This "Empress
of Australia" was a passenger-vehicle roll-on roll-off ferry that plied her
way from Sydney to Tasmania. With a gross tonnage of 12,037 tons, she was,
when built, the largest vessel of this type and the route worked was also
one of the longest open water routes. Built at Cockatoo Island Dockyard for
the government owned Australian National Lines (ANL), construction began in
1962 and she was launched in 1965. For seven years she made three round trips
from Sydney to Hobart a fortnight until her transfer to the Melbourne to Davenport
run in 1972, at which time her capacity was increased from 250 passengers
in cabins to 450 in cabins and seats.
The
same basic hull design was also used to build three cargo-only ships and another
combination passenger/cargo vessel which was known as "Australian Trader"
and was later converted to a training ship for the Royal Australian Navy (HMAS
Jervis Bay).
The kit was manufactured in 1965 by the Melbourne based firm of Toltoys and
is one of 
the
earliest injected plastic kits wholly designed and manufactured in Australia.
It
was a promotional kit for Caltex and was sold in Caltex service stations around
the country. My kit looks like it may have been purchased on the "Empress"
due to the extra leaflets in the box. Apparently only 200,000 kits were produced
and I am unable to say whether the molds are still in existence. This makes
this kit a very rare sight indeed. Imagine my enthusiasm then when I recently
acquired it, in good condition and for a ludicrously cheap price as well.
The
kit itself scales out to approx 1/350 scale. The kit is very nicely done by
the standards of the day in a firm white plastic with approximately 60 parts.
Decals (by now showing their age) are supplied along with an excellent set
of instructions. The superstructures will build up nicely, although I'm sure
filler will be required along the way. Some internal structures will need
to be built from plasticard as you can look in a window on one side and see
straight through the ship and out the other window. Not an insuperable challenge
for any modeller, just something to be aware of. Addition of photo-etch and
some clear plastic or film for the windows will benefit the model as well.
With
only a handful of Ro-Ro ship models in plastic, this kit would build up (should
you dare!) into a very nice replica of a much neglected part of ship modeling.
With only a little more work you can convert the "Empress" to the "Australian
trader" ships or "HMAS Jervis Bay". Well worth seeking out.
For more information on any of these ships the "Tale of Two Lines" two part series in the APMA Magazine (March 1980 and June 1980) not only provides a history of the ships but also general arrangement drawings. Check out the APMA site for details on how to obtain these issues.
References:
Copyright © SMML 2002