In Memory of Grant Walker

It is with a heavy heart that I share the news that Grant Walker passed away on May 6, 2025, after a battle with cancer. He was 73 years old.

Grant was, in every sense, a man who found his calling. A West Point graduate, Army Ranger, and veteran Foreign Area Officer, he retired from the Army in 1993 after a final posting as an instructor of history at the United States Naval Academy — and it was there, walking the halls of the Museum in Preble Hall, that he encountered the Rogers Collection of dockyard ship models. What began as a spark of curiosity grew into more than thirty years of devoted scholarship. Grant didn’t just study these models — he came to know them with an intimacy that few people in the world could claim. He could walk you through a room of centuries-old objects and make each one come alive with history, context, and quiet wonder. I was fortunate enough to receive a personal tour of the collection from Grant on more than one occasion, and I can tell you that his love for those models — and for the Naval Academy Museum and its team — was unmistakable in every word he spoke.

The result of that lifelong devotion is the four-volume series The Rogers Collection of Dockyard Models at the U.S. Naval Academy, published by SeaWatch Books. It is a monumental work — one of the most authoritative and beautifully produced maritime reference series we have ever had the privilege to publish.  Volume IV — the final installment in the series — was completed by Grant before his passing and will be published soon as a tribute to his life’s work. We are committed to seeing it into print with all the care it deserves.

Grant is survived by his beloved wife Annick, who was his constant champion and, in his own words, the person without whom none of this would have been possible. Our deepest sympathies go to her.

Working with Grant over these past several years was one of the genuine privileges of running SeaWatch Books. He was gracious, meticulous, and deeply generous with his knowledge. The maritime community has lost one of its finest scholars — and I have lost a friend.

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.

Good Kits. Bad Kits. We Want the Truth.

The 2026 Ships in Scale Kit Manufacturer Survey is here — and we need your help.

You’ve been there. You open a new kit, spread the parts across the workbench, and unfold the plans. Sometimes what you find is a thing of beauty — crisp laser-cut frames, quality timber, fittings that actually fit, and instructions that walk you through every step. Other times… not so much. Warped planking stock. Plans that raise more questions than they answer. Parts that belong in a different kit entirely.

Every modeler has opinions about the manufacturers behind the kits we build. Strong opinions. We want to hear yours.

Continue reading “Good Kits. Bad Kits. We Want the Truth.” →

SIS March/April Issue is Out!

The latest issue Ships in Scale is here! This issue takes you from a Viking burial ship to a WWII sub chaser — and everywhere in between. Roger Marshall continues his HMS Ontario build, Thomas Koehl scratch-builds a Harbor Defense Motor Launch in styrene, and James Norton tells the remarkable story behind a Cornish fishing lugger that sailed 12,000 miles to Australia. Ron Neilson goes deeper into 3D printing with two hands-on interviews, Ian McLaughlan returns with Part 2 of his Minor Warships series, and Bob Hunt shares hard-won lessons on spotting kit design flaws before they ruin a build.

We’re also launching the 2026 Kit Manufacturer Survey — tell us which manufacturers deliver and which need to do better.

Accessing Your Account & Downloading the Digital Issue

The first issue of Ships in Scale was sent to subscribers who signed up by December 31, 2025, on January 1. The email included a link to view the issue, and several readers have asked whether it can be downloaded.

Yes — it can.
The process isn’t immediately obvious, so follow the steps below.

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