Scale: 1:48. A contemporary builder’s full hull model of the battleship ‘HMS Ramilles’ (1892). As is typical with this style of model, a large number of the metal fittings have been silver-plated. This was a deliberate attempt by the commercial shipyards, when they exhibited at the various international trade fairs, to catch the eye of a potential buyer for the British and foreign navies.

Models of this size were built from layers of wood laid horizontally in ‘bread and butter’ fashion and to help reduce the weight, they were gauged out internally to produce a shell of about one inch in thickness. The decks were then applied with the planking or plating marked on in ink and sealed with a layer of varnish. As this model illustrates, these ships were heavily equipped both with a range of armament, through to the standard more mundane fittings required for day-to-day operation.

Built by J. G. Thompson Ltd., Clydebank, Scotland, the ‘Ramillies’ was one of seven ships designed by Sir William White, the Director of Naval Construction. Measuring 380 feet in length by 75 feet in the beam and a displacement of 14500 tons, it was powered by two triple-expansion steam engines, which produced an operation speed of 16 knots. Two of its most notable features were that it was the first battleship in the Royal Navy to have steel armour around the waterline and the first to exceed 12,000 tons. The addition of a complete upper deck increased her freeboard, which in turn improved efficiency at high speeds in all weather at sea.

The first part of its career was spent as flagship in the Mediterranean from 1893–1903, and later with the Home Fleet until 1911. The ‘Ramillies’ was eventually sold for breaking in 1913.