1/1250 Scale HMS Illustrious: Length: 7.5", Width: 1.25" The collection of World War II Warships from DeAgostini at 1/1250 scale come already assembled and painted. There is no assembly or painting needed. They are constructed of diecast metal and plastic parts. They have no moving parts. Each ship is attached to a removable display stand and each display stand has a metal nameplate. The base of the stand measures 4.75" by 1.75". These models are made for display and are not really toys. They are very fragile and will not last long if played with. The recommended age is 14 years and older. HMS Illustrious was the lead ship of her class of aircraft carriers built for the Royal Navy before World War II. Her first assignment after completion and working up was with the Mediterranean Fleet, in which her aircraft's most notable achievement was sinking one Italian battleship and badly damaging two others during the Battle of Taranto in late 1940. Two months later the carrier was crippled by German dive bombers and was repaired in the United States. After sustaining damage on the voyage home in late 1941 by a collision with her sister ship Formidable, Illustrious was sent to the Indian Ocean in early 1942 to support the invasion of Vichy French Madagascar (Operation Ironclad). After returning home in early 1943, the ship was given a lengthy refit and briefly assigned to the Home Fleet. She was transferred to Force H for the Battle of Salerno in mid-1943 and then rejoined the Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean at the beginning of 1944. Her aircraft attacked several targets in the Japanese-occupied Dutch East Indies over the following year before Illustrious was transferred to the newly formed British Pacific Fleet (BPF). The carrier participated in the early stages of the Battle of Okinawa until mechanical defects arising from accumulated battle damage became so severe she was ordered home early for repairs in May 1945.