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The Boeing 787-8 rather missed the boat in China due to its huge development delays, however China Southern proudly welcomed its first aircraft in 2013 wearing a unique scheme. The CZ 787 fleet can nowadays be seen across the globe from Europe to the USA and Australasia supporting their fleet of 777s and A330s. With the 787-9 picking up orders with Air China and Hainan Airlines it is likely that in the future further 787s will grace the China Southern fleet.
![]() It's amazing to think that considering their giant size nowadays all the Far-Eastern majors like Singapore, Malaysian, Korean, Thai Airways, China Airlines etc were tiny operators until well into the mid 70s. In fact most Oriental traffic at the time was still really the preserve of BOAC, Qantas, Pan Am and TWA. Airlines like Cathay Pacific were largely restricted to regional operations on infrequent multi-stop routes with small fleets of piston-liners and early jets. ![]() The departure of Apollo (Witty) from the 1:400 scene is unfortunate as they produced some fine models at times. I didn't care much for their DC-10s (long legs) and their recent 727 noses look a bit odd, but the models they made on their 747, L1011 and CV880 moulds were always excellent -plus they came with very nice stands. Certainly the Apollo 747-200/300 mould is superb (my understanding is it is the old Big Bird mk1 mould). One of my last new Apollos was the beautiful delivery scheme 747-300 - HB-IGG. ![]() It's a real shame that Apollo models have recently stopped production as several of their moulds were exceptional. Recently I received two more Apollos including the Singapore Airlines 'Bigtop' 747-300 in the updated colours post 1988 colours. Interestingly doing a bit of web research I have discovered that the SQ logo is called the Silver Kris (hence the name of their frequent flyer programme). The kris is a form a south east asian dagger, highly prized and often passed down through generations. But Kris is also known to be a spiritual object, often considered to have a presence or considered to possess magical powers. Kris are used for display, as talismans with magical powers. The bird (think its a crane) is apparently meant to be similar to the handle of the Kris dagger.
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AuthorI'm Richard Stretton: a fan of classic airliners and airlines who enjoys exploring their history through my collection of die-cast airliners. If you enjoy the site please donate whatever you can to help keep it running: Archives
February 2021
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