Month: May 2026

A Message from the NRG Board and MSW Administrator Jim Hatch

Editor’s note: Ships in Scale received the following message directly from the NRG Board of Directors, who asked us to help spread the word to the broader ship modeling community.

In the last three days, there has been a global issue regarding the software that operates computer servers. This has impacted websites and servers around the world. An unscrupulous group of hackers had found a way around server security and had broken into many servers, destroying data.

Unfortunately for us, Model Ship World’s server was one of countless to be affected.

Over the last 36hrs, our host had taken our server offline to apply software patches which would secure our server, but by the time they did this, it was too late.

The attackers not only deleted the files from our primary disc, housing MSW, but also deleted the three backups we had on a secondary, separate drive.

Model Ship World doesn’t exist in any form. All files, photos, structure, posts, and data have gone.

This was out of our control, and there will many sites around the world, including corporate/business sites, which will also be destroyed.

All we can do from this point is to move on. It will take us some time to recreate the site as members knew it. However, it will NOT have the posts, topics and photos etc. It will be a fresh start.

Please bear with us while we look at this task, as our staff also have other regular jobs and need to fit this into their schedules.

We will be back though. Please bear with us at this time and give as much support as you can.

NRG Board of Directors and MSW Administrators

Model Ship World Suffers Catastrophic Data Loss in Cyberattack

Model Ship World (MSW), the Nautical Research Guild’s flagship online forum and one of the largest ship modeling communities in the world, has been taken offline following a devastating cyberattack that destroyed the site’s data — including all backups.

According to a statement from the NRG Board and MSW administration, attackers exploited a vulnerability in the forum’s server software, deleting both the primary data storage and three separate backup copies housed on a secondary drive. The result: hundreds of thousands of posts, tens of thousands of build logs, photos, and years of accumulated community knowledge are gone. Simply gone.

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43rd Annual Northeast Ship Model Conference — April 25, 2026

The Northeast Ship Model Conference is one of the longest-running regional gatherings for ship modelers in the country, bringing together builders of all skill levels for a day of models, demonstrations, and camaraderie. This year’s 43rd edition returned to its longtime home at the Port ‘n Starboard in New London on April 25, with the USS Constitution Model Shipwright Guild serving as host club. (The host club rotates annually, but the venue remains the same — and for good reason.)

The turnout was strong: over 100 registered attendees plus walk-in visitors, with nearly 100 models on display spanning sail, power, and everything in between.

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Start a Ship Model Club in Tennessee!

Are there any scale ship modelers in the Memphis area? One of your fellow hobbyists is looking to find out.

A reader in Eads, Tennessee, is interested in connecting with other ship modelers in the greater Memphis region with an eye toward forming a local club — a place to share research, swap techniques, and enjoy the kind of bench talk that only happens when modelers get together in person.

If you’re in the area and interested, reach out to the editor at editor@shipsinscale.com and we’ll put you in touch.

Ship modeling clubs are one of the best things that can happen to this hobby. They’re where skills get passed down, friendships get built, and projects that seemed impossible suddenly become approachable. If you’ve ever thought about having a local community to build alongside, this might be the spark you’ve been waiting for.