William Tompkins built 307 different model ships at a scale of 1/600. Mr. Tompkins started building his massive collection when he was in his early teens, and he continued to make highly detailed models throughout his lifetime. The fleet of model ships includes a wide array of models that span several decades, if not more, so the collection offers an insightful view of naval evolution over time. A portion of William Tompkins’ fleet of 1/600 scale model ships is on display in the Miniature Engineering Craftsmanship Museum in Carlsbad, CA.
USS Colorado (BB-45, 1940) was based in Hawaii, and starting in 1941 the ship served for the entirety of WWII in the Pacific. The Colorado took fire in several shore bombardments, and was hit by both kamikaze attacks along with accidental friendly fire. After the war, the ship made three runs from Hawaii to Washington, returning over 6,000 soldiers to the mainland. The Colorado was decommissioned in 1947, and sold for scrap in 1959.