BaD Ship Models began in 1990 when Lou “Woody” Durso, a model ship builder and collector, began making molds for his own ships. Woody’s friends wanted him to make models for them too. Since he had the materials to put together “quick” kits for them, he did. Shortly after, Lou found himself building a small Gunship that he had bought as a hull for $75 (at that time) which ended up costing over $500 before he had added all the parts and components that were missing.

He was about to buy another kit (the Missouri) when his wife, Mary, talked him into building it from scratch. It was then that BaD Ship Models actually began.

In the years that followed, BaD Ship Models grew from the first four kits -- the Knox, Brooks, Garcia and Glover Class Frigates -- into a competitive model warship manufacturer of 32 different classes of warships, landing craft and submarines. BaD Ship models was on its way to becoming a world-renown maker of quality balsa wood Plank-on-Frame model kits!

As BaD Ship Models entered the 21st century it became even more evident there were no other model warship balsa wood Plank-on-Frame manufacturers that produced and sold 1/96 scale model warship kits that were complete. Fiberglass hulls were becoming the new wave in model making with the only drawback being the cost of these fiberglass kits – costs which were rising faster than housing prices. It is common to build a “glass” kit and, after buying all the supporting materials not furnished in the kit, to find that the price had drifted to well over $2,000 for a finished model.

All the while there was BaD Ship Models producing COMPLETE kits, requiring only a hull dressing* and paint, selling for $200 - $500. BaD Ship Models stood alone in the world of high-tech manufacturing as the only quality but inexpensive model kit maker around. In 2008, Master Builder Woody Durso suffered a heart attack and was unable to continue building the kits, so he and his wife decided to sell the business.

Keith Mullen, a retired businessman and avid scale model builder, along with his wife, Teresa, stepped up and bought BaD Ship Models from Lou. Keith and Teresa had just completed a large hobby shop the year before, thus making it easy to transfer the mechanics of the company from New York to thier home in Arizona. Most of the older equipment brought from New York was replaced with newer and more modern woodworking machinery. It was a learning process for Keith, a former engineer, to master some of Woody’s techniques which were required to produce the same quality kit BaD Ship Models had become known for!

What became obvious from the onset was that it took at least a full day to router cut the wood and balsa parts and assemble the other parts required to make a kit. In today’s high-tech business workplace, a one-kit-a-day capability wasn’t going to cover the cost of manufacturing without having to raise the prices on the kit. Keith and Teresa did a cost analysis of what each ship cost in time and materials to construct and found that the time of router cutting all the wooden parts was eating up any potential profit if the kit prices were to be kept at their previous levels. These were prices the customers came to depend on. To raise the prices would mean many of the customers (who live on pensions and retirement) wouldn’t be able to build models any longer. A solution had to be found!

What they found to combat their cutting problems was a LASER. This technology enables BaD to CAD all parts for trueness and dimensional scaling, not to mention the ability to cut the parts for 50 ships in a day compared to just a few with the router.  

To further BaD's advancements, they integrated an Auto CAD Program that drives the laser coupled to a design and engineering processor. As a result of this program they were able to design a new keel and rib system that literally snaps together!  Known as “Snap-n-Glue," the new design eliminates the twist formed by the more traditional keel and rib assemblies. Snap-n-Glue also enables the hobbyist a faster and better aligned hull.

IOWA Class Battleships with Snap-n-Glue technology will be BaD's next project. Look for it in the coming months.

BaD is still hampered with the time consuming resin mold process, but laser technology has enabled them to keep prices low and affordable to those who build most of their kits -- the retired hobbyist living on a pension. As for those of you still working, please enjoy BaD's efforts to keep prices low so that when you retire, you can still build models without having to take out a second mortgage on that summer cabin.
 
A BaD tradition is to donate models and kits to worthy non-profit associations. Woody has an entire room called the “Lou Room” at Battleship Cove in Fall River, Massachusetts. He also built a model for the Commander of NATO in 1996.

In addition, BaD has fallen in behind the Adams Class Veterans Association (ACVA) as a sponsor and donor. The ACVA is responsible for the current attempts to save the Charles Adams, DDG-2 (the lead ship in her class) as an educational museum and showpiece in the downtown waterfront area of Jacksonville, Florida. Keith’s first donated BaD ship model, which he built, was the Charles Adams. She has found a place of prominence in the museum window. BaD offers Adams Class Associations a kit for reunions they hold.

As time passes, BaD continues to develop new and better ways of improving their kits. The first was the use of a laser in cutting parts. Secondly, the development of Snap-n-Glue, a keel and rib station assembly, that allows the hobbyist to snap the ribs into the keel in their properly assigned stations. This technique also allows BaD to adjust the scale of the kit to meet the needs of the customer. BaD continues to find new and exciting ways to enhance their product line and to assure their customers they will be receiving one “BaD Ass Destroyer” when the FedEx man comes knocking at their door.

Instead of reading all this, you should be building your BaD Ship model!

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*Hull dressing of either fiberglass or bondo is not standard in BaD kits.