Professional Model Makers
High-tech professional model makers for the creative and manufacturing industries. Models, prototypes, props and display pieces, designed and made in Ongar, Essex.
Most models pass through several suppliers before they are finished. Every handover adds days.
JH May is equipped with comprehensive 3D CNC machining facilities, large 5 axis milling, 3D printing, 3D scanning, SolidWorks CAD design, a paint shop and electro-mechanical assembly. In short, everything needed to provide your models, sculpture, prototypes and bespoke pieces in one place, with speed and precision.
JH May was founded in 1919 as a central London engineering pattern making business by James Henry May, and the family is still involved today. Clients include leading architectural practices, global brands, manufacturers and artists, on individual projects and turnkey projects, from the first concept right through to the finished product.
Whether you need a visual, animated or interactive model for an exhibition, an architectural display or a promotion, JH May’s modelling specialists, engineers and 3D designers take your concept through to reality.
If your project needs a working prototype, the design team creates fully functioning prototype products and assemblies quickly and cost effectively, and the model makers still bring traditional hand and woodworking skills to the finish. Some of the best known brands have trusted JH May with models of a wide variety of products and concepts.
The JH May Process
Equipment changes fast, so JH May keeps investing in it. Cutting edge CNC machining and rapid prototyping keep your lead times short and your quality high, without losing sight of the fact that the final presentation has to be outstanding.
Large capacity 5 axis CNC machining has made enormous and sculptural pieces possible for the promotional, exhibition, experiential and art sectors. Alongside it sit a 7-axis robot CNC machine for large-scale replicas and sculptures, large 3D printing, 3D scanning, vacuum casting and an in-house paint finishing shop. Large 5 axis CNC machining, 7-axis robot CNC machine, large 3D printing, 3D scanning, vacuum casting and paint finishing.
Sister company Thompson Precision operates from the same factory complex and uses the most modern CNC machining processes. So if your project needs complex high precision mechanical components and assemblies, they can be made as part of the prototyping service.
That gives your mechanical concepts, prototypes and animated or articulating models a clear advantage: precision engineering and expert product, architectural, display and exhibition modelling, side by side.
3D CAD design and design assistance are an integral part of the service. With SolidWorks and 2 dedicated 3D design engineers, your project gets design input without delay, whether that is solving a production issue or designing components, prototypes and electro-mechanical products quickly and economically from scratch.
You get a team that works with you, helps solve issues and creates solutions for whatever challenges your project faces. It is why clients keep coming back time and time again.
Hyundai TV Advert Models
Three scale cars, the Coupe, Getz and Santa Fe, CNC machined directly from Hyundai’s CAD data and delivered in three weeks for a filming deadline. Read more
Martin-Baker Ejector Seat Models
A run of 25 detailed scale models for presentation to fighter jet customers, made from a CNC machined master and vacuum cast in polyurethane.Read more
8m Airbus A300 Artwork
A suspended, upside-down 8m model of an Airbus A300, designed for easy assembly and shipped to a gallery in Los Angeles.Read more
Modern CNC machining, rapid prototyping and CAD/CAM, combined with traditional hand modelling, vacuum casting, RIM moulding and paint finishing.
Our model makers have a very broad skill base, so many types of models and product prototypes can be made here, including architectural, industrial, exhibition, mechanical, concept and for the arts.
A family business making models since 1919, with ISO 9001 certified quality management (NQA, UKAS). And on the high speed service, if we take the job on, we deliver on time and to the highest quality level.
JH May Your Model Making Partner
Highly skilled model makers, engineers and 3D CAD designers, working from a 10,000 sq ft purpose built factory, offer an all-encompassing model making service, from the first sketch to the finished piece.Read More
Tell Us What You Need and When
Send us a sketch, drawings or CAD files and your deadline. We will tell you what we can do and when.
Frequently Asked Questions
How quickly can you turn a model around?
The high speed service produces high quality, often complex, models and prototypes within very short lead times, in some cases as little as 24 hours.
What do you need from me to get started?
A sketch is enough to start. You can also send 3D CAD data, DXF files or 2D drawings. If you do not have CAD, the design team can create it in SolidWorks from your drawings or sketches.
Do you make everything in-house?
Yes. Design, CNC machining, 3D printing, 3D scanning, vacuum casting, paint finishing and electro-mechanical assembly all happen in the Ongar factory, with sister company Thompson Precision on the same site for high precision machining.
What size can you machine?
The 5 axis CNC machining can produce a single piece up to 2.5m x 1.5m x 1m, and the 7-axis robot CNC machine mills large models and sculptures. Bigger models can be broken down into pieces and machined in sections.
Do you work with architects on planning and competition models?
Yes. Architectural clients include Foster + Partners, Zaha Hadid Architects and Arup, and the work ranges from planning and concept models to detailed presentation pieces, such as the Sofia master plan competition model for Zaha Hadid Architects.
Our Blogs
What Is Vacuum Casting, and When Should You Actually Use It?
You have a design ready. You need 20 parts that look and feel like the finished product, not 20 rough prototypes. Injection moulding is too expensive for that volume. 3D printing won’t give you the surface finish you need. CNC machining 20 identical parts would take longer than it should. This is the gap vacuum […]
What to Expect When You Commission a Scale Model
You have just been told a scale model is needed. Maybe it is for a planning committee in five weeks. Maybe an investor pitch in three. Maybe a launch event where the date cannot move, the venue is booked, and the model is now the missing piece. The first question is almost always the same. […]
