How model organisms work is shaped by both their biological and their epistemic contexts. In the case of evo-devo models, the epistemic context has shifted in important and interesting ways over the past few decades. In particular, both evolutionary and developmental biology are increasingly focused on the role of the environment: how organisms interact with their surroundings during ontogeny and phylogeny. This shared focus expands the epistemic niche for evo-devo models. The analogy with ecological and selective niches raises the question of the extent to which models (like organisms) not only occupy, but actively shape, their own context—engaging in a form of epistemic niche construction. In this chapter, I briefly review the role(s) played by models in the modern history of evo-devo and examine how carefully chosen models can guide (not just support) further integration and progress.