Model Warship Combat Brings BB-Gun-Equipped RC Boats to a Lake Near You

Model Warship Combat — it's like real-life, remote-controlled Battleship, to a scale. 

Mini warships get built and then sunk. Teams are split into Axis and Allied sides (think the World Wars). For cannons there are BB-gun shooters. Television station WCCO in Minneapolis found that the tiny vessels even have bilge pumps to help drain water. 

The contest isn't over until everyone's model sinks. As organizer Brandon Smith explained to CBS Minnesota, the ships are sheeted with thin balsa wood, which allows for the tiny BBs to puncture their hulls. At the end of a battle, the ships are brought out of the water, and points are awarded based on the damage done to each vessel. 

A national championship battle is taking place this week on a lake on private property near Ramsey, Minn. Folks come down from Canada for it, and those in Model Warship Combat travel around the country for events.