First Third 2016: Gemini Jets

Gemini Jets continue to be the primary die-cast model manufacturer for much of the marketplace, especially in Europe and the USA. This is a bit surprising as they actually don't make that many models and in fact of the three big makers have made nearly half of what the others have this calendar year. Nevertheless they are solid and reliable and it seems to make sense to begin the first part of my review of the 1/400 scale output of the major manufacturers within this first third of 2016 with Gemini.

In general the conclusions and insights of my 2015 production reviews remain accurate. The Gemini Jets review can be found here.

The conclusions of the 2015 review were that though they are focused on their core market of corporate orders for mainly US and European majors about 1/3 of their output was for non core airlines and amongst all the manufacturers they also had the widest variety of moulds in circulation. There was also a rediscovery of several moulds, usually updated with antennae, that hadn't been used for some time and a gradual transition over to JC Wings new moulds like the 737NG and A330. Though their output rarely met with my collecting criteria (despite my criteria being pretty damn wide) they produced decent, though fairly uninspiring models. So what has 2016 brought from Gemini so far?

Gemini Jets Release Breakdown Jan-April 2016

Gemini have had three release announcements in 2016 (February was missed due to the Chinese New Year) covering 29 models in total. These break down as you can see in the table to the left.

As in the whole of 2015 so far Gemini have used the largest number of separate moulds of all the manufacturers. This is both a blessing and a curse. On the plus side they can produce almost anything with the range of moulds available. On the minus side don't hold your breath expecting them to use any of their moulds preferentially over the others. I guess this fits with them fulfilling customer orders and focusing less on the collector market.

The breakdown of models by region is pretty much as you would expect with North America and Europe providing the bulk of the output.

These have been mainly modern releases with only the 737-200 and MD80 really  fitting the classic mark. Even the Concorde represents the aircraft preserved at Manchester Airport, whilst the YS-11 is a 40th anniversary example. This fits with last years slow trickle of a few classics here and there - its just a shame that the classics chosen so far have been rather underwhelming.

In terms of new moulds there have been none unless you count the release of two US Airways bus sets - using a bus that is suspiciously similar to those used by Panda models. They are fine but the choice of airline is curious, considering they no longer exist, and the cost of the buses is high for what you get.

 In terms of the actual releases this is the list of actual models made:

In many ways it is standard Gemini fare with entertainingly one Emirates A380 (possibly Gemini's signature release) per month! At least two of them feature attractive animal themed schemes unlike most of Emirates rather lacklustre special colours. Many of the other airlines are hardly surprising but will please fleet builders of modern liveries like British Airways, Delta and United.

It is hard to pick out stand-out models from quite an uninspiring selection, though full marks have to go to the Alitalia A320. Aeroclassics attempt at the challenging new Alitalia scheme is awful and Gemini have done a much better job. The Aeromexico MD-80, BA Embraer 190 and Qantas 737 are also welcome models for many I'm sure, though I'm still not convinced that the MD-80s nose problems are resolved. Less good appears to be the Monarch A320 whose colours seem to be well off even past Gemini releases. I am also still less than impressed with the JC Wings 737NG mould Gemini are using, which seems too low to the ground and to still have a too pointy nose.

The continued return of regional jet moulds has also been well received, though personally I'd prefer that they did some older examples myself. The ERJ-145 has been improved with a new nosegear by JC Wings, however the CRJ-200 is still far from impressive - looking more like a 1/500 mould than a 1/400 in terms of undercarriage.

Another plus is that the only A330-300, using the new JC Wings mould, appears to have not inherited the awful up tilted wings of many of the earlier releases so there is some hope this probem has been resolved.

I should also mention the Pan Am 737-200. Usually this would be a model I would welcome, however it was announced after Aeroclassics did a pair of PA 737-200s and only someone with a fetish for antenna would chose the old misshapen Gemini mould over the excellent Aeroclassics versions. The choice of an ex-Air Florida example with a non-standard PA registration is also a bit odd but at least differentiates it a bit from the Aeroclassics releases.

So it has been another solid but rather boring 4 months from Gemini. Some nicely made models, always with the caveat that using JC Wings to produce the models means QC can be a bit variable. For those who know my collecting style it isn't really a surprise that I haven't needed to open the wallet at all for Gemini so far this year. Hopefully that'll change and the CV-580 will make another rare outing into the release list. Could this be the year I don't buy any Gemini? I doubt it - they usually slip a few crackers out amongst the modern stuff and I look forward to seeing them.