 Running Yesterday's Airlines I think it is important to keep up to date with the scale and that sometimes means buying models I wouldn't get for my own collection, so I can review them here. The Embraer E2 has still has less than 100 deliveries and of those there are none that fit my collection criteria, but I did at least see a lot of KLM Cityhopper versions when flying out of Amsterdam. Initial photos of the Porter edition of the new E2 mould from Gemini looked very promising and so I was keen to get a closer look, even if it isn't a model I really need. Each review is to split into three key areas:
MOULD  Gemini Jets have introduced a few new moulds in recent times that, although made by their partner JC Wings, do appear to be made mainly for Gemini themselves. These have included the 737-600 and 767-400, however both of those are pretty mediocre and largely based on existing mould variants.  Gemini / JC do have an existing E-Jet mould, which is passable but hardly spectacular, and I'm glad to say that this new mould doesn't share a lot with it. I guess that isn't a big surprise given that the E2 has a new wing, engine pylons, landing gear and horizontal stabilisers.  The E195-E2 has also got a fuselage stretch of 2.85m over the E195 and that has given Gemini the chance to redesign the nose section too, which has been one of the weaknesses of the original E-Jet mould. The new nose and cockpit is very good and goes together with an equally good fuselage barrel.  The E2 has a large wing join fairing, almost bulbous on the underside. The mould carries it off really well and the shape and tightness of the join point is exemplary.  The rear of the fuselage looks fine, with the long tailcone nicely shaped with a hole for the APU. The stabilisers are great as well with a well marked rudder. The very small fins on the side of the vertical stabiliser are printed not moulded in, but are very very small anyway.  The all-new wings are superb with sharp and fine edges. The wing control surfaces are also well marked out and display really nicely under the paint, something that is often rather hidden on moulds nowadays. The flap track fairings are worth calling out as on the E2 they are really large and not uniform in shape or size. I've got no complaints. _KLM_Cityhopper_(52290292854).jpg) Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK, CC BY 2.0   The large squared off under the wing engine pylons and high curving upper nacelle attachment are near perfect. I can't argue with the engines either, which have a great shape and see through fans. The latter is quite impressively carried off, as although the engines are large for an ERJ they are still not huge.  The E2 undercarriage is quite chunky and the new gear on this mould fits nicely and is a significant improvement over the rather weak gear on the original E-Jet mould. The maingear is fabulous. The nosegear is in a much better position then on the earlier E-jet mould. It is a little chunky and the nosegear tyre slightly too large, but it is solid and looks good.  Lastly the mould has three out of four aerials, two of which have the characteristic hooked look. They're all good but in usual Gemini cost-cutting style the rear underside aerial is missing, even though it is just as large as the rear dorsal aerial. Newer KLM E2s have a large Wi-Fi dome but earlier deliveries like this aircraft do not.  This is the best new mould from Gemini Jets in recent memory. It really is very good and I really like it. Now if only some Chinese airlines would buy some I would have a reason to add some to my collection properly! SCORE - 9 PAINT & LIVERY  I admit I don't like the updated KLM scheme with the dolphin style curve near the nose. I think the previous version with the straight line was nicer. At least it isn't a eurowhite scheme and it is still noticeably KLM.   When it comes to livery Gemini are supposed to get things like the colours correct as they have the licensing. In this case, however, I don't think they have - quite. The blue is rather washed out and not as bright as it appears in photos. The flash used in these photos actually makes it look better than it does in person.  Positionally the fuselage livery elements are all fine, as are the main titles. Smaller livery details, such as the NXE-060 on the nosegear doors are not ignored. Given all that, it is a shame that the KLM logo on the vertical stabiliser isn't printed on straight! It noticeably angles down towards the front.  There's a lot of good work in this livery reproduction but also some sloppiness too. One last note is that some of the E2 fleet carry their Skyteam and AIRFRANCEKLM logos at the rear of the aircraft, but this plane isn't one of them. SCORE - 8 PRINTING & QUALITY CONTROL  Gemini / JC generally have good printing and this model has a lot of detailing on it. The star performing area is the underside wingbox, which is just full of print detail. It's especially nice to see the markings around the wing fairing itself. Perhaps some of the lines could be a little finer, but the detail is very welcome.  The overwing exit markings also have plenty of nice detailing as do the wingtops themselves. There's a lot to like here. It's a small shame therefore that in closeup there is some overprinting on the fuselage with the blue along its lower margin. In closeup there appears to be an extra line running along the margin a few mm above the thin dark blue pinstripe. You can't see it with the naked eye so it isn't that bad.  Build quality is pretty decent aside from two minor issues. Firstly, the nosegear has a tyre tab on it and secondly, there is a small paint chip just behind the starboard side emergency exit at the wing join line. SCORE - 8 SUMMARY  Gemini can make great models and I would like them to manage this marriage of good mould and fine finish together more often, rather than the often less impressive product we see released. This is a very nice new casting and I'm liking the print detail too. The E2 is a surprisingly different and interesting frame. Hopefully the mould will get used for some of the other customers such as Air Peace, Azul, Binter Canarias and Helvetic. FINAL SCORE - 25/30 
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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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