diff --git a/rts/Lua/LuaSyncedCtrl.cpp b/rts/Lua/LuaSyncedCtrl.cpp
index 2ff55114291..361d0dc8d6b 100644
--- a/rts/Lua/LuaSyncedCtrl.cpp
+++ b/rts/Lua/LuaSyncedCtrl.cpp
@@ -441,7 +441,7 @@ static bool ParseProjectileParams(lua_State* L, ProjectileParams& params, const
 
 			if (lua_isstring(L, -1)) {
 				if (key == "model") {
-					params.model = modelParser->Load3DModel(lua_tostring(L, -1));
+					params.model = modelLoader.LoadModel(lua_tostring(L, -1));
 				} else if (key == "cegtag") {
 					params.cegID = explGenHandler->LoadGeneratorID(lua_tostring(L, -1));
 				}
diff --git a/rts/Lua/LuaUtils.cpp b/rts/Lua/LuaUtils.cpp
index 1fef06eeecb..5fe895fc554 100644
--- a/rts/Lua/LuaUtils.cpp
+++ b/rts/Lua/LuaUtils.cpp
@@ -744,14 +744,14 @@ int LuaUtils::PushFeatureModelDrawType(lua_State* L, const FeatureDef* def)
 int LuaUtils::PushModelName(lua_State* L, const SolidObjectDef* def)
 {
 	// redundant with model.path
-	// lua_pushsstring(L, modelParser->FindModelPath(def->modelName));
+	// lua_pushsstring(L, modelLoader.FindModelPath(def->modelName));
 	lua_pushsstring(L, "deprecated! use def.model.path instead!");
 	return 1;
 }
 
 
 int LuaUtils::PushModelTable(lua_State* L, const SolidObjectDef* def) {
-	const std::string& modelPath = modelParser->FindModelPath(def->modelName);
+	const std::string& modelPath = modelLoader.FindModelPath(def->modelName);
 	const std::string& modelType = StringToLower(FileSystem::GetExtension(modelPath));
 
 	const S3DModel* model = def->LoadModel();
diff --git a/rts/Lua/LuaWeaponDefs.cpp b/rts/Lua/LuaWeaponDefs.cpp
index 40845a01f82..cd9131ed52a 100644
--- a/rts/Lua/LuaWeaponDefs.cpp
+++ b/rts/Lua/LuaWeaponDefs.cpp
@@ -267,7 +267,7 @@ static int VisualsTable(lua_State* L, const void* data)
 {
 	const struct WeaponDef::Visuals& v = *static_cast<const struct WeaponDef::Visuals*>(data);
 	lua_newtable(L);
-	HSTR_PUSH_STRING(L, "modelName",      modelParser->FindModelPath(v.modelName));
+	HSTR_PUSH_STRING(L, "modelName",      modelLoader.FindModelPath(v.modelName));
 	HSTR_PUSH_NUMBER(L, "colorR",         v.color.x);
 	HSTR_PUSH_NUMBER(L, "colorG",         v.color.y);
 	HSTR_PUSH_NUMBER(L, "colorB",         v.color.z);
diff --git a/rts/Rendering/Models/IModelParser.cpp b/rts/Rendering/Models/IModelParser.cpp
index da99d8b3d6a..54b7f2fb385 100644
--- a/rts/Rendering/Models/IModelParser.cpp
+++ b/rts/Rendering/Models/IModelParser.cpp
@@ -22,10 +22,8 @@
 #include "System/maindefines.h"
 #include "lib/assimp/include/assimp/Importer.hpp"
 
-C3DModelLoader* modelParser = nullptr;
 
-
-static void RegisterAssimpModelFormats(C3DModelLoader::FormatMap& formats) {
+static void RegisterAssimpModelFormats(CModelLoader::FormatMap& formats) {
 	std::set<std::string> whitelist;
 	std::string extension;
 	std::string extensions;
@@ -113,11 +111,6 @@ void LoadQueue::Join()
 	}
 }
 
-LoadQueue::~LoadQueue()
-{
-	Join();
-}
-
 __FORCE_ALIGN_STACK__
 void LoadQueue::Pump()
 {
@@ -131,7 +124,7 @@ void LoadQueue::Pump()
 			FreeLock();
 		}
 
-		modelParser->Load3DModel(modelName, true);
+		modelLoader.LoadModel(modelName, true);
 
 		{
 			GrabLock();
@@ -169,7 +162,7 @@ void LoadQueue::Push(const std::string& modelName)
 }
 
 
-C3DModelLoader::C3DModelLoader()
+void CModelLoader::Init()
 {
 	// file-extension should be lowercase
 	formats["3do"] = MODELTYPE_3DO;
@@ -189,12 +182,20 @@ C3DModelLoader::C3DModelLoader()
 	models.push_back(nullptr);
 }
 
-
-C3DModelLoader::~C3DModelLoader()
+void CModelLoader::Kill()
 {
+	// thread might be in LoadModel, but it doesn't matter
 	loadQueue.Join();
 
-	// delete model cache
+	KillModels();
+	KillParsers();
+
+	cache.clear();
+	formats.clear();
+}
+
+void CModelLoader::KillModels()
+{
 	for (unsigned int n = 1; n < models.size(); n++) {
 		S3DModel* model = models[n];
 
@@ -204,22 +205,30 @@ C3DModelLoader::~C3DModelLoader()
 		model->DeletePieces(model->GetRootPiece());
 		model->SetRootPiece(nullptr);
 
-		delete model;
+		SafeDelete(model);
 	}
+
 	models.clear();
+}
 
+void CModelLoader::KillParsers()
+{
 	for (auto it = parsers.cbegin(); it != parsers.cend(); ++it) {
 		delete (it->second);
 	}
-	parsers.clear();
 
-	cache.clear();
+	parsers.clear();
+}
 
+CModelLoader& CModelLoader::GetInstance()
+{
+	static CModelLoader instance;
+	return instance;
 }
 
 
 
-std::string C3DModelLoader::FindModelPath(std::string name) const
+std::string CModelLoader::FindModelPath(std::string name) const
 {
 	// check for empty string because we can be called
 	// from Lua*Defs and certain features have no models
@@ -249,7 +258,7 @@ std::string C3DModelLoader::FindModelPath(std::string name) const
 
 
 
-S3DModel* C3DModelLoader::Load3DModel(std::string name, bool preload)
+S3DModel* CModelLoader::LoadModel(std::string name, bool preload)
 {
 	// cannot happen except through SpawnProjectile
 	if (name.empty())
@@ -262,7 +271,7 @@ S3DModel* C3DModelLoader::Load3DModel(std::string name, bool preload)
 
 	// search in cache first
 	for (unsigned int n = 0; n < 2; n++) {
-		S3DModel* cachedModel = LoadCached3DModel(*refs[n], preload);
+		S3DModel* cachedModel = LoadCachedModel(*refs[n], preload);
 
 		if (cachedModel != nullptr)
 			return cachedModel;
@@ -275,7 +284,7 @@ S3DModel* C3DModelLoader::Load3DModel(std::string name, bool preload)
 	return (CreateModel(name, path, preload));
 }
 
-S3DModel* C3DModelLoader::LoadCached3DModel(const std::string& name, bool preload)
+S3DModel* CModelLoader::LoadCachedModel(const std::string& name, bool preload)
 {
 	S3DModel* cachedModel = nullptr;
 
@@ -300,7 +309,7 @@ S3DModel* C3DModelLoader::LoadCached3DModel(const std::string& name, bool preloa
 
 
 
-S3DModel* C3DModelLoader::CreateModel(
+S3DModel* CModelLoader::CreateModel(
 	const std::string& name,
 	const std::string& path,
 	bool preload
@@ -321,7 +330,7 @@ S3DModel* C3DModelLoader::CreateModel(
 
 
 
-IModelParser* C3DModelLoader::GetFormatParser(const std::string& pathExt)
+IModelParser* CModelLoader::GetFormatParser(const std::string& pathExt)
 {
 	const auto fi = formats.find(StringToLower(pathExt));
 
@@ -331,7 +340,7 @@ IModelParser* C3DModelLoader::GetFormatParser(const std::string& pathExt)
 	return parsers[fi->second];
 }
 
-S3DModel* C3DModelLoader::ParseModel(const std::string& name, const std::string& path)
+S3DModel* CModelLoader::ParseModel(const std::string& name, const std::string& path)
 {
 	S3DModel* model = nullptr;
 	IModelParser* parser = GetFormatParser(FileSystem::GetExtension(path));
@@ -351,7 +360,7 @@ S3DModel* C3DModelLoader::ParseModel(const std::string& name, const std::string&
 
 
 
-void C3DModelLoader::AddModelToCache(
+void CModelLoader::AddModelToCache(
 	S3DModel* model,
 	const std::string& name,
 	const std::string& path
@@ -373,7 +382,7 @@ void C3DModelLoader::AddModelToCache(
 
 
 
-void C3DModelLoader::CreateListsNow(S3DModelPiece* o)
+void CModelLoader::CreateListsNow(S3DModelPiece* o)
 {
 	o->UploadGeometryVBOs();
 	o->CreateShatterPieces();
@@ -385,7 +394,7 @@ void C3DModelLoader::CreateListsNow(S3DModelPiece* o)
 }
 
 
-void C3DModelLoader::CreateLists(S3DModel* model) {
+void CModelLoader::CreateLists(S3DModel* model) {
 	S3DModelPiece* rootPiece = model->GetRootPiece();
 
 	if (rootPiece->GetDisplayListID() != 0)
diff --git a/rts/Rendering/Models/IModelParser.h b/rts/Rendering/Models/IModelParser.h
index 49512d679aa..ad5a6de9d2b 100644
--- a/rts/Rendering/Models/IModelParser.h
+++ b/rts/Rendering/Models/IModelParser.h
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ class IModelParser
 struct LoadQueue {
 public:
 	LoadQueue(): thread(nullptr) {}
-	~LoadQueue();
+	~LoadQueue() { Join(); }
 
 	void Pump();
 	void Push(const std::string& modelName);
@@ -45,17 +45,20 @@ struct LoadQueue {
 
 
 
-class C3DModelLoader
+class CModelLoader
 {
 public:
-	C3DModelLoader();
-	~C3DModelLoader();
+	static CModelLoader& GetInstance();
 
-	S3DModel* Load3DModel(std::string name, bool preload = false);
+	void Init();
+	void Kill();
+
+	S3DModel* LoadModel(std::string name, bool preload = false);
 
 	std::string FindModelPath(std::string name) const;
 
-	void Preload3DModel(const std::string& name) { loadQueue.Push(name); }
+	bool IsValid() const { return (!formats.empty()); }
+	void PreloadModel(const std::string& name) { assert(IsValid()); loadQueue.Push(name); }
 
 public:
 	typedef std::unordered_map<std::string, unsigned int> ModelMap; // "armflash.3do" --> id
@@ -63,12 +66,15 @@ class C3DModelLoader
 	typedef std::unordered_map<unsigned int, IModelParser*> ParserMap; // MODELTYPE_3DO --> parser
 
 private:
-	S3DModel* LoadCached3DModel(const std::string& name, bool preload);
+	S3DModel* LoadCachedModel(const std::string& name, bool preload);
 	S3DModel* CreateModel(const std::string& name, const std::string& path, bool preload);
 	S3DModel* ParseModel(const std::string& name, const std::string& path);
 
 	IModelParser* GetFormatParser(const std::string& pathExt);
 
+	void KillModels();
+	void KillParsers();
+
 	void AddModelToCache(S3DModel* model, const std::string& name, const std::string& path);
 
 	void CreateLists(S3DModel* o);
@@ -85,6 +91,6 @@ class C3DModelLoader
 	std::vector<S3DModel*> models;
 };
 
-extern C3DModelLoader* modelParser;
+#define modelLoader (CModelLoader::GetInstance())
 
 #endif /* IMODELPARSER_H */
diff --git a/rts/Rendering/WorldDrawer.cpp b/rts/Rendering/WorldDrawer.cpp
index c11be790287..2cd130883fe 100644
--- a/rts/Rendering/WorldDrawer.cpp
+++ b/rts/Rendering/WorldDrawer.cpp
@@ -60,7 +60,8 @@ CWorldDrawer::~CWorldDrawer()
 	SafeDelete(featureDrawer);
 	SafeDelete(unitDrawer); // depends on unitHandler, cubeMapHandler
 	SafeDelete(projectileDrawer);
-	SafeDelete(modelParser);
+
+	modelLoader.Kill();
 
 	SafeDelete(farTextureHandler);
 	SafeDelete(heightMapTexture);
@@ -82,7 +83,7 @@ void CWorldDrawer::LoadPre() const
 {
 	// these need to be loaded before featureHandler is created
 	// (maps with features have their models loaded at startup)
-	modelParser = new C3DModelLoader();
+	modelLoader.Init();
 
 	loadscreen->SetLoadMessage("Creating Unit Textures");
 	texturehandler3DO = new C3DOTextureHandler();
diff --git a/rts/Sim/Objects/SolidObjectDef.cpp b/rts/Sim/Objects/SolidObjectDef.cpp
index 312955fa4d1..f5b3b5cc722 100644
--- a/rts/Sim/Objects/SolidObjectDef.cpp
+++ b/rts/Sim/Objects/SolidObjectDef.cpp
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ SolidObjectDef::SolidObjectDef()
 void SolidObjectDef::PreloadModel() const
 {
 	if (model == nullptr && !modelName.empty()) {
-		modelParser->Preload3DModel(modelName);
+		modelLoader.PreloadModel(modelName);
 	}
 }
 
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ S3DModel* SolidObjectDef::LoadModel() const
 {
 	if (model == nullptr) {
 		if (!modelName.empty()) {
-			model = modelParser->Load3DModel(modelName);
+			model = modelLoader.LoadModel(modelName);
 		} else {
 			// not useful, too much spam
 			// LOG_L(L_WARNING, "[SolidObjectDef::%s] object \"%s\" has no model defined", __FUNCTION__, name.c_str());
diff --git a/rts/Sim/Weapons/WeaponDef.cpp b/rts/Sim/Weapons/WeaponDef.cpp
index 5d30be06ab4..7a8c4c73e8e 100644
--- a/rts/Sim/Weapons/WeaponDef.cpp
+++ b/rts/Sim/Weapons/WeaponDef.cpp
@@ -589,7 +589,7 @@ S3DModel* WeaponDef::LoadModel()
 {
 	if (visuals.model == NULL) {
 		if (!visuals.modelName.empty()) {
-			visuals.model = modelParser->Load3DModel(visuals.modelName);
+			visuals.model = modelLoader.LoadModel(visuals.modelName);
 		} else {
 			// not useful, too much spam
 			// LOG_L(L_WARNING, "[WeaponDef::%s] weapon \"%s\" has no model defined", __FUNCTION__, name.c_str());