by The Floating Drydock. Also builds models on commission - see below.
Kingston Mouldings - can supply the old Radestock Range of hulls, including a 1:100 scale Z-15 and Vorposten Boat. Also has a number of their own original hulls. You should really check out this site as it has an informative section on electric motors, speed controls and how to choose the appropriate one for your model.
Masterpieces in Miniature Supplies 1/96 and 1/192 scale photo etched brass detail parts of a very high standard.
Metcalf Mouldings - makers of a number of fiberglass hulls, including the battleships Yamato and Dreadnought, as well as a number of other warships in larger scale
ModellSchlachtschiffe.de I don't know anything about this company, but the parts on their website are impressive.
Modellbau Andreas Lassek - high quality hulls, parts and kits for mainly World War II German Navy, with some World War I and modern offerings as well.
Modellbau Zinnecker makes kits for World War I German Navy ships in 1:100 scale. German Language Site
Microglass - maker of high quality hulls; has a very nice replacement hull for the venerable Lindberg tug, which is a World War II army design - this hull is far better for radio control and noticeably improves the performance of the model. Also has various warship hulls, and large scale ship's boats for really big warships!
Sirmar - another extensive line that favors English ships. The line is available from a number of online suppliers, such as Westbourne Model Centre and the Model Dockyard in the UK
G Sitek Scale Propellers took over the E. Radestock line of finely made scale propellers - very nice workmanship - please note that the email address on his site is incorrect - can be be reached at propsgtsitek@yahoo.com
Tom's Modelworks - 1/96 and 1/192 photoetched parts for US Warships
Waverley Models - carries the fitting portions of the old Radestock range, including some nice 1:100 scale Kriegsmarine fttings.
If you know of any other manufacturers, please email me.
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Online sources for complete kits
Loyalhanna Dockyard- sells Dean's Marine, other warship kits. Also has the Taubman plans collection, which has large numbers of warship plans. I no longer have any financial connection with them.
The Model Dockyard - A UK based company that mails order around the world. You can get Dean's Marine and other quality British offerings from them.
Naval Base Hobbies - sells BaD Ship Models (The line, not a comment on Shaya's inventory <grin>), as well as many other plastic and resin kits. An especially good resource for those building smaller scale ship models.
Ships 'N Things - supplies all kinds of fittings, parts, submarine kits and other goodies for the ship modeler. They distribute the Robbe F-14 radio system in the US, a module based system with all kinds of potential for highly animated models.
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Sources for plans, photos and other reference
SeaPhoto - Why not plug my own company? I have many onboard, overhead and pierside views of modern US Navy ships, organized into sets. If you want to go nuts detailing a model, I can give you the ammunition for an awful lot of ship classes.
The Floating Drydock - has nice black and white photographs of World War II era US Warships at a very reasonable price. Of course, they are also well known as a source for plans and other information. If you are building an American warship of the 20th Century, you should visit this site. Also carries John Haynes fittings, Gold Medal Models Decals, stub link anchor chain from Germany, and many other useful items for the warship builder.
Warshipplans.com - Duane Curtis has a small but growing range of modern US Navy plans which are not available elsewhere.
Taubman's Plan Service. World's largest inventory of ship plans.
Maryland Silver Company - this is a good source for plans of the Civil War and Steel Navy era's., as well as some World War II and later subjects. This company has some real goodies if you poke around their site a bit.
Pacific Front Hobbies - Bill Gruner's mail order ship model business. Carries a large variety of 1/350 scale and smaller resin kits as well as plastic kits. Of special interest to large scale ship modeler is his inventory of references - ship plans, books and paint chips.
Snyder and Short Enterprises "The Paint Guys" Snyder and Short Enterprises is the only manufacturer of naval paint chip sets for the ship modeler. If you are looking for accurate World War II colors, this is the place. The site also hosts -
John Sheridan's USN Warship Camouflage website. An excellent place to get information on painting your World War II US warship - with detailed information on the various measures used on all manner of vessels.
Naval Profile Art Prints by George Bisharat - George is a buddy of mine, and produces nice "profile style" prints of many ships in the US Navy. I have several of these and they make fine decorations for your workshop or study. Check them out!
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Electronic components for radio
control
EA Electronics - Sells speed controls, motors, BEC, and a neat signal lamp flasher for model boats which I am installing in my John Paul Jones.
FMA Direct - makes very small radio receivers and other electronics for r/c.
Hobby People - sells a nice, inexpensive speed control. Be sure to get the Marine version though, the 05500 Mtroniks Marine Eco (F/R) ESC .
Model Control Devices - Make speed controls, radio control function controls.
Mtroniks - makes very nice speed control - based in England, available in the US from Hobby People.
Loyalhanna Dockyard - many different kinds of electronics for the model ship builder.
Tower Hobbies - Not only a good place to get a lot of radio gear and
other goodies, but they maintain a very useful
R/C Link site as
well.
Vantec - makers of speed controls and keypad control add-on's for r/c equipment, also 8 channel surface frequency radios.
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Hawk Graphics - Makes Model ship decals from 1/2400 to 1/72
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Services for the model builder
Laser-4-U - A midwest shop that will laser cut plastic to a computer file. Prices seemed reasonable - might be the way to go for complex flat parts.
Hallen Display Cases We build some of the best display cases for ships in the world, but we'll let you be the judge!. Come visit, you're always welcome...
J-Display Case We offer professional grade acrylic display cases model covers and custom fabrication.
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Model
ship raw materials
Alumilite - Sells RTV rubber for molds and two part casting resin for making your own parts.
Evercoat - makes catalyzed body putty, body fillers, as well as Plastic Honey, a thinner for these materials.
Evergreen Scale Models - Where would I be without this company? Chopping a lot of plastic, no doubt about that! Makes strip plastic in a variety of thicknesses and widths. Also carries sheet goods, and has added shapes, such as angles and I-Beams. An invaluable resource to the modeler.
GE Polymershapes- online source for a variety of sheet goods, such as plexiglass, lexan, polystyrene and Sintra. Also sells cast acrylic rod, good for machining. The site is a bit complicated to navigate, but take your time and you will find what you are looking for. You can order with your credit card at this site.
K and S Engineering - Metal supplier to the model. Makes telescoping brass tubing, as well as a variety of special shapes. Also be sure to check out the company's off shoot - Special Shapes - for thinwall tubing, photoetched grid, and, well, special shapes!
Ketone Automotive - Online source for Evercoat Polyester Glazing putty, an invaluable product for the ship modeler.
K & J Magnetics - online source for rare earth magnets - these very strong magnets are useful for linkages, hatch closures and more.
Micro fasteners - for small screws and nuts
Northeastern Scale Lumber - makes precision scale lumber, and sheets of deck planking in 22" long X 3" premade planks.
Plastruct - makes ABS and Styrene plastic sheet, shapes and parts. Also has 1:100 scale figures.
Small Parts Inc. - What a great catalog to have! Small gears, metal and plastic stock, fasteners and much more. A very comfortable place to do business with, especially for hobbiests. Great service!
Woodland Scenics - makers of railroad detail products. Of particular interest to US Navy modelers is try transfer set MG 739 (Black) and MG 740 (White). These are good for lettering the names of ships on the stern of your model - they have the correct 45º angle at the corners of the letter.
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Tools for building model ships
Guy Lautard - Folks often ask me how I learned to use a lathe and other machine tools. Well, I am self taught, by reading a lot and experimenting even more. Guy Lautard's Machinist Bedside Readers were an enjoyable part of my education, and I highly recommend his website, line of books and instructional pamphlets to anyone interested in learning the art of machining.
Micro Mark - sells all manner of hobby tools. Prices are generally reasonable, but you can sometime save on higher ticket items by shopping or waiting for a sale. They have a free catalog which is very worthwhile. Good customer service too.
The Model Expo - not as large a selection as Micro Mark, but often has very good prices, particularly on airbrushes. Worth comparing the two sites.
Preac table saw A great miniature table saw for the modeler
Sherline Tools - Makers of small, well built Lathes and Milling Machines. I have one each of these, purchased used in 1985 and kept busy since. They are nicely made, sturdy, and have many useful accessories available. A necessity for the scratchbuilder.
Victorinox - the makers of the Swiss Army Knife. Not really a model ship link, but what the heck. Who doesn't like a Swiss Army Knife?
To make large scale models, you often need large scale tools. I have done business with Tool Crib of the North (Now a part of Amazon.com) for years, and have very good service with them. My bandsaw, sander and many other tools came from them. Important Note: I receive a small commission on tools ordered through this link.
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Personal Sites and How-to pages
Model Marina - Roger is building a USS Ticonderoga (CG-47) , among other projects. Nicely laid out site, with good reviews of the materials, and in some cases, kits that he uses.
USS Nicolas Build- Nico Ottevaeres's personal site on building the USS Nicholas (DD-449) in 1/48 scale. Nico is an expert in electronics and is doing some very innovative things on this model.
Build the SMS Pommern in 1/100 scale - Tony is scratchbuilding this World War I German Battleship, and documenting the construction quite thoroughly. Check in from time to time for updates.
Twenty First Century Models - Robert Okerholm builds museum quality 1/96 scale models for both R/C and static display. Be sure to check out the sample photographs of the great modern US Navy warships he has constructed.
A model ship pier An interesting page, showing details of a pier
this modeler made for his radio control warship
My Model Fleet - Stuart Robottom and his brother are building a number of models, and operate them together.
Victoria Model Shipbuilding Society - nice club site, with a very good selection of tips on the appropriately named "tips" page. Well worth a look, some nice info on working with CA, fiberglass, and acrylic for superstructures, among other topics.
Modelismonaval.com Massive link site all directed to the model ship maker. I have linked to the English version of the site, but there are also Spanish and French versions available. Well worth a browse!
1/4 Scale PT 103 - Not 1/4" to the foot scale, but 1/4 the size of the real thing! 20 feet long, 25 knots, and you get to ride in it!
The German Navy in World War I - a site by Thomas Tanner that gives information on both the 1:1 scale High Seas Fleet, but also a fine page of model photos in various scales of some great warship models.
German Navy Warship Club - 6 pages of photos of German Navy Models, both Kreigsmarine and earlier
Marinemodell-Fotoarchiv - extensive German and English language site that covers 1/100 scale warships of the German Navy, both World War I and World War II. Some great shots of fleet runs.
German Navy Models- A very nice site with some great models of Kriegsmarine ships - including a 1/20 scale model of the Graf Spee. Be sure to check out the main site here, with a lot of information on the Bismarck and Tirpitz. Site by John Asmussen.
United Modelers of America - details the building of a 1/100 scale Nimitz class aircraft carrier and a 1/96 scale Knox class DE / FF.
Scale Boats Wolfgang Bartzsch's personal website. Some nice pics of Dean's Marine ships, along with other models he has made.
Pedersen's Shipyard - Darrell builds 1/25 scale models of NOAA vessels; very impressive.
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Model Clubs for large scale warships
Note: If folks in the North Sacramento Area would like to get together for the occasional fun run email me.
If you live in the Los Angeles Area, check with Lee Upshaw for Task Force 96 fun runs. You can email Lee here.
If you live in the San Diego Area, contact Dave Manley for the scheduled runs of the 8th Fleet. You can reach Dave here.
Task Force 100 is a New Jersey based club with a nice web site.
Task Force 72 is an Australian group that has an extensive web site.
Task Force 50 , based in York, Pennsylvania. They are a constant scale club building primarily ships from the WWII era, and should have a web site soon.
Elite Fleet of Virginia Beach The Elite Fleet of Virginia Beach is a scale electric boat club that meets every Sunday at Mt. Trashmore Lake. Currently we have around 40 active members and over 50 boats. The different types of boats vary from military craft to civilian, and from kits to scratch built, even a few sea plains. The sizes range anywhere between 9 inches to 9 feet long.
Mini Marine International - A club based in the Netherlands with an extensive site. Radio control model warship photos, how to's, and a trading board.
Surface Warship Association - UK based group of warship modelers with a very nice site; be sure to look at the gallery of member's models.
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Combat Clubs
New Zealand Battle Group Stuart Calvert's site detailing the building and operation of 1/96 scale combat warship models.
Queen's Own Scale Model Warship Club If you are interested in building and fighting high quality 1/72nd scale model warships you've come to the right place.
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The Scale Ship Modelers Association of North America, Inc., (SSMA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1988. Our purpose is to promote the hobby of radio control and static ship modeling.
Northwest Ship Modelers - Hey, any site that has a 1/96 scale DDG-51 class model as the opening picture deserves a link! The club newsletter is online too. If you are in the Pacific Northwest, this would be a good group to get in touch with.
Etherow Model Boat Club - A model boat club in the UK. a nice hints and tips page makes this site worth a visit.
The Elite Fleet of Virginia Beach- electric club with a strong military contingent. They meet at Diamond Lake Estates or Mt. Trashmore Lake.
Ship Model Mailing List - Not a club, but a free daily newsletter/digest from well known ship modelers around the world. A lot of interest in World War II and Modern era warships make this a must read for me each day. Highly recommended! Sponsored by Sandle Hobbies, a fine source for ship models in Australia.
Marine Modelers Club of New England - Nice website with some great pictures. Strong 1/96 scale contingent. Based in the Boston area.
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Radio Controlled Scale Submarines
David Merriman's R/C Submarines - You have seen his work on TV and in the Movies, Dave makes a introductory video to R/C submarines that is getting good reviews. Also has parts and kits.
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Online sources for research information
U.S. Navy Camouflage 1941 - 1945 - Run by John Sheridan, this is a growing site offering a lot of good information on the subject.
US Navy Historical Center - official history and photographs presented by the US Navy.
Curator of Navy Ship Models - nice pictures of those really great Navy models you see in museums around the US. Also, important technical papers. A very worthwhile site to read.
Haze Gray and Underway - Huge site, with lots of information and pictures of Navies of the last 100 years. Get comfortable before visiting this site - you will be there a while!
The Germany Navy - a good starting point for your Kriegsmarine research. Also see this Yahoo category listing for the Germany Navy.
The Japanese Navy - Yahoo category listing for the subject - has a number of good pages linked there.
Italian Navy of World War II - a nice site detailing the Regina Marina
French Navy - official site in English.
Russian Navy Links - go to this page, and then click on "Navy" for lots of links.
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Sites for smaller scale models
While not specifically for large scale models, these sites can prove a valuable gateway to other resources for research and modeling information.
Model Warships - Timothy Dike's large site covering plastic and resin ship model kits. Good message board too.
Steel Navy - One of the original model warship sites, with extensive galleries, including some large museum models. A very active message board too.
APMA (Australian Plastic Modeller's Assocociation) - Active Australian General Model Club
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Paul Simpson, while based in England, builds warships for collectors on both sides of the Atlantic, and is now accepting commissions. You can see examples of his work in Gallery 32.
Small World Models - Dave Manley. This extraordinarily talented modeler is now taking commissions for custom warships and submarines, built to high standards in a reasonable time. Dave's models have appeared on the pages of many magazines, such as Fine Scale Modeler, and he has built finely detailed replicas for both private parties and ship's associations. I highly recommend him.
J and D Productions - Don Preul has made models for many naval museums, including the Akagi featured at the USS Arizona museum. He can build a world class model in a multiple of scales.
John Haynes - John built the 1/96 scale model of the Missouri that is onboard that museum ship, as well as model ships for the most prestigious military and maritime museums in the world. He also has a line of fittings available from The Floating Drydock.
Graeme Martin - New Zealand based Graeme builds museum quality static models, and will deliver world wide. Also does maritime paintings on commission. His website features many fine examples of his work.
Doug Huntzinger - mostly builds in smaller scales 1/200 to 1/300, but will discuss other projects. Doug's company has been around for some time now - perhaps you have seen his advertisments in the US Naval Institute's Proceedings
Fine Art Models - if you would like to purchase a beautiful cased museum quality model in 1/192 scale, this would be the first place to look. A great reference source too. Check out their fine Bismarck, Iowa and Titanic models, among others.
Twenty-First Century Models - Robert Okerholm makes beautiful warship models for both radio control and static display. If you are looking for a complete, 1/96 scale warship, shipshape and ready for deployment in all respects, I would recommend Robert's work.
American Marine Model Gallery - Here you will find mostly static models of the finest quality. They have a gallery in Salem, Massachusetts, or you can order a catalog of recent aquistions. They also offer a custom building service.
Model Construction - Charles Anderson's build up service - specializes in R/C submarine kits but will also do surface warships.
Minautureflotte Schiffs Modelle aus Sachsen - based in Germany, this company builds warships of sailing and steam eras, as well as interesting dioramas.
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Please remember, your suggestions or additions are always welcome. Thank you!
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