Heller’s 1/200 Avenir Car Ferry makes a welcome return after a long absence, with updated markings to reflect the ship's three owners
Civilian ships might not be as popular as military subjects, but passenger vessels seem to have an enduring attraction to modellers, with Heller’s large-scale 1/200 Avenir car/passenger ferry available once more.
Avenir was used by Compagnie de Navigation Mixte for sailings between France, Algeria and Tunisia before being sold to an Italian company, Trans Tirreno Express in 1975, after which it was renamed Espresso Corinto. Under the new flag it operated as a cruise vessel between Italy and Greece until 1981, when it was laid up due to the parent company’s financial issues, being sold to Marinvest Founds in 1984. The ship was then renamed as Shahrazad and re-flagged, operating in the Red Sea under Panamanian colours until the following year, when the ship was damaged badly by fire when docked at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; the vessel was sunk, later in 1985.
Heller was quick off the mark with the original release in 1968 – just a year after the ship was built – with two further boxings in 1984 and 1986, both featuring just the original Avenir markings. It’s been unavailable since then, but ha…
