When real life is as silly as a model

I often make fun of egg planes and their tank and ship siblings — I’m referring here to Meng’s World War Toons tanks and Warship Builder vessels — because I find them, well…silly. But if they float your boat and keep you excited about the hobby, more power to you.

I was surprised to discover this photograph of an actual Navy vessel on Reddit, which looks a helluva lot like an egg ship.

Most readers didn’t know what it is, so Reddit user Emanking2000 explained:

"I operated one in Pearl Harbor, we used it to open and close the security’s gates you see floating at the entrances to Naval Bases. I’m sure it has other purposes that I am unaware of. But it is extremely versatile. The prop can operate at 360 degrees which is nice when pulling a heavy gate in wind while close to obstacles like rocks, piers or shore lines. They are slow as hell but fun to spin in circles when it’s choppy out. Just don’t let Chief see you trying to buck your shipmates off."

I found a picture of another boat from another Reddit thread.

From what I can tell these are more formally referred to as port operations small tugs. They look about as much fun to drive as a Smart Car, but I’d certainly take one out for a spin. Who knows. Seeing one in person could inspire me to build an egg of some sort!

You can read the entire thread on Reddit here.