diff --git a/simnet/models/base.py b/simnet/models/base.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9f2c99f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/simnet/models/base.py
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+from pydantic import BaseModel
+
+try:
+    import ujson as jsonlib
+except ImportError:
+    import json as jsonlib
+
+
+class APIModel(BaseModel):
+    """A Pydantic BaseModel class used for modeling JSON data returned by an API."""
+
+    class Config:
+        """A nested class defining configuration options for the APIModel."""
+
+        json_dumps = jsonlib.dumps
+        json_loads = jsonlib.loads