Phoenix Models is a company that is living up to its name, as in the past couple of years it has transformed itself with a new diversity of releases and a revitalisation of its mould catalogue. Following the burst of new mould creation from 2006-2013 it's moulds had been largely stagnant and gradually getting outdated as others innovated. Old moulds like the 787 were obsolete but now after having created a new fuselage barrel their 787 also has new wings so is in effect almost a new mould. After a long period of not buying a Phoenix 787 it is time to take a look at the new version. Each review is to split into three key areas:
MOULD The Phoenix Boeing 787-9 dates from 2010, as a development of their 787-8 mould, which was the first mould of the new Phoenix era back in 2006. At the time the primary competition was the equally old Gemini Jets 787-8. In comparison to that the seamless slot in wings Phoenix mould compared favourably against the cradle mounted Gemini. Even Gemini seemed to recognise this as it switched to using the Phoenix mould for a period. Gradually, overtime the edge the Phoenix 787 had was eroded as other 787 moulds entered the market. JC Wings introduced its own 787-9 in 2016, followed by NG Models (2018) and Aviation400 (2022). This left the relatively crude Phoenix 787-9 at a major disadvantage - as my latest detailed mould comparison for the type from 2022 shows: Recently, Phoenix has revisited and improved its 787 in a two stage process. First they modified the fuselage barrel, most notably to add missing structural detail on the underside, and now they have designed a new wing, to replace the old curving style wing of the original. Do these changes make the Phoenix 787 more competitive? The answer is yes they do, by quite a way, but there are still limits to that competitiveness. There were never issues with the noseform of the Phoenix mould and that remains very good. This model has fitted to it an improved nosegear, which now has a more accurately detailed and shorter gearleg. Not only does it look better but the fit to the fuselage is also improved. The rest of the fuselage barrel looks good and has markedly been improved on the underside. Previously this was almost featureless, but the new mould has the large central structural bar so diagnostic of the 787. Unfortunately, there is still only a hint of the NACA intakes at the forward part of the fairing. On the dorsal of the fuselage the small dome just aft of the wing is moulded in, whereas it is a print feature on the NG and JC versions. The new wing fits tightly to the fuselage and has a better fit than on the JC Wings mould. The new wing is a big improvement on the old, with a more correct straight dihedral rather than the heavily curving one of the old version. The rear margin's fuel dump pipe, outboard of the flaps, is also a nice addition. The join of the wing to the fuselage at the rear is still however a little simple, and doesn't have the nuance of the other moulds. The remaining areas of the mould have not yet been modified and so still have the same characteristics as the old mould. This is most problematic at the engines and pylons, however I am told that Phoenix will be producing new engine fans for this mould soon. The engine pylons hold the engines at a good height above the ground, but the form of the pylon under the wing remains poor, with the pylon too disconnected from the hot sections of the engine. Above: the current fanblades Below: A sample image of the new fanblades The spinning fanblades of the hollow-core engine are too thick and too low in number, but this should be rectified when the new fanblades are ready for producion (see photo). The maingear is another area that is unmodified. Broadly it is accurate but in detail the shape of the lower margin of the maingear doors is wrong. The improvements to this 787 have resolved its biggest issues, the underbody bar and wing form, plus provided it with a new nosegear. Upcoming changes to the fans will also be worthwhile. Altogether these modifications go a long way to making this a much more competitive 787, and certainly it displays well as a member of that type. Looking closer the mould retains some of the characters that would lose it points in a detailed review (pylon shape, maingear door shape, tail to fuselage join, rear wing join, NACA detailing), but these are all relatively minor. The new fans could arguably push the score up to an 8. SCORE - 7 PAINT & LIVERY As I said when I reviewed a Qantas A380 I am a big fan of this tasteful update to the classic Qantas scheme. I'm especially keen on the classic roundel under the cockpit. This aircraft was unveiled in June 2024 wearing this special "Go Australia" version to celebrate it being used to carry the Australian Olympics team to the Paris games. The add-ons to the standard scheme are subtle - just the addition of the titles and logos above the wings. The colours of the livery look good to me. The main titles can look almost black in some photos but the medium grey used here matches well enough with other photos - like this daylight shot from Sydney. The large 'GO AUSTRALIA' titles look great, are positioned well, have excellent shadowing, and the green effect in one corner. The tiny logos of the Australian Olympics and Paralympics Australia look good also but are so small it is difficult to pickout a lot more than the rough shapes. I don't think they could be a lot more detailed given their size. The other aspects of the standard scheme, including the white wingtops, are all really nice too so I don't see anything that would lead to a points loss here. SCORE - 10 PRINTING & QUALITY CONTROL Phoenix print detailing has come a long way from a few years back but still is less developed than from other major brands. The overall printwork is fine and looks great. In many areas there is really strong detailing, such as along the windowline, under the engine nacelles and the lower side of the forward fuselage. However, in a few places there are unexpected omissions. Most noticeably the quite obvious nosecone radome line is missing, or at least so feint as to be hardly visible. Also absent are any printing hints to the very obvious underside NACA intakes (not moulded in) and if you look closely the maingear doors still don't actually connect to the maingear legs. Build quality is very good. Nothing is lose, the gears roll well and there are no tyre-tabs (which historically were something of a Phoenix tradition). SCORE - 9 SUMMARY There are hardly a lack of Boeing 787s in 400 scale, but you can't be a serious maker of modern aircraft and not have one in your inventory. The 787 had been letting down Phoenix for sometime and although this mould doesn't necessarily elevate Phoenix to the pick of a crowded and competitive 787 market, it does make it a solid option that I would consider. In detail it is still not my first, or probably even second option, but I certainly now wouldn't avoid buying it and this Qantas model combines the improved mould with an impressive replication of the real thing.
SCORE - 26
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
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.
|