My first 1/3000 fleet was that of the Regia Marina - Italy's Mediterranean fleet. On the surface, they represent a powerful force - and were among the 'prettiest' of WW2's fleets (especially with their distinctive red and white aircraft recognition stripes).
If they had been used aggressively and in conjunction with the Regia Aeronautica and the Luftwaffe they could have dealt Cunningham's forces in the Med a serious series of blows. The combination of Taranto and the reluctance to risk their ships meant that in reality the RM were essentially just a fleet in being. However on the wargaming table they do pack a powerful punch,
Being my first fleet they were also the first I had painted and - in retrospect - I wasn't happy with the results. So over the past couple of weeks I've been repainting the main capital ships - battleships, cruisers and aircraft carriers and the results are below. The hardest part is trying to get the red stripes to be of equal width and angle - trust me, not as easy as it looks. The solution was to use a red pencil with a fine tip and a very small ruler!
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| The capital ships in their carrying case (a £1.50 document holder) |
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| A couple of cruisers |
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| Guilio Cesare - older battleships but still potent |
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| Littorio Class battleship - heavily armed, armoured and significant AA capability |
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| The fleet at sea (actually more capital ships than Mussolini had!) |
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| Side view fly-past showing off the red/white air recognition stripes. No confusing these with any other nation |
