Known for their accuracy and attention to detail, Aoshima's precision Waterline Series focuses on naval ship models, depicting the ship's structure from the waterline and above. Models in this series are designed to be seen as if floating on the water, highlighting the above-water structure, whilst also making for a more practical and space-efficient display on a flat surface.
HMS Illustrious was the first of her class of aircraft carriers, built for the Royal Navy in the run-up to the Second World War; the class included some of the most important British warships of the time. Rather than relying on embarked aircraft for defense, Illustrious was designed to survive through a combination of powerful AA defenses, and an armored flight deck; this approach made her and her sisters harder to kill than many other carriers of the era.
HMS Illustrious - appropriately enough - had an illustrious career, spanning the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean, and the Pacific. In late 1940, at the Battle of Taranto, Illustrious' aircraft hit three Italian battleships, putting all out of action, one of them permanently - this battle was a defining moment in the ascendency of naval air power.
HMS Illustrious' final appearance in WW2 was during the early stages of the Battle of Okinawa; mechanical defects arising from accumulated battle damage during her lifetime became so severe she was ordered home early for repairs in May 1945. The war ended with Illustrious still in the dockyard.
After the war, Illustrious was the Home Fleet's trials and training carrier; in this role she saw the deck landing trials of most British carrier aircraft of the early fifties. HMS Illustrious was decommissioned in early 1955, and sold for scrap the following year.
Aoshima's precision Waterline Series model kit represents HMS Illustrious as she would have appeared with a range of wartime Fleet Air Arm aircraft embarked.
- 1/700 scale precision model kit
- Waterline design
- Assembly required
- Glue, paint, and tools not included - available separately
- Not a toy: not intended for children under 15 years old
- Made in Japan
