Freelance, in aerial, railway, naval, or bus model building, refers to companies that produce models that are not based on existing livery.Such models are sometimes frowned upon in the model-building community because they do not represent existing items, but are original designs.
Because they require no licensing fees for trademark and design owners, and can thus be produced less expensively, freelance models are quite popular in the United States. They have not become popular in Europe, although a few European companies produce them.