Scale: 1:48. A contemporary builder’s full hull model of the first-class protected cruiser ‘Gibraltar’ (1892), mounted on gold-plated turned brass pillars inside original display case. This is a highly detailed model with many of the fittings gold- and silver-plated, in the style of these builder’s models. It is complete with a full set of boats, anchors and their gear, and depicts the ship in the colours for tropical service and also including the copper sheathing below the waterline.

The ‘Gibraltar’ was one of a class of nine built under the Naval Defence Act of 1889. Measuring 387 feet in length by 60 feet in the beam and a tonnage of 7350 loaded, it was built by R. Napier & Sons of Govan, Glasgow, Scotland. Its main armament consisted of two 9.2-inch and ten 6-inch quick-firing guns as well as four 18-inch torpedo tubes.

In service, this class proved to be very good seaboats and exceptional steamers, in particular, the ‘Royal Arthur’ averaged 18 knots over 48 hours. The early years were spent mainly on foreign stations serving in the Mediterranean, Pacific, China, Australia, and on the Cape, South Africa. Although obsolete by 1914, they saw extensive service throughout the First World War. The ‘Gibraltar’ was eventually sold in 1923.