Our Story
Welcome to the Chow Line!
What is the Chow Line?
The Chowline is a product of my love for American history, fascination with military food, passion for building scale replicas, and above all else desire to educate people. I am an academically trained historian currently working on my Masters in American history and going for a Doctorate in early 20th century America. The skill set I have developed in academia has granted me the ability to conduct deep intensive research used in the creation of Chow Line replicas. Providing the primary source material to back up the creation of my reproductions is an absolute necessity when attempting to create accurate reproductions. I also have a great deal of experience building scale replicas, having been employed by plastic model company Revell Monogram. This directly translates into the finishing/ construction of my replicas allowing the creation of many different types of rations in a multitude of mediums like metal, plastic, paper, fiberboard etc.
What does the Chow Line Make?
In short, I make replicas of American military rations (and some personal items), but rather than concentrating on a single era in American military history I offer high quality replica rations spanning from 1916 to 1980. Other companies may offer similar products, I however concentrate on detail whereas they concentrate on quantity sacrificing accuracy and quality in the process. Much of what I offer is directly reproduced from original examples in my collection, or built from well documented digital examples. All of my replicas are made in small batches by hand to ensure a high quality reproduction you are able to display with original equipment. In addition to providing reenactors and collectors with reproductions, much of what I make is utilized by museums and custom made to suit the needs of a specific curators exhibit. In addition to replicating common place military rations, I also specialize in creating custom display models of rations such as cutaways used for educational purposes, or aged replicas designed to be displayed with original military equipment. I also replicate rare military ration/ personal items to fill gaps in either public or individual collections. In some cases these reproductions are also used to replace fragile irreplaceable original examples that are no longer able to be displayed without suffering damage.
How do I order, can I buy large quantities of something?
I work full time and attend Graduate School full time, meaning that the Chow Line is operated as a small side business. It is an extension of my love for the hobby of reenacting and an offshoot of my formal collegiate education meaning that I do not maintain a stock of any items. Small batches of replicas are made when I have the time, then sold on this page until the stock is depleted, then I move on to another project. As such I am unable to provide large quantities of most items, but for a handful of exceptions.
- Orders can be placed by messaging the page, at which point an invoice will be sent to you and payment can be made via paypal as “payment for goods and services ” NEVER as friends and family.
Museum Exhibits:
I take special request orders for museum exhibits. Simply message this page if you are looking for items to use in an exhibit. Include the name and address of your museum, the exhibits scheduled opening date/ date you need the items by, and what reproductions you need. I will work hard to meet your exhibits needs, and can provide exhibit consultation in addition to standard or special reproductions.
