US Air Force | Lockheed C-5A Galaxy | 68-0226 | Gemini Jets

In the past year I've been getting into military models in a big way. This has meant picking up a lot of older Dragon Wings releases, but also a fair number of Gemini MACs. Nowadays Gemini have a near monopoly on military types, which is both good and bad. It's always good to have competition, however they also have access to some excellent moulds for unique types. The C-5 Galaxy is one of those and the August release of this camo liveried example provides a nice difference to the majority of the low-viz schemed releases they've made before.

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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

Gemini's isn't the only C-5 Galaxy available in 400 scale, but it is the only extant one. Dragon Wings previously had a mould that they debuted in 2004. They made 10 models using it, up until 2011. That was one year after Gemini's own mould appeared and since then they have produced 19 releases including this one (plus JC Wings made a fantasy American Airlines model in 2013).

Thanks to my military build-up I own 3 of the earlier Dragon C-5s, and now also 3 of the Geminis too. There are in fact two versions of the mould, allowing Gemini to model both the earlier C-5A Galaxy and the later C-5M Super Galaxy. 

Despite what the box says, this model is the earlier C-5A version. Externally the difference is only visible at the engines. The C-5M has new General Electric CF6-80C2s rather than the General Electric TF39s of the C-5A. Visually that means the earlier C-5As have a shorter nacelle, longer hot section and thrust reversal vents on the nacelle.

Above: Engines on the C-5A
Below: Engines on the C-5M

Both the Dragon and Gemini C-5 moulds are excellent and unusually for a Dragon mould they share a lot of design elements. Most unusually is the fact that both have a single moulded fuselage and wings making them seamless. This is especially unusual for Dragon where the wings are usually plastic.

I can't find fault with the complex form of the massive fuselage barrel, or the join to the wing, or the wings themselves. Arguably, the rear dorsal aerials could be fitted here but are not. This is really a very impressive casting. Then again you can say the same for the Dragon fuselage too. 

Equally the engines and pylons are excellent on both moulds too. The engines are solid core, but that only adds to the realism of the fanblades.

It is in the accessory components that the difference is most obvious between the two moulds and where the Gemini beats the older Dragon. This is especially true for the undercarriage. The Gemini has modern, highly detailed rolling gear, with pivoting gear trucks. Not only does it have a lot more detail, but the gear doors are thinner too.

At the rear the join of the vertical stabiliser to the fuselage is tighter than on the Dragon. The horizontal stabilisers sit atop the rest of the tail as a separate one piece part in both moulds. This looks ok, but does introduce the only area of inaccuracy I can find in that the join line is straight rather than the multi-curve of the real thing.

Comparing old Dragon military moulds with newer Gemini ones is an interesting thing to do. Sometimes they are superior and sometimes they aren't. In this case I'd say that the Gemini is marginally better, mainly due to the landing gear. Regardless, it is certainly one of Gemini's best all round moulds.

SCORE - 9

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PAINT & LIVERY

All of the USAF's C-5 Galaxy's were repainted from their green and gray camouflage scheme into a low-viz livery as part of the Proud MAC Image Program, which began in the early 90s and was supposed to finish by the end of 1997. The change not only gave an updated image, but was designed to reduce visibility as well. 

The camo pattern used throughout the fleet, prior to the change to low-viz, looks quite variable and I've only been able to find two photos of the portside of this airframe wearing camouflage. Firstly there is this photo of 68-0226, from JetPhotos, taken in 1992. Secondly there is this photo of 68-0226 from 1985. The camo pattern appears to be the same in both.  

For the starboard side there is this shot from 1993 when the aircraft carried extra 'Empire State' titles. It is hard to be 100% certain given the limited evidence, but there appear to be significant differences in the shape of several patches of camo, most noticeably in the part on the portside ahead of the wing, which is not wide enough on the model. The shapes of the two green panels at the front of the fuselage also don't match any images I can see.

On the starboard side it looks like Gemini have mirrored the tail from the portside, which doesn't look like it is correct to me. Having said that, with limited photos I'm willing to be proven wrong if anyone has other photo evidence. Non-camo details, like the large black nose, anti-glare, NEW YORK AIR GUARD on the maingear doors and logos are all fine.

SCORE - 7

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PRINTING & QUALITY CONTROL

The printing on the model is crisp and precise. It has lots of nice detailing, especially around the nose, cockpit and towards the rear underside with the loading ramp. The engines are also well detailed with the cowlings and thrust reverser doors printed up well.

A minor issue is the silvery colour of the engine inners and fans. That's a shame as the 2012 Gemini C-5M I own has a much more appropriate dark grey set of fans and engine inners. It is a shame that this sort of thing is so inconsistent, especially when it was done better 13 years ago by the same company!

Build quality is excellent. The main gear bogies do have a tendency to hang at odd angles, but can be manually repositioned easily enough. 

Something that is odd is that on the box this aircraft is marked as a C-5M Super Galaxy, not just in one place, but all over the place. This includes the text and specification table on the inside of the box. That's a bit sloppy as this clearly isn't a C-5M. I assume it is just a carry over from the previous release boxes, as the last 10 C-5s made by Gemini have all been C-5Ms.

SCORE - 8

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CONCLUSION

When it comes to MACs moulds the C-5 is up there with the B-52, A400M, Hercules and P-8 Poseidon as one of the best. About the only thing that could really improve this mould would be an interactive version, but I wouldn't want that to replace this version. It is good to get a bit more variety in terms of colour schemes for the MACs releases as well and this camo'd C-5 is a great choice. It'd be good to also get a white schemed version, as the last was made in 2013. The negatives with the model are that it appears the art design and box design have been a bit sloppy. Neither has a dramatic impact on the overall finish, but if I can see the issues why can't they?

FINAL SCORE - 24/30