Following the approval of the USCG Working Design in 2004, Maine’s First Ship vessel committee went on to producing detailed designs first to construct a model, and then the full-size ship. John Bradford was the primary author of these reports and worked with Bud Warren (historian),  David Wyman (naval architect), Rob Stevens (shipwright), Sam Manning (artist), and others. The original plan was to build Virginia for the 400th anniversary of the Popham Colony in 2007. It soon became clear that while the was neither money nor time to complete this task, it was possible to get a 1/8 scale model of Virginia built. Building the model was used to validate the working design. The model was built by Rob Stevens with other volunteers from Maine’s First Ship.

The model was first shown in 2006 at the Maine Maritime Museum. In 2007 it featured in the 400th anniversary of the Popham Colony held on the site of the colony. Since 2011 it has been in the Bath Freight shed, where it now has pride of place in the Jane Stevens Visitor Center. The model is being refurbished to very closely match the real Virginia.

Two 1/32 scale models were also built; one for the Maine State Museum and one for the Maine Maritime Museum. These were built using the money from the original design phase of Maine’s First Ship. These models were somewhat more accurate as rigging models.