Coastal Patrol - Figurehead Miniatures

I have finished basing the MAS boats. The first 4 were the early 501 - 526 models. The pictures were taken with my cell phone and did not come out badly considering. The ships themselves are under and inch long.

I am not sure if the Italians used the candy striping on the MAS boats or not. I thought I would add it anyway.

As you can see from the pictures I have finished assembling the merchant ships as well. There are two trawlers (the two on the right), an oil tanker and a tramp steamer (far left).

Again, apologies for the picture quality. These are not much longer than the MAS boats. The masts come separately and with both the tramp and the tanker, the bridges were separate structures that had to be glued in place. The tramp came with painting instructions. For the oil tanker, I will take a few liberties with it.

My father served aboard two oil tankers as a summer job during college and again after graduation. I still have his Merchant Marine card. He served aboard the Esso Pittsburgh and Esso Providence. I also happen to have a book on the Esso tankers that served during the Second World War. I will base the painting scheme for the oil tanker from the Esso Pittsburgh.

Note that the Esso Pittsburgh and Esso Providence are both 4 to 5 times the length of the coastal tanker that I have a model for. I wonder if there is a 1/1250th model for larger tankers? At 100' to the inch, that would put the Pittsburgh at over 5" in length as a model.

In 1949, my father stood on the deck of the Esso Pittsburgh and watched columns of Egyptian troops move across the Suez Canal to invade Israel. It is fun to have a hobby where you can learn history and family at the same time.