There was a time when wooden model ships and wooden model boats were the fashion of the day. Beautifully carved models of existing ships and boats as well as imaginary creation of exceptionally skilled artists and designers dominated the scenario. Initially crude in their making, gradually these model ships and boats became objects of rare craftsmanship. Exquisite replicas of ships and boats were made of rare woods like Tick, Mahogany, and Rosewood to quote a few.

Gradually it dawned over the architects and builders that construction of model ships and boats with wood was not only a costly affair but also not time economic. A good deal of effort was required and there were many instances where the artist or craftsman had to spend hours together in building such models. In the modern fiercely competitive commercial world, time is valued and equated with money and therefore the builders were in the look out for alternatives to wood as model ship building material.

Next to appear on the scene was plastic. It had several advantages over wood.  Plastic was light and it could be formed into pre-constructed parts of a model ship or model boat. But plastic could not produce the shining demeanor of wooden models.

Manufacturers now started building model ships and model boats with metals like bronze, brass, copper, and silver. They could be designed imaginatively that was not very much possible with plastic. Finally, like many other industries, fiber has entered the fray of late.