JC Wings / Flightline400Part 1: 2008-2015 |
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JC Wings is a major model manufacturer owned by Johan Chan (whence the JC part) that first released 400 scale models under its own brand name in 2008, but had existed as a business since 2005. Johan is one of the most important figures in the history of 400 scale, although JC Wings is not limited to this scale only and has produced nearly 2,500 200 scale models and a significant line of 72 scale military aircraft as well. Johan has also had dealings with a wide variety of other model brands over the years, and indeed in 400 scale the origins of JC Wings to a degree appears to have been a consolidation of several existing brands under the JC Wings name.
CONNECTIONS
As discussed in the brand histories for Blue Box and Jet-X eventually both of those names, and the moulds that they owned, would be subsumed into JC Wings. For more information on how those brands were consolidated see their own brand history pages:
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The history of JC Wings is also inextricably linked to that of Gemini Jets. Around the same time that JC appeared as its own brand Gemini was gradually transitioning its production to Johan's factories, where it has remained ever since. This has given Gemini access to JC Wings existing moulds and new mould production, while also giving JC Wings access to the older Gemini mould catalogue. Add to this the Blue Box and Jet-X moulds, plus the Witty Wings moulds acquired at the end of 2014, and JC Wings has by far the largest mould catalogue available in the scale. In fact, they often have multiple versions of the same aircraft type available.
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THE FIRST JC WINGS MODELS
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Left: The original JC Wings logo
Aside from moulds it had access to from older brands, JC had also been undertaking its own new mould production, which included a range of interesting regional types such as the Aviation Traders Carvair, BAC One-Eleven, Fokker 50, Fokker 70 and Fokker 100. The Fokker 70 and 100 had actually debuted with Blue Box in 2007. All of these moulds remain excellent and aside from the One-Eleven are still the only representatives for those types in 400 scale. There was also a Bristol Britannia 300 and a Lockheed Electra used in that first year. The Electra was also used by the overlapping Jet-X brand in 2008 and 2009.
Release choices in the first year were mainly an interesting mix of rather random European, Asian and Australian airlines. North America was represented only by a single Canadian, single Mexican and a Los Angeles Dodgers Electra. North American airlines would never be a major component of JC releases in these early years - no doubt due to an agreement with Gemini. |
2008 first year JC releases in my collection
FLIGHTLINE400
Even as JC Wings appeared as its own brand in 2008 its own new moulds had been used briefly by Blue Box for its final own branded releases. Additionally, JC Wings had a sister brand named Flightline400. It is unclear if this was also owned by JC, but it utilised its own FL part numbers and some of the new JC Wings moulds available at the time. It isn't always immediately clear if some of these early models were branded as JC Wings or Flightline400. At least 33 models were branded as Flightline400 starting in 2009 and running through to 2012. They mostly represented Boeing widebodies (747s, 767s, 777s) with only a sprinkling of smaller types, although once again there seems little rhyme or reason to the release choices.
EXCELLENT REGIONALS
During its first 7 years JC Wings introduced at least 30 new moulds and many of these were for regional or prop types. This prolific production of smaller aircraft in 400 scale has never been matched, and most of the moulds have been used by JC's production partner either at the same time as they appeared or later. Typically, the moulds hold up extremely well even in 2026 and include the following types:
Shorts 360 (2009)
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Fokker 50 (2008)
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Saab 340 (2010)
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Fokker 70 (2007)
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ATR-72 (2011)
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DHC-8-100 (2009)
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E190 (2014)
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HS748 (2009)
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JC Wings were especially prolific with these regional types in their first 3 years, with several of them almost disappearing from the production schedule after 2011. Even with some production by Gemini Jets 400 scale is still lacking decent usage of almost all the above castings.
A SPRINKLING OF CLASSICS
Alongside the regional airliners JC Wings early mould production also included a nice selection of classic moulds, some of which provided competition to Aeroclassics. Once again the quality of many of these moulds was very high and most of them were used by Gemini Jets also. Sadly, also like the regionals, usage of these largely excellent classics fell off quite dramatically so as early as 2012 their usage had largely ended. Some of them occassionally pop up in JC Wings production over the past decade, but they are few and far between. Classic moulds from this period include:
ATL-98 Carvair (2008)
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BAC One-Eleven (2008)
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Douglas DC-3 (2009)
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Bristol Britannia (2008)
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Convair 440 (2009)
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BAC One-Eleven 500 (2009)
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Douglas DC-6 (2010)
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Ilyushin IL-86 (2009)
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Lockheed L-188 Electra (2008)
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Bristol Britannia 100 (2009)
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OTHER BRAND'S MOULDS USED BY JC WINGS
As has been related JC Wings had access to a lot of moulds originally made for other brands, mostly during this period Blue Box, Jet-X and Gemini Jets. Increasingly as modern jet types became a larger component of their releases many of Gemini's old seamed moulds came into usage by JC Wings. Arguably most of these moulds were obsolete at the time and few of the Airbuses or Boeings were especially competitive against Aeroclassics or Phoenix versions from this period. This is in direct contrast to the JC constructed regional and classic moulds spoken about above. Below is a selection of early JC Wings releases using moulds that mainly have a Gemini Jets heritage. There were also a couple of Jet-X moulds but they saw very little use.
Below is a table summarising JC's releases during the 2008-2014 period that used moulds from other brands:
NEW MODERN AIRCRAFT TYPES
As well as regionals and classics JC Wings also made a selection of brand new moulds for larger more modern aircraft types. Several of these would go on to be important moulds for Gemini Jets, such as the Boeing 737-800, however others like the Boeing 777s would not. Gemini could continue to use its own 777s, albeit modified with new landing gear, until finally switching to a much newer, and better, 777 that JC Wings had completed in 2017. The A350 was another type that would become very important to both JC Wings and Gemini Jets, after the creation of an all new mould in 2014.
The seamed JC Wings A320 would replace Gemini's old A320 mould in 2010, but would itself be replaced in 2016 by a newer version JC had made. The first JC Wings A320 was criticised for the large wing seam, but in several ways was actually superior to the mould that replaced it.
JC Wings would strongly pivot towards these more modern aircraft types after the first couple of years, even though they weren't always appreciated by the collectorate, when compared to competition from Aeroclassics, Witty Wings and Phoenix. By 2014 the vast majority of releases from JC Wings using their own moulds would be modern twinjets. The below table breaks down JC Wings production from 2008-2014 using moulds that it authored (modern types are highlighted):
SUMMARY
The importance of JC Wing's entrance into 400 scale cannot be underestimated. Not only did it consolidate a selection of other brands together, but it stimulated a massive mould construction period that resulted in a large number of new aircraft types being introduced into 400 scale. It also enabled Gemini Jets to find a new long-term production partner and to benefit from their ongoing new mould creation efforts.
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Many of the moulds that JC Wings created during this period remain 'best in class' for the aircraft type in 400 scale, albeit too often they remain the only option. The regional and classic types are definitely better products than most of the more modern ones, but JC Wings would seek to remedy this with ongoing replacement moulds in the post-2015 period.
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From these relatively small beginnings JC Wings would grow into one of the big 5 brands in the scale aided by its partnership with Gemini Jets and the late 2014 collapse of its competitor Witty Wings / Apollo. Looking back at this period there are many excellent and rare models made by JC within it. It is just a shame that they were largely seduced away from their superior regional and classic types and towards bigger selling twinjets.
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