Navis Neptun 1/1250 1502 Caio Duilio, a reconstructed WW1 Battleship, 1940
Caio Duilio is second-hand model of Italian battleship in WW2. This model is in excellent condition having been made at the time when Neptun models were at the peak of their quality of casting and painting. This model is made in 1/1250 scale, waterline form from a lead-free (<5%) pewter pioneered by Navis Neptun company in Germany, catalogue number 1502, see photograph.
It was almost impossible to recognise the origin of this ship and her sister, Andrea Doria, following their reconstruction from battleships which had been completed at the outbreak of WW1. The reconstructed Duilio was badly damaged at Taranto during the attack by Swordfish from HMS Illustrious but was repaired and served in the postwar Italian fleet.
This model may be taken to represent her sister, Andrea Doria, which has never been modelled by Neptun. Both ships carried striking camouflage patterns during WW2. Duilio was scrapped in 1957 and Doria in 1961.