RAF Fireboat Figures

[Peter Brown 20Participant @peterbrown20]

I want to add a couple of figures to my 30inch Fireboat and hopefully someone can point me in the right direction and advise what scale I would need. Thanks

[Peter Brown 20Participant @peterbrown20]

What scale

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Hi Peter aNd welcome to the forum.

Two choices…either find out what sort of length the original was and work out the scale of your boat, or make some card figures to mount on the boat until you get the right look.

make the card figures to commercially available sizes so that you can buy some figures of a similar size. Charity shops have, er, fireman Sam figures usually, which come in different sizes to compare, for instance.

Ashley

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Peter,

Where has the fire boat come from? Is it one of the well know kits or a plan build ?? a photo is always a great help 😀

Regards Ray

[Peter Brown 20Participant @peterbrown20]

Image attached.

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

This SLEC kit of the same boat is 34.5", or 1/16 scale RAF Crash Tender. If your model is 30" long then that's approx 1/18 scale. That said, no crew members will be exactly the same height and/or a standard 6ft tall so a slight variation would probably pass muster. For example, the Bruder 1/14 scale figures in my 1/16 scale models look fine. Bruder figure

Dave M

Edited By Dave Milbourn on 17/03/2020 17:00:48

Edited By Dave Milbourn on 17/03/2020 17:01:46

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Peter,

Assuming your Fire Float is the 34" version, it's around 1/18th scale as the original fullsize boats were 46ft long

So your 6ft fireman needs to be 4 1/2" tall, as Ashley says charity shops if your lucky to fine Doctor Who figures?

DM beat me to it

Regards Ray

Edited By Ray Wood 2 on 17/03/2020 16:59:22

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

100mm or 4 inch figures are very common, it is almost the ‘standard’ size for the smaller action figures. No problem finding articulated ones, and the helmets would be easily converted to fireman’s types.

Ashley

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

The Bruder figures are listed as 1:16th

Colin

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

Posted by Colin Bishop on 17/03/2020 17:26:19:

The Bruder figures are listed as 1:16th

Colin

I wonder where I got the 1/14 from, then… No matter, really.

At least I'm still [just] young enough to be allowed out on the streets to do my shopping!

DM

[Dave Cooper 6Participant @davecooper6]

An interesting scale issue this one: I always thought these 'fire' launches were around 60-70 feet in length….ie about the same length as the ASR launches based on British Power Boats and Vosper Thornycroft designs. (My Dad skippered one in WW2…).

My own little effort is 16" length and 1/48 Revell Airmen when held up against the wheelhouse door looked just bang on. Maybe my cabin is 'not quite right' but, as it's just fun scale, I tend to go on whether it just "looks right".

On the other hand, I know men who are 4' 8" tall and others who are nearly 7 feet ! What do we do with scale here ?

Dave

[Peter Brown 20Participant @peterbrown20]

I've ordered a couple of 1:20 Graupner figures to see what they will look like. Paint wise what colour should I paint the uniforms of the crew?

[Dave Cooper 6Participant @davecooper6]

For RAF crew, I used a mid-to-dark blue (not as far as "deadly nightshade" but perhaps a shade or two lighter).

Black boots /shoes and a bit of dirt on mechanics overalls etc. If they're traditional fire crew, there are a number of different cues eg in the Fleet Arm Arm we had guys with white overalls and orange or buff jackets….have a look at some photos on the net for further ideas.

Dave

[Peter Brown 20Participant @peterbrown20]

Hopefully 1:20 will do the job. 

Edited By Peter Brown 20 on 18/03/2020 19:47:26

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