 Creating an entirely new mould with limited resources and a factory new to 400 scale models is a big ask and the gestation of the YU ModeL Airbus A300 has been incredibly lengthy (although still shorter than the JC Wings A310!). It certainly has tested the owner of YU and he has now made a decision that should see the production of the A300s speed up and be of a much higher quality.
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 The number of new brands popping up in 400 scale continues to rise, but the majority are using 3rd parties for the manufacturing process and moulds (either Aeroclassics, HX Model, JC Wings, Panda Models or Jet Hut). Kylin Model looks to be different as it is creating its own moulds from the start and they have just released the first photos of them.
 HYJLwings has long been one of my favourite brands. Beginning in 2016 they pioneered the creation of the first great A321 mould in 400 scale. By 2020 the brand was dormant, but that year it reappeared and in their second phase they branched out to produce models using some NG moulds as well as their A321. This came to an end in late 2023 and in mid-2024 they announced the end of the brand and its replacement by Aero Polaris. That isn't the end of the story though as now HYJL is back again, and ready for phase 3!
 The CRJ-100/200 has to be one of the most important civil aircraft of the past 40 years as more than any other type it introduced the regional jet age in the US. Being such a small aircraft it has had limited coverage in 400 scale to date, but with the new 3D Design Deck mould available there's plenty of potential for the BarbieJet yet.
 It's not all ultra-sleek spinning fans and rolling gear in 400 scale. Increasingly there are also brands at the lower end of the market producing models. Some of these budget contenders, like YRD, produce plastic models while some, like Jet Hut, aspire to be low cost and close to a 400 scale model from the 2000s. I've just been alerted to a new brand starting out in that space calling themselves Radscale Models or RM.
 It was only just over a month ago that Aero Polaris announced 6 737-800s, all of which have since been delivered to market. While the scale model market in the West appears to be stagnating somewhat in China it seems to be going great guns and they have just announced a further 7 737-800s - two of which are not Chinese.
 Aero Polaris has just announced their third batch of model releases following on from the first set of 6 Boeing 737-800s and the second set of two Airbus A350s. This time around it is another 6 737s and once again they spread them geographically. Here's what they are offering:
 The news from the USA over the past few months has in general been unpleasant, but yesterday's 'liberation day' nonsense is definitely going to have a massive impact on die-cast. If you're not paying attention Trump just added a 34% extra tariff on top of the 20% added a few weeks back. That's 54% extra on anything coming from China. That's going to hurt. Here are my thoughts on the impact.
 The Super 70 was a successful programme to re-engine the DC-8-60s and give them a new lease of life in the era of the big turbofan. 110 aircraft were updated and they generally saw long careers with secondary operators after Delta, Flying Tigers and United sold their aircraft on. There's plenty of scope for more DC-8-71/73s in 400 scale and there hasn't been a release since 2012!
 It is increasingly hard to keep track of the number of retailer exclusives being made in 400 scale by a variety of brands. Thailand has been a fertile market for them with previous entrants being a Thai DC-9-30 made by Aeroclassics and Bangkok ATRs made by JC Wings. I've recently learnt about another - and this one comes with an Icelandic connection.
 Boxes are the bane of a big model collection, and owning over 3,400 models means storage is a problem. Fortunately, I got my loft boarded so can store the model boxes up there, but I realised recently that although my boxes were nicely stored, associating them with the models would be a nightmare if I wasn't available to do it.
 The gestation of the new YU ModeL A300 mould has taken a little while, but it is important to remember that YU are a much smaller company than any of the major players. Their ability to produce a new mould at all is a testament to them, as the majority of brands are happy to just use existing moulds from other manufacturers. YU have reached out to me to say that the first three models are nearing completion and will be hopefully available for preorder this month or early in January.
 Just before I went away I wrote a post introducing the new brand Aero Polaris. At the time they only had rendered imagery to show for the 6 737-800s they had announced so it was difficult to judge them, however while I was away they sent me through the photos of the real models so here they are.
 It was a sad day when earlier in the year HYJLwings announced they were stopping production, however at the time of the announcement they also said that they had sold their assets to a new company to be called AeroPolaris. This company has been making some quite grand claims, so let's take a look at what they are saying now they have announced their first models.
NG have just released a lot of the photos for their September announcements, which is in itself a surprise given their recent history. It also gives the first opportunity to look at an NG Models Lite product in comparison with a standard NG Models release, since the two Southwest MAXes announced last month had been released previously. So what are the differences between the two?
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I'm Richard Stretton, an aviation enthusiast and major collector of 400 scale model aircraft. This blog discusses ongoing events in the world of 400 scale. This site is free. Please donate to keep it going.
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