Caledonian Airways | Airbus A320-231 | G-BVYB | Phoenix Models

I have 149 A320s in my collection from a wide range of brands. Twenty three of them are made by Phoenix, but the newest was from 2019 and in recent years I have actively avoided the Phoenix A320. The past few years have seen a massive improvement from Phoenix, in terms of release subjects, and the July announcement of a classic G-registered A320 gave me the impetus to take a fresh look at the Phoenix version, so that is what I'll do 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

Of the 32 A320s I have acquired new in the past 5 years, nearly half (15) have utilised the Panda Models mould, with a further 6 coming from Aeroclassics, 5 from Gemini / JC Wings, 4 from NG Models and 2 from Aviation400. The buying pattern sometimes simply illustrates the release choices of brands, and their alignment with my collection criteria, however the absence of the Phoenix mould is telling.

Back in mid-2022 I did undertake a detailed mould comparison scoring of the available A320s and at the time the Phoenix mould came last, albeit it was close to the JC Wings mould. Both were some distance from the rest of the competition. For that review see:

Airbus A320ceo & A320neo ​Detailed Mould Scoring Comparison

The biggest issue of the Phoenix A320 is clearly at the front where the nose shape is very inaccurate. The nosecone is too short and too rounded. I'm not entirely convinced by the angles around the cockpit either. 

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The nosegear also has issues. It's position and stance are ok but the gearleg itself is rather amorphous and blobby. The geardoor is also too large. 

At the mid-fuselage, where the wing joins the body, the join point is quite simple. The wing join line cuts across the fairing giving it an inaccurate shape and making the fuselage look rather flat-sided. This is a feature of several older Phoenix moulds.

The rear fuselage is better and it looks like the vertical stabiliser has been modified around the rudder so that the lower margin of it doesn't join into the fuselage. This is one of the areas where the mould is competitive with the other available editions.

The wings are good. They have nice dihedral, accurate flap tracks and the shape of the wingtip fences is fine too. The engine pylons and IAE V2500 engines also look good, at least from the side. The engines work less well from the front. The central fan hub spinner is too large and flat, plus the fanblade detailing is poor.

The maingear works much better than the nosegear and has no issues. The model also comes fitted with four aerials. They are ok, but in closeup the shape of all of them could do with refinement.

The Phoenix mould for the A320 remains unaltered from over a decade ago and really could do with being replaced, or at least gaining a new 'everything ahead of the wing'. That isn't the only problem area and it is clear that this casting is inferior to all the other A320s on the market.

SCORE - 6

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PAINT & LIVERY

Caledonian was of course the former British Airtours, renamed and branded following the takever of British Caledonian by BA. The new scheme was undeniably stylish and classy, while keeping the fundamentals of the old BCal livery. This A320 was delivered in 1995, 7 years after the rebrand, one of six that would see service with the airline.

The colours chosen here work nicely. The dark blue and gold are excellent. The grey rooftop is slightly lighter than the colour NG Models used, but within acceptable tolerances.

The lion rampant on the tail accurately has the odd flat topped head to it. Its size and shape are excellent. I'm not 100% convinced by the font of the main titles but they are broadly in line with photos. The aircraft name of 'Loch Hourn' is worn ahead of the L1 door also.

SCORE - 9

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PRINTING & QUALITY CONTROL

Phoenix has definitely been improving its printing in recent years and pleasingly there is a lot to like in terms of detail print, especially on the underside where it stands out nicely against the blue belly.

It is a shame then that they have made such a mess of the printing at the nosecone. The A320 has a quite diagnostic nosecone radome line form whereas the model's version of it is super sloppy. The shape is wrong at the top (it doesn't cut in) and the rest of the line isn't even straight. Against the blue it really stands out and not in a good way.

The cockpit printing is also sloppy. I'm not convinced by the general Phoenix A320 cockpit template anyway but here the black outline doesn't align atop the grey windows. There are also problems of alignment at the overwing emergency exit markings. They are nowhere near aligning with the actual emergency exits.

SCORE - 7

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SUMMARY

I admit to being rather disappointed with this model. I had given the Phoenix A320 a miss for good reason, but the subject matter here and the opportunity for a review pushed me to purchase it despite my concerns. While there is a lot to like in the livery replication, ultimately the mould and some sloppy printing push the score into the sort of territory that I try to avoid with models purchased for my collection. Then again, with the likelihood of a better Caledonian A320 being produced ever again being so low perhaps the compromises are ultimately worth it.

FINAL SCORE - 22/30