Eight-vertex, free fermion, and Ising models are formulated using a convention that emphasizes the algebra of the local transition operators that arise in the quantum inverse method. Equivalent classes of models, are investigated, with particular emphasis on the role of the star-triangle relations. Using these results, a natural and symmetrical parametrization is introduced and Yang-Baxter relations are constructed in an elementary way. The paper concludes with a consideration of duality, which links the present work to a recent paper of Baxter on the free fermion model.