News and Announcements

As the NRG's 2019 Conference gets closer, we've got some great updates on speakers, model registration, and more.

Check out all the updated information on the 2019 NRG Conference Page.

The Summer 2019 edition of the Nautical Research Journal is now available!

Digital subscribers can access the digital edition here.  Print subscribers will be receiving their copies by mail soon!

On Friday, May 31, 2019 we used a new mailing service for the Summer issue of the Journal (64.2) for all mailings outside of the US – except the first-class mailings we made last week. The mailings to Canada should be much quicker as there is a special class of USPS mail that we can now use for Canada. The reliability of the service to all areas outside the US and Canada should be improved and the time to receive the Journals should be shorter.

We are asking all our non-US members to send an email to us letting us know the date you receive the Summer Issue, 64.2 of the Journal. It is important to do this so we can make sure this service is working as it should so we know if we should keep using it. We have been assured that service should be much better than previously to all areas but especially better to Canada.

Upon receipt of the Summer, 64.2 issue, please send an email to nrghomeoffice@gmail.com telling us your name and the date you got your Journal. We would appreciate it very much if those getting their Journals by first class mail also respond so we can compare the services.

Ships in Scale Magazine back issues are finally available.

We have just added the digital archive issues of Seaway’s Ships in Scale Magazine to the NRG Store, again on both disc and flash drive. These back issues are named “The Early Years 1983-1999” and “The Middle Years 2000-2009”. These were sold by Seaways as “The First 105 Issues 1983-199” and “The New Millennium Edition 2000-2009” respectively. The digital archives of the years from 2010 to 2018, when the magazine ceased publication, will hopefully be available before the end of the year.

We have also added the complete series of digital back issues of Model Ship Builder Magazine on disc or flash drive. Seaways sold these digital back issues as Volume I, Volume II and the combined “The Complete History”. We have decided to offer only “The Complete History” which includes both Vol. I & II.

We are now also offering popular practicum reprints by Clayton E. Feldmann, MD. The first, “Building the Continental Navy Brig LEXINGTON – A Practicum” is now available. The classic “Progressive Scratch Building in Ship Modeling” is also available. Both are sold on disc or flash drive.

We now have all the digital archive back issues of the Nautical Research Journal available at the NRG Store on either CD/DVD and flash drives.

Go to the NRG Store to order. Remember, NRG Members get a 20% discount on the price shown. Email the NRG Office at nrghomeoffice@gmail.com with your name and town to get the discount code (you would be surprised how many NRG members share names so we need to be able to tell you apart).

Karl Heinz Marquardt passed away on January 31, 2019 at the age of 92. He was a noted author, model builder and marine artist. A very complete biography and listings of his work can be found on his website - http://karl-heinz-marquardt.com/karl-heinz-marquardt

In addition to many articles he authored the following books:

Other Books

Longtime member Roger Cole passed peacefully on Friday January 11, 2019 in his 82nd year after a short illness. Reunited with his beloved wife Jean Cole (nee Roberts). Lovingly remembered by his daughter Wendy (Jeff), his son David (Debbie), his daughter Heather, and his son Brian (Shelly). Much adored "Grandpa" of Andrew, Brendan, Sarah, Mackenzie, Jessica, Matthew and Nickolas. Funeral Service were held on Wednesday, January 16th. Donations to The Scott Mission or Covenant House would be appreciated by the family.

Roger, as he was known to all in the NRG, joined the NRG in 1976 and during his 43 years of membership he wrote numerous articles for the Nautical Research Journal and spoke at many Guild conferences and symposiums.

I first became aware of Roger through his writing for Model Ship Builder magazine and Ships in Scale magazine when he was a regular contributor to both magazines. Roger wrote a 14-part series in Model Ship Builder on building the Lizzie J. Cox a Chesapeake Bay Bugeye that concluded in the N/D 1988 issue. Roger authored approximately eighty-five articles in the Nautical Research Journal, Model Shipbuilder Magazine, Ships in Scale Magazine and others.

Roger and Jean were a sort of unofficial welcoming team who sought out NRG members attending their first conference, which was easy to do – look for the startled deer look in the newbies eyes when exposed to their first NRG conference. Roger and Jean would “adopt” the newbie and take them around making introductions and making them feel at home and accepted. This was repeated conference after conference and the friendships made at previous conferences were brought up to date. Those who were “adoptees” in most cases became their life-long friends. We know of many who tell their story about being “adopted” by Roger and Jean. Three who were “adopted” went on to become NRG Directors. Bill Maxwell, Mitch Michelson and Kurt Van Dahm are the referenced three but there were many others fortunate enough to have experienced the team of Roger and Jean “adopting” them and making their introduction to the NRG so memorable.

Roger’s modeling skills were world class. He is a featured model builder in the on-line Miniature Engineering Craftsmanship Museum in Carlsbad, CA established by The Joe Martin Foundation for Exceptional Craftsmanship (Sherline’s founder). https://www.craftsmanshipmuseum.com/Cole.htm

As a member of the Nautical Research Guild's Technical Assistance Network (TAN) Roger answered many questions for the Guild. He also answered questions for individuals that far outnumbered the TAN replies. Many NRG members have related that asking a question of Roger led to a long-time personal relationship. Freely offering his expertise, Roger spoke at NRG Conferences in 1985, 1989, 1993, 1995, 2005 and 2010.

Roger’s health kept him from attending conferences after 2010 but he was always willing to share his knowledge with others. Several times he assisted us in providing information an NRG member needed. I could always call Roger and explain the problem and he would invariably say “give him my phone number, I will be glad to help”. He was a tremendous asset to the Guild, a good friend to me and many other NRG members and he will be missed.

The following is a listing of articles Roger wrote in the Journal:

Though lightly attended the 2018 Conference received good reviews from those who attended.  Read the entire recap and view photos from the event on the 2018 NRG Conference page.

The Board has proposed the following change to ARTICLE IX - SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS - Section 2 of the bylaws. The text in black is the existing wording. The text in green is proposed to be added to the existing text of

The Secretary's Newsletter (SNL) shall be prepared by the Secretary and distributed to each Member. Contents may include, but are not limited to, notices, ballots, election results, Board comments, Officer's comments and other time dated information. The SNL's publication method and distribution frequency shall be determined by the Board of Directors as they deem necessary to keep the membership informed of Guild activities.

The Board has proposed the following change to ARTICLE IV - DUTIES - SECTION 3 - Appointed Officers and Assistants

A. Secretary

The Secretary shall record and maintain the minutes of all meetings of the Board of Directors unless the Board meets in executive session. In said case, one of the Directors will be assigned to take the minutes of the executive session. In addition, the Secretary shall prepare ballots, supervise elections of Directors, prepare the Secretary's Newsletter (SNL) and undertake related responsibilities as assigned by the Board of Directors.

Reason for the suggested change to Section 3A: Not relevant to Secretary's duties as the Secretary does not attend an executive session.

The vote is either a single YES or NO on the proposed changes.

Votes must be received by 5 pm CST on December 21, 2018. 

The Nautical Research Guild is excited to announce that the Nautical Research Journal is now available in a digital format, in addition to the traditional printed format. The digital edition can be viewed on any computer, tablet, or mobile phone. Check out the Autumn 2018 digital edition for free!

How it Works

The digital edition is easy to use right in your web browser!  Click here to try it for free.

When a new issue of the Journal is available, digital members will receive an email from the NRG with details on how to access your digital edition. You'll just click a link and enter your personal login.

To view on a tablet or mobile phone, just enter the link in your device's web browser. There's nothing to download or install.

The digital edition is available when you choose a digital membership option with the Nautical Research Guild. New and renewing members can select this when signing up, and current members can easily add a digital edition to their existing membership by contacting the NRG.

Click here to learn more about the digital edition.

We recently sent out an email to the membership asking for help from the membership for assistance with marketing and for a new Director to fill a vacancy. We are happy to say that the response to both was great and that we thank all who responded.

However, we failed to mention who had stepped down as a Director causing us to look for a replacement. For this oversight we are truly sorry.

Bill Maxwell had to step down from the board for some personal issues that are taking up his time and he felt that he couldn't devote the necessary time to the NRG. Bill is a hard worker and valuable member of the board who contributed up to the last minute as his retirement was announced to the board at the conclusion of our May meeting. Bill had previously notified Chairman Mitch Michelson of his need to step down but that he wished to do it after the meeting was concluded so that he could assist the board through the meeting. This is typical of Bill's consideration for others and the business of the NRG.

We thank Bill for his service and wish him the very best going forward.

Several members responded concerning the open Director position and after consideration of the information submitted by these members, the board has appointed David Eddy of Austin, TX to the open Director position. Per the provisions of Article III of the bylaws, Dave will fill out the remaining term of Bill Maxwell and run for election at the end of Bill's term of office.

Dave has 20+ years of experience running a tech company whose main demographic is the 'retired crowd', so he has experience working with our kind of group. Dave's experience with operations, marketing, website development, application coding and digital publishing was exactly what we were looking for. This type of experience will certainly help us modernize as needed to ensure we attract new members that are so essential to the growth of the NRG. For our members who frequent MSW Dave is known there as GenericDave.

Welcome aboard Dave.

The Nautical Research Guild (NRG) is saddened to see Ships in Scale Magazine end its long and amazing tenure supporting our hobby of model ship building. The loss of Ships in Scale has left a void for the beginning and intermediate ship modelers.

In response to this news, the NRG Board of Directors has decided to make some changes to the Nautical Research Journal to offer former Ships in Scale subscribers somewhere to continue their journey into model ship building. First, the Journal will be expanded to provide more room for ship modeling articles for modelers of all skill levels without diminishing our commitment to nautical research. Secondly, articles started, but not completed, in Ships in Scale will be continued in the Journal to ensure that these valuable series are completed. Installments of these articles already published in Ships in Scale have been posted on the NRG website to allow non-SIS subscribers the opportunity to appreciate the entire series. Click here to see these previous installments of Ships in Scale articles.

The Guild has also purchased the intellectual property of Seaways Publishing. This means that CD sets for Ships in Scale and Model Ship Builder will continue to be available as well as the plans and Practicums published by Seaways Publishing.

The Guild did not purchase Seaways Publishing or Ships in Scale. We are simply filling the void left by their ceasing publication. Any questions regarding Ships in Scale subscriptions must be directed to Seaways Publishing, not to the NRG.

To encourage former SIS subscribers to join the NRG, all subscribers who are not already Guild members will receive a free issue of the Fall edition of the Journal. The Board is confident that when SIS subscribers see the quality and content of the NRG's Journal, they will enthusiastically join the NRG and experience the benefits of this organization

We hope that all NRG members will welcome the SIS Subscribers to our Guild and realize that adding their numbers to ours will allow us to offer even more modeling content in the Journal.

Questions and comments are welcome, but please direct them to our Board of Directors, not our office staff. Emails may be sent to info@thenauticalresearchguld.org and will be forwarded to our Board from there.

Anticipating some of your questions we have set up some FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS below.

Help us ensure that the hobby lasts far into the future - encourage your fellow modelers to join the NRG.

Did the NRG purchase Ships in Scale Magazine (SIS)?

No. We purchased the back issue CD sets of Model Ship Builder Magazine (MSB) and all iterations of SIS Magazine and all rights to sell these items as well as develop a new CD to include the 2010 to Summer 2018 back issues.

Will the NRG be printing SIS Magazine?

No. The magazine's last issue has been printed.

Will my NRG membership fee be going up because of this?

No. The anticipated growth in NRG memberships from the former SIS subscribers signing up will allow us to produce the expanded Journal for close to the same cost. There is economy in printing more copies so the unit cost comes down.

How many pages are being added to the Nautical Research Journal (Journal or NRJ)?

We are adding 16 full color pages starting with the Fall (63.3) issue.

I pay for First Class delivery of the Journal. Will I have to pay more for delivery of the expanded Journal?

Not for your current membership period. When you renew, the additional First Class fee will be higher due to the increased weight of the Journal. The increase will be only for the added weight.

SIS subscribers are getting a free copy of the next Journal. I am a NRG member and a SIS subscriber. Do I get the next issue free?

No. This is a promotion to enlist new members.

How will this change impact the future direction of the NRG?

The anticipated increased membership numbers will allow the expanded Journal to not result in an increase in membership fees.The anticipated increase in membership will allow future expansion of the Journal beyond the initial expansion. The anticipated increase in membership is essential to the expansion of the Journal. Without the anticipated growth we can't fund further expansion so it is up to the modeling community to encourage SIS subscribers and others to join the NRG.

What is the NRG and the NRJ?

Founded in 1948, the Nautical Research Guild is an IRS 501(c)(3) approved nonprofit educational organization with an international membership of historians, ship model makers, artists and laypersons with a common interest in the history, beauty and technical sophistication of ships and their models. Read more about the NRG here.

NRG membership is mentioned many times. Can I just subscribe to the NRJ without being a member?

No. The Journal is available only to members, but if you are more comfortable with a subscription just think of the membership as an added bonus. Members get discounts on the products we sell which will soon include the SIS back issue CDs.

Isn't the NRJ more of an academic magazine?

Yes in that we offer more research oriented articles than SIS or MSB did. However the Journal has always included modeling content. The modeling content was increased several years ago and is being increased by 16 pages now. The research articles are primarily aimed at "Advancing Ship Modeling Through Research".

Is the NRG for beginners or advanced modelers?

Both. In the past the majority of Journal modeling articles were aimed at the intermediate to advanced modeler. We relied on SIS and before that MSB and SIS to serve the beginners. We will be providing more content for the beginners and intermediates going forward - without forgetting the advanced modelers.

How can I subscribe to the NRJ?

The Journal is only available to NRG members. Joining the NRG includes a subscription to the Nautical Research Journal along with other benefits. You can join the NRG online or by phone. See below of information on how to join the NRG at a special discounted rate!

Will back issues of SiS be available?

Back issues will be available on CDs or flash drives soon. We will not have printed copies. Back issues may be purchased from the NRG store.

Who do I contact about a refund of my Ships in Scale subscription money?

Contact Seaways Publishing. All subscribers with subscription issues remaining should be receiving a check from Seaways. See the Editorial in the last SIS issue.