 Regional types have long been the preserve of JC Wings thanks to a spurt of regional mould building at the end of the 2000s that saw the production of a host of RJs and prop types. A lot of the releases on these moulds have been outside my criteria but this little Aussie falls into it courtesy of me having the luck to fly on the EMB-190 VH-ZPB between Melbourne and Hobart in 2009. As such it becomes only my 4th E190 (and 5 E-jet) in the collection. Plus it brings back lovely memories of a great two weeks spent in Tassie. Each review is to split into three key areas:
MOULD  This mould is one of the later regional jet castings made by JC Wings and dates from 2014. As is often the case with smaller types it hasn't been used prolifically and this is only the 25th time it has been produced. The releases are almost split equally between JC and Gemini - 12 for Gemini Jets and 13 for JC wings. There are a trio of Gemini E195s as well and they possibly use the same mould, since the difference between variants is only a couple of metres. I'm not sure.  This mould has a lot of fine detailing on it that makes me rather like it, but it also has one major issue that really damages it too. That is of course the nosegear. Not only is the gear leg too short, not inclined forward slightly and the tyre is too small but, the whole thing is also in the wrong position. It has been fitted a couple of mm too far to the rear. It should begin immediately aft of the cockpit window end line and instead is under the L1 door. _(6600954249).jpg) Robert Frola (GFDL  The result is that the aircraft has a somewhat nosedown attitude and the underside of the nose seems too long. The underside of the nosecone shuld curve up more too but the cockpit form looks fine. A new nosegear would do this mould wonders.  Aside from the nosegear issues the rest of the mould is quite accurate. The vertical stabilizer, tailcone and wings are all very good.  Arguably the engine pylons could hold the engines slightly higher than they do. Ground clearance is limited and again would be helped by a taller nosegear leg and larger tyre. Inside the engines the detailing on the engine fans is not great, as the fans don't actually reach the spinner. Admittedly, you have to be really looking to notice that due to the small size.  The model comes with a commendable 5 aerials (3 atop the fuselage, 1 on the underside forward and the long rear underside strake). The aerials are slightly oversized but the model is the better for their presence.  The underside of the model is especially well detailed with moulded in NACA air intake scoops and indented spaces for the maingear tyres.  The rear of the model is very nice as are the large winglets. This has the makings of a decent little mould and it is a shame JC haven't fixed the nosegear position. They do have form for not modifying some poor nosegear legs I admit but nobody else seems interested in making regional jets in 400 scale and overall the mould still presents well. SCORE - 7 PAINT & LIVERY  Virgin Blue had a curious livery based around a bright red base, as in Australian slang a redhead is known as a 'Bluey'. It also did fade rather given the sunny environment, but looked rather good on the E190. The red and blue colours of the model look good to me. _(9723987976).jpg) Robert Frola (GFDL  Placement of the main scheme elements are decent, especially the thick blue band around the tail and engine nacelles. The Virgin tail text fits on the stabiliser just. The top of the V on the port side is a little tight at the upper edge.  Having the aerials fitted to the model really works as they are white (aside from the large red underside strake aerial) so standout nicely against the red fuselage.  The main titles look good and the items at the nose (aircraft type, flying lady named 'Allie Albury') are all present albeit not very well defined (see next section). Missing on the nosegear doors are the last two characters of the registration PI. SCORE - 9 PRINTING & QUALITY CONTROL  There's a huge amount of print detailing on the model, especially on the wingtops and underside. This is a very small model so it feels a little harsh to criticise print fidelity too much, but in closeup the detail of the nose region is poor. The EMBRAER 190 titles after the cockpit are basically a smudge.  The flying girl with trailing Australian flag at magnification is more a shape with colours and dots, but you get the idea. The same goes for the 'Allie Albury' titles. You can read them if you know what they say already, but good luck otherwise.  The inside of the engines are also quite silvery, which only serves to highlight the poor fan detailing. Overall however, the printwork is nice.  From a quality perspective the nosegear is pushed back slightly and a little untidy from the starboard side. This is only really noticeable at magnification. There is also some minor paint chipping in two places - on the portside underwing join and the port side vertical stabiliser join. Neither are especially noticeable. SCORE - 7 SUMMARY  There's a lot to like with this model, and a lot going on with the livery too. Given it is such a small model I am minded to not focus too much on some of the issues I've raised (print fidelity of small titles, minor chipping), which would be far worse on a larger aircraft. I would like the nosegear to be modified but it certanly isn't enough to put me off buying it. Overall it's a decent effort and a nice reminder of times gone. FINAL SCORE - 23/30 
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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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