 Getting your hands on JC Wings releases seems increasingly difficult, as it is often unclear when they actually get released and don't seem to get distributed out to the same number of stores as they once did. Certainly in the UK they aren't easy to find and I know that increasing costs have jeopardised them being carried by some stores. This is a shame as they make a lot of good models. This release was announced in 2021 but I don't believe it actually arrived at stores until late last year and I couldn't acquire it from the UK. Each review is to split into three key areas:
MOULD  JC Wings 2018 Boeing 777-200 mould is based off of their series 300 mould and despite the long-standing quality of the Phoenix 777s and the newer NG Models 777-200 it is the JC Wings mould which is my favourite. It is a superb representation of a triple 7.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with the fuselage mould. The shape is perfect and there is plenty of detailing like the scoop inlets on the underside forward of the wings and the complicated asymmetrical APU tailcone. The APU is a distinct point of difference compared to both the Phoenix and NG versions.  All four major aerials are represented on the mould and are nicely to scale, as is the small flattenned rooftop dome. Moving to the landing gear and it is intricately made and accurate, aside from the JC Wings standard light grey gearlegs and wheelhubs.   The maingear doors and legs are some of the most detailed I have seen with multiple struts and a small triangular extra door piece on the inside edge. As with the series 300 on the underside the maingear bay doors are not just printed but also inscribed as part of the mould.  The engines and engine pylons are excellent and the see-through cores with separate fanblades are very good. JC have not gone down the rotating fanblades line as they have with the 787 and the engines realism is improved by the lack of this feature. In fact, the number, size and spacing of the blades is some of the best I’ve seen.  One area of possible criticism of these JC 777s has been the tightness of the wing fit. Earlier examples showed something of a gap above the wing, however on this later version that has been remedied. JC also has a flaps down variant of this mould and both versions have excellent wings including the extended wingtips fitted to both the 777-200LR and the freighters.  It is a shame that JC is so slow to release models on this mould as it is exceptional. They have mainly used it for Asian releases and cargo airlines, many of which are waiting to be released. Gemini has also finally started to transition over to this mould, rather than the old seamed version, but they too have mainly released freighters. Hopefully it will get a wider use for more iconic 777s in the future. SCORE - 10 PAINT & LIVERY  Reviewing a model that barely wears a livery is a little weird, but thanks to JC's odd release schedules I don't get to buy many of their 777s so I'm going with it regardless. Personally, the China Eastern scheme doesn't offend me as much as the JAL scheme and it does at least provide a base for many special schemes. China Cargo wears basically the same livery as its parent so this should be a slamdunk for JC Wings to replicate!  This livery is approaching being a decade old now as it was introduced on September 2014. It was designed by Bang Strategic Brand Design, a renowned Chinese firm from Beijing. The design keeps the same colours as before but reimagines the iconic swallow logo in a more fluid form. The wings of the bird now represent a sky bridge while the tails represent the curvy Huangpu River. The logo is also an artistic transfiguration of the word 'CE', the initials of the company name.  The newly curved swallow is also supposed to symbolise modernity - something that the airline is striving for. Alternatively, I imagine for most people this is a bland white aircraft with a couple of curvy lines on the tail!   JC have no problems with the colours or form of the tail logo. All the small details (Skyteam logo, 0E on the nosegear doors, blue outlined maindoors) are present but although the titles look good they do seem a bit too thin, especially the Chinese characters. So yes, I'm going to do it - I'm going to dock a point as the titles could definitely be a bit thicker. SCORE - 9 PRINTING & QUALITY CONTROL  An almost blank aircraft gives a great opportunity to look in detail at the print detailing and fineness, particularly when it is a cargo plane with large cargo doors. The print work here is glorious and marks out JC as one of the best in the business in this space.   You have to get right up close to see the fine line printwork on the main cargo door but it fits the real thing beautifully. This level of quality is also evident above the cockpit and on the starboard side lower cargo doors.  Also impressive is the printing that accentuates the underside detailing. Rather than just leave the mould to show the underside fairing intakes and the maingear doors (both of which are etched in) these have been printed too and look excellent.  Build quality on this model shows no problems either and the overall product shows near perfection from a print and quality perspective. Bravo! SCORE - 10 CONCLUSION Obviously I didn't review this model because of the livery! However, it has been years since I reviewed a JC 777 and considering the excellence of the mould that is a shame. Certainly the mould, and in this case the printwork too, make this a model well worth acquiring. The final score may seem like something of a cheat, considering the livery, but there's no faulting that everything adds up to a near flawless effort. FINAL SCORE - 29/30 
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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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