 I don't acquire a lot of Gemini Jets models, mainly because they rarely meet my collection criteria, however they remain one of the most important brands, even if they don't necessarily always produce the highest quality products or show a lot of innovation in 400 scale. One area that they have been innovative in is in the field of interactive models. A new sponsorship with YankeeVictor400 has given me the opportunity to take a closer look at February's Atlas 777 release. Each review is to split into three key areas:
This review is sponsored by YankeeVictor400. Check out their store for 3D Design Deck, Gemini Jets, Inflight200, JC Wings, Panda Models,Patriot Models & Phoenix Models and get 13% off!  MOULD  Even though it is JC Wings that produce the moulds for Gemini models nowadays it was Gemini themselves who first released using this interactive 777 mould. They announced two models in November 2022 and a third in December. JC Wings has subsequently announced several models too, but of course their announcement dates aren't usually close to the real release dates.  By mid-2025 that leaves us with 7 Gemini announcements (the most recent being Air France just this month) and 8 JC Wings (with just the Maersk Air Cargo left to be actually released).  This interactive 777 is based upon the 2018 JC Wings mould, which also has a flaps down variant too. This casting is in my opinion an excellent 777 and provides very stiff competition to the NG Models 777-200. It is certainly superior to the older Phoenix mould.  There is nothing wrong with the fuselage barrel. The shape is good and there is plenty of moulded in detailing, such as the NACA intakes on the underside forward of the wings, maingear doors and the complicated asymmetrical APU tailcone. The APU is a distinct point of difference and I appreciate the detailing of it rather than having a flat chisel tailcone.  I also like the highly detailed landing gear of this 777, which has highly detailed gear leg struts and pivots well. There has been some criticism of the height of the landing gear, but it has never been a big issue for me and at the nose this model sits only a tiny fraction higher than the NG version.  Gemini does have a tendency to cut costs where it can and that is evident on this model. On my JC Wings 777-200F interactive model all four aerials are present, but Gemini doesn't bother with fitting the underside rear aerial. Missing the underside aerial, presumably to lessen cost, is a recurring behaviour point with Gemini.  Also missing is the small dome just forward of the SCD on the roofline. It is printed on, but both the JC Wings 777-200F and NG Models 777F I own have it fitted. This mould does have several areas where it outperforms the NG 777. The maingear detailing is better (especially the addition of the inner triangular doors), the underside detailing stronger, inner flap track fairing shape better and the detail and form of the tailcone more realistic. Ultimately they are both excellent moulds.  Moving to the interactive feature and the model comes with both open and close door elements, plus a useful metal tool to help you remove the closed door elements (via a helpful hole in the doors).  The open cargo doors are excellent and easy to fit, albeit a little prone to falling out. The closed door elements are also easy to fit, although they don't quite sit flush with the fuselage and can be a bit tricky to extract, even using the tool provided.  I am a big fan of the interactive feature and paired with an excellent 777 it is a great combination. Personally I rate this mould as good as the NG. In some ways it is certainly better and given some of the recent changes to NG 777s (so far only 300s) this is a safe bet for a great casting. SCORE - 9  PAINT & LIVERY  Atlas Air's gold and dark blue scheme is surely one of the most attractive liveries for a cargo airline and the airline's name is incredibly apt for a freight carrier. Atlas currently operates 12 777 freighters as part of an 85 strong fleet that still contains over 40 747-400Fs. In fact, Atlas appears to have been holding off new orders for sometime, but I would expect more 777s to feature in its future.  Atlas Air is a regular customer of Gemini's with this being the 12th model featuring the airline. Given that, and the relative simplicity of the livery, you'd expect Gemini to get the model version spot-on, and they do.  From the colours to the tail logo, to the billboard title font (repeated on the grey belly) I can't see any issues with the livery. It's also worth pointing out that where the livery crosses the detachable plastic cargo doors both sets have the livery replicated on them well. SCORE - 10  PRINTING & QUALITY CONTROL  Overall Gemini's print quality is as good as anyone's in 400 scale. You could argue the cockpit windows are a little long, but they look good to me. Less good is the nosecone radome print, which seems to be diagonal, rather than straight and then curved as on the real thing.  As with the aerials Gemini also do have a tendency to limit how much printwork they bother with. Comparing directly with the JC Wings China Postal 777F release I own there is slightly less printing on the Atlas. Mostly this is on the underside of the fuselage, but there are also what I would expect to be standard template print elements missing around the SCD, wingroot and roofline.  The overall impact of these missing bits is small, but noticeable side by side with the JC Wings edition. More obvious an issue with interactive models is the inside of the open cargo doors. This area is left white on the model and would I think benefit from being a darker grey.   From a build quality perspective the model looks great and has no obvious issues (aside from the aforementioned intentionally missing lower aerial and roofline dome). The inner box cradle has handy separate areas moulded into it for the interactive elements. SCORE - 7  SUMMARY There's no doubt that the interactive 747s and 777s are some of the strongest and best models that Gemini Jets makes in 400 scale, combining a quality mould and excellent innovation. The only minor drawback compared to, the usually cheaper offerings from, their JC Wings stablemate, is that Gemini actively cuts some small corners in terms of print and aerials. It doesn't add up to much from a points deduction perspective, but does talk to a company slightly resting on its laurels in relation to the competition. That doesn't stop this from being a very nice release. FINAL SCORE - 26/30 
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AuthorI'm Richard Stretton an aviation enthusiast and major collector of 400 scale models. On this page I take a detailed look at new releases. This site is free. Please donate to keep it going.
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