 Nearly a quarter (440) of all 1,666 400 scale releases in 2025 have been Chinese airliners, but as with other parts of the world there still remains several really obvious missing airline / aircraft combinations. This isn't helped by Chinese aviation being so young that it is an environment where 2010 is considered classic! A Chinese aircraft from the 1990s seems often to be seen like a Wstern one from the 1960s, so that it has taken forever for a China Eastern Fokker 100 to appear in the scale despite it being a significant type for one of China's Big 3. In fact, it only has appeared now thanks to one of the smaller new brands - Undefined Collectibles. 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  The Fokker 100 is an excellent aircraft that continues to see service into the mid-2020s, mostly in Australia and Iran, despite being a victim of Fokker's collapse in 1996, that no doubt curtailed what was the decent sales of an aircraft ahead of its time.  In 400 scale despite an impressive list of operators and that continued service it has been rather side-lined. There has only been a single mould created for it, and in the 18 years (from 2007 to now) that mould has existed there have only been 25 releases made (including the two China Eastern examples that make up the Undefined Collectibles editions). That's not a great return.  This is doubly unfortunate as not only is the F100 a rather attractive aircraft (arguably much prettier than more modern regional jets in the same size class), but the mould created by JC Wings for it is very nice.  This mould dates from the very earliest days of JC Wings (indeed the first release was issued under the Blue Box name prior to JC Wings coming out as a brand in its own right). That does mean it is old enough to be a cradle type, but this is a classic example of how to do that properly. The seamline follows the wing/fuselage fairing join line well and shows the correct shape, plus it is discrete and hard to see.  The nose and nosegear are good, certainly good enough to pass close inspection. It may be that the down curve from the cockpit isn’t quite strong enough and the nosegear doors are slightly too large but these are minor concerns. The rest of the fuselage moulding is great and it is pleasing to see the pair of ADF roof humps just aft of the wings moulded in.  The engines and vertical stabilizer are practically faultless. The hinges of the tailcone sides are nicely moulded on.  This mould was updated with aerials in 2017, but of the 5 Gemini Jets releases since then only 1 has had the aerials added. That means aside from that one, only a single release for Dream Air of Taiwan, a pair of Slovak JC Wings versions and this pair of China Easterns has them fitted. The number of aerials fitted also varies. The JC Wings and Gemini versions have two (but not the same ones), the Dream Air had four and this model opts for three. Not uncommonly for JC Wings moulds the aerials are a little large.  I really appreciate this Fokker 100 mould. In fact, it is one of my favourites in 400 scale and one of a variety of top notch smaller regional types that JC Wings have access to that don't get enough usage despite their excellence. SCORE - 9 PAINT & LIVERY  China Eastern operated 10 Fokker 100s between February 1992 and September 1999, by which time all ten had been sold to TAM Brasil. Back then, China Eastern wasn't a giant airline so the F100s were important fleet components and of course wore the attractive pre-2014 colourscheme of the airline, which really suited the type.  The red, gold and blue accurately portray the scheme colours and placement of the tail logo and cheatline is all good. That is, except for where the lower cheatline is cut by the wingseam on the model, which JC have left white.  The titles look fine, but could be slightly taller. There is some lovely detail finishing with the tiny Fokker 100 emblem on the Tays and even tinier number 31 present on the nosegear doors. SCORE - 9 PRINTING & QUALITY CONTROL  In my experience JC Wings is a brand that can deliver excellent printing, although they don't always reach the heights I'd like with things like cockpit placement. That's not a problem with this model however. The printing is crisp, plentiful and, where necessary like on the engines, subtle.  I'll give a particular shout out to the split tailcone airbrake for great printing. The Fokker logo on the tailcone airbrake is really only visible under magnification. Paintwork is equally good. The silver on the engine intakes and exhausts looks fab and the inside of the Tays is finished in a suitably dark colour as well. No unpainted plastic inner fans like I often see on Aeroclassics releases with rear mounted engines here.  No major QC issues present themselves, but from the front the vertical stabiliser does lean slightly to the left. SCORE - 9  CONCLUSION  As a Chinese airline collector more interested in the history of aviation than the latest A350 adorned with a special livery, this is a release I have been waiting for for a long time, and a model I've been very surprised JC Wings or Gemini haven't made before. Undefined Collectibles has made an interesting range of Chinese airliners to date, and I look forwrad to their upcoming selection of Chinese CRJs and E-Jets made for them by JC Wings. Although the moulds for those aren't quite as nice as this F100 they will once again be unique schemes for the scale. In a sea of A321s that is a good thing. FINAL SCORE - 27/30 
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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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