SHIPTEC China 2026: Custom Newbuilding Ship Models for Chinese Shipyards

Turn Shipbuilding Achievement Into a Permanent Physical Portfolio

China’s shipbuilding industry produces an enormous variety of vessels — container ships, bulk carriers, gas carriers, offshore vessels, tugboats and specialist ships.

Each delivery represents months or years of engineering, procurement, production and project management.

Yet when an international buyer visits a shipyard showroom, much of that history is often presented only through photographs on a wall or slides on a screen.

Custom ship models offer a different approach.

Scales Model’s Shipyards solution is structured around newbuilding, vessel-delivery, customer-presentation and showroom applications, while the wider site supports drawings, photographs and CAD/3D information as custom-model inputs.

Build the Model From Newbuilding Data

A shipyard usually possesses far more technical information than almost any other model customer.

GA drawings, deck plans, side elevations, digital engineering information, renderings, vessel specifications and branding files may already exist.

Scales Model’s Build From Drawings and CAD & 3D Design pages are therefore particularly relevant to shipyard projects.

The model can be planned around the individual newbuilding.

That means preserving the visible identity of the real vessel rather than using a generic ship form.

The Model as a Newbuilding Sales Tool

Before a vessel is delivered, it may already be used to win future orders.

A shipyard exhibiting at SHIPTEC can display a physical model of a recent design and use it as evidence of capability.

A sales manager can point to the vessel while explaining:

cargo configuration, vessel dimensions, deck layout, accommodation arrangement, major equipment and owner customization.

The model allows technical and commercial conversations to happen around the same object.

Vessel Delivery Models

The value continues at delivery.

A completed vessel is a major milestone for both builder and owner.

A professional model can be produced for a delivery ceremony or as a permanent record of the project.

The shipyard may retain one model in its showroom while another becomes part of the owner’s fleet display.

For multiple copies, presentation strategy can be coordinated around scale, quantity and destination.

Building a Physical Shipyard Portfolio

One model is useful.

Twenty models can become a complete corporate history.

A shipyard can gradually build a physical portfolio representing different vessel classes:

Container Ship Models, Bulk Carrier Models, LNG & LPG Carrier Models, Offshore Models and Tugboat Models.

The showroom then communicates capability without requiring visitors to search through project archives.

Marine Ship Models has also explored the connection between new vessel deliveries and demand for custom models in its article How New Mega Container Ship Deliveries Are Creating New Opportunities for Custom Ship Models in 2026.

Models Before Full-Size Completion

A physical newbuilding model does not always need to wait for the real vessel.

If suitable design information is available, a proposed or under-construction project may be suitable for a Prototype Model.

This can be especially useful when a shipyard needs the model for an international exhibition before the vessel’s delivery date.

The marketing schedule and construction schedule no longer need to be identical.

Exhibition Use

SHIPTEC is also a natural environment for Exhibition Models.

Large stands frequently use videos and renderings, but a physical ship remains one of the easiest ways to create a visual focal point.

A model can be placed on a central plinth, integrated into a customer discussion area or displayed alongside the shipyard’s technical presentation.

After the exhibition, it can return to the showroom.

From Drawing to Display

The complete process is not only about model construction.

Scales Model’s Production Process connects project review with design planning, production, detailing and inspection.

Marine Ship Models’ How to Make a Scale Marine Ship Model also describes a workflow moving from technical drawings through material preparation, hull and deck assembly, painting and fine detailing.

For a shipyard buyer, that means project preparation should begin with clear reference information.

International Shipyard Marketing

Chinese shipyards increasingly present their projects to customers far beyond China.

A model initially used at SHIPTEC may later travel to another major marine exhibition or a foreign customer presentation.

This makes Packaging and Shipping Worldwide part of the project rather than an afterthought.

The final crate and delivery method need to reflect the size and fragility of the completed presentation.

Make the Newbuilding Visible

A completed ship leaves the yard.

The model can remain.

That gives the shipyard a permanent record of the project and a continuing sales tool for the next client.

If your shipyard is preparing a new vessel, delivery event, showroom collection or exhibition project, send the available GA drawings, photographs, CAD files and required model size to Scales Model.

Discuss a Shipyard Model Project