This is a partially completed Trumpeter model, in 1/350 scale, of the ill-fated Italian Littorio class battleship Roma.

This handsome ship made a miserable contribution to a navy that, despite having very good equipment, lacked the courage and leadership to make the impression on the war that the Royal Navy made in the Med. Roma fell victim, whilst on the way to Malta to surrender, to two German Fritz X radio-controlled bombs and was blown in two with the loss of nearly 1,400 lives. It has always amused me that Italian capital ships felt the need to paint part of their decks in red and white stripes in an effort to stop their own air force from bombing them!!