American Airlines | McDonnell Douglas MD-83 | N589AA | NG Models

I'm a little late in receiving my NG MD-80s but I couldn't let them go by without giving one the review treatment, even though many plaudits have already been given to them. There was a time when seeing a new quality MD-80 mould seemed like a pipe dream, but hopefully now, what is probably one of the most under-represented types in 400 scale, will finally get the representation it deserves. I have acquired two of the three AA releases and I'll give the classic tailcone version a closer look here.

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Each review is to split into three key areas:

• The model mould
• The paint and livery reproduction
• Printing and quality control

Each section can get a maximum score of 10 for a maximum combined score of 30

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MOULD

I reviewed the original samples for the MD-80s back in October and they were some of the best of the samples sent at that point, with only minor changes required. See the original sample review here:

McDonnell Douglas MD-80​ 1:400 Scale New Mould Samples

It was clear in October that the new NG mould was easily the best MD-80 that had been made to date. The only competition nowadays comes from the Gemini Jets / JC Wings mould, which is pretty average. I often think that mould looks somewhat like a 'cut and shut' because it has a good backend and poor frontend, as if two separate moulds have been glued together.

It is hard to be overly critical about any aspect of this casting, but if there are issues then they are probably at the nose. Arguably, the nosecone is a little too rounded and not quite as nice as that on the Aeroclassics DC-9. It is minor, as is another issue noticed by my friend Corey LaChance. The samples lacked the side strakes under the nose. They have been fitted to the released models, as very fine add-on parts, but they are misplaced by a very small amount and so ever slightly too far forward.

The rest of the mould is pure poetry. The natural metal finish of this model shows off the fuselage crease along the side well and also where the wingjoin fairing cuts across it. The wingjoin itself is tight and accurate and the wing likewise very detailed. The rear margin near the tips shows the complex chord change well and much better than on competing moulds.

One area of the samples that I thought needed some work was the size and shape of the underwing flap track fairings. They definitely look taller and more accurate on this model than the samples.

At the rear the side mounted engines angle upwards nicely and have had the side strakes added on. Another tiny criticism is that the mid prong of the thrust reverser doesn't extend onto the painted section of the engine. 

The vertical stabiliser has an excellent form and the pointed tailcone looks grand.

This is the sort of mould that shows up my scoring mechanism. Yes, there are clearly a couple of minor imperfections here, but nothing that I think warrants the dropping of an entire point. So I'm giving it full marks. If you prefer you can consider this a 9.5 rather than a 10 but I don't currently score half marks. Perhaps I should start?

SCORE - 10

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PAINT & LIVERY

It was inevitable that American Airlines would be an early release on this mould and deservedly so, however I'm not 100% happy with the initial release choices since neither illustrate an MD-80 from AA in the delivery scheme. As I discussed in my MD-80 Americas wishlist there are actually at least 7 different scheme variants for the type:

The model under review wears a scheme variant I don't even have in the table. Basically, it is scheme 6 but with the SUPER 80 titles. The two other releases wear scheme 7. I do hope this means we don't miss out on what I call scheme 1, as that is iconic and the black nose tip does make it look quite different. I would have also preferred an MD-82, not 83, as that type was more common, however externally there is no difference.

I can't really fault anything about the livery reproduction here. The colours, font and placement are all good. At magnification there are a couple of minor inconsistencies but I'll cover them in the next section.

SCORE - 10

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PRINTING & QUALITY CONTROL

Printing onto bare metal presents its challenges. NG largely overcomes them, but in some areas the print is so fine as to be almost invisible. Under the tail this presents a definite issue as the outline of the undertail stairs is very hard to see. On the underside there is plenty of detail but also some missing bits on the wings and forward fuselage that could have been added. I'm reaching to find problems bit here I admit!

At magnification there are some other minor print issues. The Super and the 80 of the tiny titles on the nose are misaligned and the nosecone and grey under it don't align perfectly either. To be honest, this is probably approaching the top end of what is possible with such a small model and things that stand out under high magnification (gap around the nosegear door and holes for the strakes to be mounted) are invisible to the naked eye.

The model is constructed with the quality  I have come to expect from NG. No problems at all.

SCORE - 9

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CONCLUSION

Last week's A380 was near perfect and this model is similar in that you really have to go searching for problems. The quality on show here is exceptional and shows why, despite getting a lot of criticism, NG are at the top of the hobby when it comes to ability and output. The hope is that this excellent mould now gets plenty of usage. It would be infuriating if we only saw one or two Mad Dogs every few months.

​FINAL SCORE - 29/30