This summer KiwiMill has been working on two big museum model exhibits simultaneously. One is for a museum in New York, and one is being installed in Texas. The shop is filling up to the brim with models of various [ more →]

KiwiMill Model Makers has officially moved to its new address. The shop is up and running again with more space, equipment, technology and improved work flow to better serve clients. Our model makers are settling in to their benches and offices. Machines are running and [ more →]

With the advent of Photoshop the need for actual physical props has lessened over the years. So it was enjoyable for KiwiMill to build a photo prop for a Dior print campaign. The model involved a facade of the House of [ more →]

It’s time for flocking our latest architectural model. What is flock, you say? It’s the process by which our model makers add the ground landscaping to the base of an architectural model. The base starts out as a beige colored, [ more →]

Recently KiwiMill built a total of 84 sale models for an existing client. This sales model is a mock-up of a computer memory module.  Previously this model was built in a small batch of three for our client. They were [ more →]

KiwiMill  has been on Pinterest for a few years now, pinning to boards. With categories like “3D Printed Art,” “Beauty In Industry,” “Architectural Intrigue,” and “Naked Models,” there’s likely something of interest for everyone. If you find yourself on Pinterest – [ more →]

Custom crate building is a lesser known service our model shop provides. While many of our scale models are small enough to fit in a ready-made Pelican carry case, some are much too large. These larger models need custom built [ more →]

Our client needed a fast turn around time for this model build. A sales meeting  was scheduled to unveil a new product and a scale model was needed for the presentation. KiwiMill took 3D files and simplified the drawings in SolidWorks, [ more →]

KiwiMill ends the year with model parts heaped on every horizontal space in the shop. Everywhere I look, parts are accumulating. Metal, plastic, cast rubber, 3D print resin. What this means in the new year is some BIG BUILDS. January [ more →]

KiwiMill recently built an airplane fuselage model for a company that makes cargo nets. The cargo nets are installed in planes to protect pilots from shifting items during turbulence. The idea behind the model was to replicate the part of [ more →]

This PV skid model is a great example of how a simple, clean, medium detail replica can make a big impact. KiwiMill built this PV skid model in a week or so, out of laser cut and detailed plastics. It [ more →]

A while back KiwiMill worked on this propane facility model depicting a natural gas refining site. The propane facility model included a 1:24 scale truck, buildings, machinery and piping. The model was made out of sheet plastics, brass tubing, 3D printed [ more →]

A while back KiwiMill received a rush order for an architectural prop model to be used in an international photo shoot. This model just needed to be the front facade of a building to be used as a backdrop for [ more →]

Oil and gas models represent the tools & technology found in the petro industry. Oilfield sites contain a vast supply of equipment to safely and effectively extract, contain and transport this raw material. Oil and gas models accurately represent this equipment [ more →]

Check out this recent project from KiwiMill. it’s a working model of  a hydroelectric dam. This working model of a dam demonstrates the use of water for electric power. Video:

Occasionally KiwiMill is asked to make a model of a particular part of a previous scale model. This recent project is a good example of that. Our client originally had us build a model of an underground storage tank:   [ more →]

  Model Maker Mike built this satellite model recently for ATK. KiwiMill has a long history of satellite model builds. This particular satellite model is motorized with a geared stepper motor that rotates the solar panels once in a 24 hour [ more →]

KiwiMill specializes in custom models that are one-time orders. Our professional model makers design and fabricate unique scale models for our clients that are often never repeated again. Each project is a brand new request that is scratch-built in its entirety. [ more →]

  Our most recent scale model build went from zero to 100 in 2 weeks. It’s not the usual time frame for a large-scale model, but sometimes we are able to accommodate a special client request. Materials were ordered (some [ more →]

  KiwiMill just shipped a new copy of a Shoulder Cup Model to a regular client for trade show use. The Shoulder Cup Model was built 4X the regular size of the medical implant it was replicating. Model maker Mike [ more →]

This trade show model of a Fuel Monitoring Cabinet debuted this past January at the AHR Expo at the Javits Center in NYC. It was one of three models KiwiMill built for separate clients represented at this particular trade show. [ more →]

    This vapor absorption model was one of three different models that KiwiMill built for the AHR Expo 2014. This annual trade show is held at the Javits Center in NYC. Virtually all of the parts on the vapor [ more →]

KiwiMill was recently asked to build a Swiss Canton Sign for private display in a client’s home. Swiss cantons are the 26 member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Canton is a French word meaning corner or district. The [ more →]

This custom truck model was a fun build. The truck model came to us as an RC kit in 1:14 scale. Our model makers were tasked with transforming the generic body into a custom TMA truck for our client, Royal [ more →]

KiwiMill just finished up the second half of a large NASA project, a pair of  1:50th scale rocket launcher models. These large-scale rocket launcher models were an intricate build. Laser cut aluminum was welded for strength and stability. Plywood and [ more →]

A while back KiwiMill constructed an architectural model for an episode of How It’s Made, a cable TV program. Here is the link the episode which featured our architectural model – a prefabricated house design – at the beginning of [ more →]

Another beautifully executed cutaway model by KiwiMill model maker, Mike. Check out these unedited pictures:  

KiwiMill recently built an architectural model of a college campus expansion. The donor was presented with this model as a gift. The architectural model was made out of precision, laser cut plastic. The college has a particular brick pattern that [ more →]

KiwiMill was excited to return to its roots recently when we were asked to build Mother and Daughter satellite models for a valued client. While satellite models, military models, and architectural models have historically been a mainstay of this model shop, more [ more →]

KiwiMill was recently asked to build an engineering skid model of industrial equipment. This particular product is used to harness fluid energy. The skid model is a combination of several materials. Because of the scale of the model, plastic and [ more →]

Recently we completed another industrial model with cutaway features. Cutaways are artificial slices made through a product, revealing inner features that are otherwise hidden from view. Scale models offer a unique opportunity to take a real product, replicate it, but [ more →]

  This tank battery model was requested by our client, FET, for trade show use. It highlights the design structure of this industrial equipment in 1:35 scale. The piping and tanks are built on modular units that are bolted together [ more →]

This series of 3 medical product models represent a knee, hip and shoulder implant. Each one is  3 1/2 x the size of the real implant. The enlarged size maximizes each product’s unique design and features, in a human-friendly scale. [ more →]

Check out this video of our hand-built CNC Router carving a helicopter body out of tooling board:

KiwiMill has been pinning to boards on Pinterest for a few months now. With categories like “3D Printed Art,” “Beauty In Industry,” “Architectural Intrigue,” and “Naked Models,” there’s likely something of interest for everyone. If you find yourself on Pinterest – look us [ more →]

If your company has a great design for a door – what’s an effective way to show that off? A working model! Once again, instead of brochures, or power point presentations, bring a miniature version of the real thing. It [ more →]

It’s been a couple of years now since KiwiMill added 3D printing to the model shop. Through experimentation on various projects, we have established a protocol for the use of 3D printing on our custom models. Most often, 3D printing is used [ more →]

This training model will familiarize people with the steps of an industrial process before they get into the actual field. The process being simulated is the replacement of a valve on a hydro-electric dam penstock. All of this activity takes place [ more →]

When it comes time to extract fuel out of nuclear reactors and transport it to permanent storage, it takes very large and specialized equipment to do the job. Each extraction is unique, requiring machinery designed and built specifically for the [ more →]

This was a very fast turn around scale model project for Siemens involving an electrical unit that needed to be replicated for a sales presentation. The scale model was built and shipped in a total of three days using a [ more →]

This house model we built for Cavco Industries will not only be featured on the television show “How It’s Made.” It’s made the news for its innovative features. The modular design is made for use in situations where the land [ more →]

Occasionally professional model making feels a little bit like a kid in a candy shop. This phenomena occurred recently when KiwiMill was asked to build a car carrier truck model in 1:14 scale (big!) for a trade show. When it was [ more →]

It’s not often that KiwiMill has the opportunity to work on a local scale model project. This past summer we jumped at the opportunity to contribute a historical museum model to Rochester, NY’s own Genesee Brewery Company. Owned by North [ more →]

This trade show model was commissioned by our client, Fisher Industries, to capture the key features of their air separator product. The model is a cut-away design with working parts. Model maker, Mike, created a design made mostly out of [ more →]

Nearly 2 years ago, KiwiMill built a model of a five ton armoured FMTV truck model with a specialized medical hospital payload. The model was 1/10th scale with the truck measuring 36″ long. It was hand built for trade show us, [ more →]

The team here at KiwiMill is definitely pleased with the addition of our newest Objet 3D printer. While we jokingly refer to it as our extra employee – it is quite a miraculous technology – it’s worth noting the support [ more →]

Model Making is a profession that most people don’t know a lot about. People tend to think of it either as a layman’s hobby or a skill that has been replaced by computers. Neither view is quite accurate. Model Makers [ more →]

Our KiwiMill 3D printing process can be used to grow a part in less than a day, and then molded and cast into multiples with speed. Here’s a look at a part used in a model of a water filtration system, [ more →]

KiwiMill has an Objet 3D printer to make scale model parts efficiently, accurately and with greater detail. When the printer is not in use for model parts, it’s available to customers for rapid prototyping services. Not only can the printer [ more →]

One fabrication technique that is not often associated with model making  is welding. While styrene plastic and glue are staples of some model designs, many more are made out of metal for stability, longevity and appearance. One way to fasten metal model [ more →]

With the addition of  3D printing, new in-house fabrication options are available to the model makers at KiwiMill. Decisions need to be made about what fabrication method is best for building each model part. What parts should be printed, molded, [ more →]