1/400 Model and Airport Blog

New Brand: Buchannan Models

15/5/2022

I have been one who has been a little critical of NG Models move towards more contemporary and less retro releases of late, however now it appears NG will get a little bit of a hand in this area as a new brand named Buchannan Models is partnering to use NG moulds for more retro-goodness.

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Shrink Wrap: A Revisited Tristar 500 Wishlist

12/5/2022

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The Tristar 500 is another of the classic moulds owned by NG Models they seem to have rather lost faith in, despite its excellence. Obviously the situation isn't helped by the electroplating issues NG has had with its natural metal belly L-1011s but there remains quite a bit to be made and I am rather impatient to see more. Here's an updated wishlist for the type taking into account production so far.

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NG A330F: Another Panda Mould Reappears With NG Models?

5/5/2022

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While I don't think you should let the politics in China get in the way of your model collecting I am nonetheless fascinated by what goes on behind the scenes of the diecast world. Usually it is very unclear what that is but sometimes you get glimpses. The announcement of an A330-200F release by NG Models caught my eye and now photos seem to confirm that it is using the Panda Models mould, which is very interesting, at least to me!

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Yu ModeLs Mystery Widebody Unveiled

21/4/2022

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As discussed here just under a month ago when Yu ModeLs announced their new IL-76 release they also discussed a 'mystery widebody' they would be releasing. Given that they have a penchant for Soviet era aircraft the number of options appeared limited and as myself and a few others guessed this time Yu have teamed up with JC Wings for the first IL-86 in some time.

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Persian Perfection: Iranian Tu-154Ms

14/4/2022

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The Tu-154 eventually gathered a rather poor reputation in Iran with nicknames such as 'Death Bird' due to various crashes, however the type was instrumental in getting many Iranian airlines into the air and saw wide service prior to it being banned in February 2010. As a collector of both curiosities and Iranian airliners the new NG mould would look great wearing these colours.

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Special Needs: A 747SP Wishlist

4/4/2022

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NG Models have had their 747SP mould in use since August 2020 and I admit to being rather disappointed by the limited usage it has got. Just 16 models to date, which is less than 1 a month. It doesn't help that JC Wings has been releasing its own SPs as spoilers for NG versions, but they are so inferior that surely few discerning collectors are acquiring them. To try and spur NG on here is a list of the majority of SPs that remain to be made on the best mould out there.

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Yu ModeLs Gets Candid

28/3/2022

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Yu ModeLs are a Chinese brand that have shown an interest in Soviet era metal, mainly focused on the Chinese market, using the Aeroclassics factory. Although they have not been prolific they have just released their third model and announced their fourth, along with hints of what is to come later in the year. Here's an update...

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HYJLwings Spring 2022 Releases

23/3/2022

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My best bet at the present time is that the reborn HYJLwings brand acts merely as a sub-brand of NG Models producing China only models, even though NG itself still makes other Chinese airliners. What becomes NG and what HYJL seems rather arbitrary. Regardless there have been new announcements from HYJL with their latest batch of Chinese airliners and since they aren't widely reported I thought I'd pull together a post for you.

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Attempting Some Gear Repairs

21/3/2022

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Anyone with a decent sized collection is bound to have a few broken models - some you've broken accidentally and some you've acquired in a broken state. Even though I just translocated my collection across the world the number of breakages was very small and fortunately all easily fixable, however I have had a couple of other models in need of repair so I thought I'd give it a go and try to fix them up.

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Palmdale Pretties: A Standard Tristar Wishlist

23/2/2022

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It was 2019 that the NG and Lockness Tristar moulds debuted and you'd have thought that would mean an avalanche of L-1011s. Sadly the Lockness mould is rather poor and NG have had electroplating issues and a change of focus. The result are a bunch of L-1011s I won't touch and a much smaller set of excellent NG releases than I'd hope for. So here's a kick up the bottom to highlight how much there is left for NG to make.

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AV400 A380 Update - Detachable Gears

20/2/2022

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It's been a while since any new news of the Aviation400 Airbus A380 has sneaked out, in fact it was June when I reported on the resin sample. AV400 has however been busy behind the scenes, despite the impact of factory closures and Covid in China, and new images indicate the new mould is approaching completion and that it features a new novel feature - detachable landing gear.

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New Panda A319NEOs

19/2/2022

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The Airbus A319NEO looks set to follow in the inauspicious footsteps of the Airbus A318, with a small order backlog and little further interest from prospective customers, but even so it is a little surprising that until now nobody has taken much interest in it at 400 scale. Panda Models have just announced that they have taken the step of adding the NEO engines to their excellent A319. Read on...

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Goodbye Auckland - December 30th 2021

16/2/2022

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I'm a Brit who has been lucky enough to have the opportunity to live in Auckland, New Zealand for the past 16 years. That all came to an end on December 30th when my family and I returned to the UK for good. There are many reasons for the return but in this post I wanted to share some of the photos I took at AKL in the few hours prior to departure.

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A New Hangar @ The Tree Tops

22/1/2022

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Apologies for the lack of material over the past few weeks, as many of you know I've been moving back to the UK from New Zealand with my family after 16 good years in Aotearoa. The internet was connected yesterday at the new house and so I am officially back on line and ready for 2022. Of course a big part of this will be the arrival of the model collection and the creation of a new hangar space.

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Coot Dreams: An IL-18 Wishlist

5/1/2022

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The IL-18 was a contemporary of the Britannia, Vanguard and Electra as one of the few big turboprops to see the light in the period when pure jets were beginning to take hold. In 400 scale the type has received very limited attention so there remains a decent number of possibilities for the type. Read on for a look at what is left to be made.

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<<Previous

New Brand: Buchannan Models

Shrink Wrap: A Revisited Tristar 500 Wishlist

NG A330F: Another Panda Mould Reappears With NG Models?

Yu ModeLs Mystery Widebody Unveiled

Persian Perfection: Iranian Tu-154Ms

Special Needs: A 747SP Wishlist

Yu ModeLs Gets Candid

HYJLwings Spring 2022 Releases

Attempting Some Gear Repairs

Palmdale Pretties: A Standard Tristar Wishlist

AV400 A380 Update - Detachable Gears

New Panda A319NEOs

Goodbye Auckland - December 30th 2021

A New Hangar @ The Tree Tops

Coot Dreams: An IL-18 Wishlist

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