 Over the past year Patriot Models have built a reputation for top quality premium models, often of unusual non-airline subjects. They have also expanded outside of China and their models are quite widely available in the West, although there is often a significant time delay between their availability in China and elsewhere. The pair of 767-400s announced sometime ago have finally reached the UK and Patriot have been happy to let me take a closer look at one. I purchased this model, and its sistership, from Simon at Bedfordshire Diecast and I can't speak highly enough of the service he provides so if you're looking to acquire this model I highly recommend them as the place to get it. Use the link below: Each review is to split into three key areas:
This review is sponsored by Northeast Diecast. Check out their store for an excellent range of hard to find 200 and 400 scale collection sale models and get 15% off!  MOULD  This model uses the Panda Models 767-400. Panda have created an excellent series of new widebody moulds in the past year including 767-200/300/400 and McDonnell Douglas MD-11s. They are all at the top of the game quality wise.  2023 oddly saw the announcement of 3 separate 767-400 moulds including this one. The other pair were from Gemini Jets / JC Wings and NG Models. The GJ / JC version arrived first but was a crushing disappointment. Despite the slot in wings it had the feel of their ancient 767-300 with a very clunky pylon/wing join and engines, but layered a range of new issues on top including wing anhedral, wing to fuselage join, tailcone, nosegear height and tyre size.  The NG Models 767-400 didn't appear until mid-2024. It was significantly better than the GJ / JC version, but NG have had some issues with cockpit and windowline print on their 767s. They also seem to have forgotten about the type and only one model was ever made.  That leaves the Panda Models mould as the best option for 767-400s and overall this casting is superb. Starting from the front, the nosecone and cockpit are excellent, at least as good as the Gemini and NG versions, but with a little more finesse than both. An area where the mould is clearly superior is the nosegear. The doors are correctly sized and not recessed into the fuselage, but more importantly the gear leg is a sensible length and has a well sized nosegear tyre on it.  The wing fuselage join is accurate since this mould takes the correct approach of having the wing join squared off following the look of the real thing. This means the small triangular portion with the landing lights on is part of the fuselage mould, not the wing, as it should be. This is far better than the clumsy join on the Gemini mould and in keeping with the NG Models sample.  The extended 767-400 wingtips are well shaped and I'm liking the pointy flap-track fairings, which are better than on the NG Models mould.  Moving to the engines and I have no complaints with the shape and detailing of either the nacelles or pylons. That means they have a better hot exhaust section than the NG sample and are obviously miles ahead of the generic Gemini engines. The engine fans are solid core, as with the NG version, which provides for more realistic fan detailing.  The 767-400 is fitted with the larger maingear tyres of the 777 and this gives the aircraft a small but noticeable nose down attitude. I do think that, like the NG mould, this is rather missing here. That is an area that can be improved, but it is miles better than the GJ / JC version where the nose gear is way too short and sometimes doesn't even touch the ground.  Smaller detail areas of the fuselage barrel are nicely recreated such as the symmetrically positioned NACA intakes (on other 767 variants one is offset) and the tailbumper. The tailcone is better proportioned than on the GJ / JC mould.  The Panda 767 series has been a really nice surprise and they are definitely my go to moulds for this aircraft type in 2025. This mould is near perfect except it lacks the type's slight nose down stance. SCORE - 9  PAINT & LIVERY  There were actually two 767-400s registered N76400 and this one was the second, which first flew on 30/12/99 and was delivered to Delta in February 2001 as N827MH. Prior to that it was used for a world tour, starting on July 10, 2000, to 17 cities on 3 continents including a stop at the Farnborough Air Show in England from July 24-30 2000.  For this tour it was painted in this stunning 'Leading the Way' scheme designed to signify 'the airplane's role in leading the way in technical innovation, market development, market preference, and passenger comfort'.   It is a complex scheme but the Patriot and Panda teams have worked hard to reproduce it on the model. The dark blue, red, white and gold all look like a perfect match. The mid-fuselage grey could arguably be slightly darker so the white elements within it are more visible, but it is a minor point.  There is a huge amount of detail in this livery, but it is all painstakingly reproduced and placed accurately on the aircraft from the gold circles at the rear to the tiny website titles behind the L1/R1 doors. To top it all off the polished belly is exquisite. SCORE - 9 PRINTING & QUALITY CONTROL  The ability of Panda Models to create fine tampo printing is well known and in keeping with the livery quality the overall print on this model is as good as it gets. The ability to print such tiny text as the 'FARNBOROUGH 2000' titles behind the cockpit with such clarity that despite them being less than 1mm high they can still be read at extreme magnification with good clarity is amazing.  It isn't just the print though as painted elements such as the inside of the engine nacelles and fans show great attention to detail and intricate beauty. They aren't just slapping in a load of black paint or leaving them silver. Every fanblade is picked out individually.  The model exhibits no quality control issues of any significance. This is aided by the premium nature of the product. It comes with a magnetic flip top box and foam inserts. Both of which not only look classy but also help protect the model from damage in transit.  The model also comes with a standard plastic stand, collectors card and postcard (the latter both within an embossed envelope). It is a delightful product offering overall. SCORE - 10 CONCLUSION  Patriot Models has been using some of the best moulds on the market and frequently modifying them further themselves to make the finished product. It then combines the model with an elite box, and extras, to create the highest quality product. This of course comes at a price premium and although this 767 model has no extras over a standard Panda 767 (ignoring the packaging) it is significantly more expensive. That is understandable and there have been few 400 scale models offering a similar level of quality in the past. As long as people are willing to pay for it then they can be guaranteed an excellent pair of 767s when they acquire these Patriot releases. FINAL SCORE - 28/30 
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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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