Model Companies

No reason you can't name the names. Without them, are you asking for a complete list of who IS in business. Kind of a tall order.

Now mind you these are some just listed on the site that had the scale I was looking for. Does anyone know if they are still in business and if so has anyone ordered from them. I apologize for being so vague with the initial question.  Kokoda Trail Models,Battle Fleet Models,Niko Models, L’Arsenal,MT Miniatures, Corsair Armada,Combrig, Alliance Modelworks

Combrig is for sure, and a great source. Check out Freetime Hobbies. L'Arsenal; same.

I heard L'Arsenal recently was sold i'm not sure to who or if this is true. I know there was a post not long ago about a web store that didn't have a good customer service reputation and for the life of me I can't remember the company. Does Combrig do limited runs of there stuff? I found a few kits of theirs that I would love to have.

Plenty of webstores have cruddy customer service, plus people throw up "don't buy here" every time something they want is out of stock.

I'll say this, in the subject of ships, it is really easy to make a personal connection with the folks at the other end.

Just an example, Al Ross at Bluejacket is a member here. So is/was John at White Ensign models.

You send them an email, they respond.

GM,

Thanks for the info, I have been searching for the one off kit that is different than most of the main kits out there and the companies I mentioned have what I have been looking for especially in 1/700 scale which seems had to find.

Look at Iron Shipwrights. I have a few kits from them; unusual subjects.

Combrig certainly has just about every iron ship that ever sailed.

Has anyone ordered any of the 3D printed stuff from Shapeways? I saw a couple of USNS ships on there that would be nice to add to a dio.

The best thing for you to do is go to a site like FreeTime Hobbies, a vendor that specializes in ship models.  You will find answers to your questions there about availability for the kits from Combrig, Battlefleet, Niko, L'Arsenal, Corsair Armada and others.

Aha !

You need to watch out for AL Ross though ! He's a darned good ship-builder and a walking repository of ship errata . He'll load you down with info .That's what makes him good at what he does !