The craftsmen who volunteer in the Model Shop build museum-quality scale aircraft models for display in the Museum. Projects are requested by Museum staff and correspond to a planned exhibit or gallery transformation. Additionally, the Model Shop volunteers build exhibit furniture and maintain current Museum models. The Model Shop staff specializes in balsa wood models, but build plastic models on an as-needed basis.
Model Shop staff perform all project research, acquire the technical specifications to build the model to scale, and laser cut the foundational pieces to exacting measurements. All of those pieces are then engineered as needed in the Model Shop and transformed into the finished scale model. The model is then painted and decaled to specifications for the project.