August 2018 Aeroclassics Releases

I haven't been writing too much about Aeroclassics new releases of recent, for reasons many of you understand, however I still buy lots of their releases and this month is a bit special in that it is a really superb lineup. There are some great models in August's batch and it will be an expensive month for me.

All photos are courtesy of Waffle Collectibles - your no 1 place for diecast aircraft.

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The Career of 46992/257

​The goodness begins with a trio of DC-10s representing the same aircraft at different stages in its career. This aircraft actually began with ONA but served leases between 1979 and 1984 with Icelandair, Air Florida and Spantax. The latter two kept the Icelandic cheatline so it is easy for Aeroclassics to produce the hybrids. For me the hybrids are actually more interesting than the Icelandic specimen, which is just as well as there is a howler of a titling error on the model. It says 'Icelandic [logo] Icelandic' rather than 'Icelandic [logo] Icelandair' . If you can live with that the rest of the model looks great and the two hybrids are excellent.

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Re-run Tens

​The next two are re-releases of models made previously with new registrations. I was hoping the United DC-10 would be in the 90s large titles Saul Bass scheme but it isn't. The Continental has very minor livery adjustments to the last black tailed meatball release i.e. the belly is more silver.

A larger variant of a scheme that has been made earlier in a slightly different version is PP-VMZ. The earlier Varig old colours DC-10 release had a silver belly, whereas this one has light grey.

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Gold Nines

​It is also great to see more DC-9s being made on the excellent moulds for the type. This month there are 3 excellent examples covering a wide spectrum. The USAir pinstripes is one of the few aircraft not made in this scheme that USAir operated and so most welcome. Swissair in the 1980s chocolate cheatline scheme is also great, although perhaps a series 50 would have been more welcome as only a couple of series 30s made it into this livery. Lastly and the pick of the bunch for me is a beautiful AVENSA series 50.

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Sinister 727s

​This month there are also four 727s and of all the releases these are the only classics that disappoint a bit. The Avianca is superb and illustrates a nice livery variant. This aircraft in fact wore at least 3 different liveries with the Colombian flag carrier. ​

Looking a bit angry!

It is the US 727s that aren't so good. Aeroclassics does seem to have an issue printing the cockpit windows of some of its 727s. They are too pinched at the top and make the aircraft look angry. It does damage the model's look but often not too badly. I'l be getting the United Saul bass large titles version. The Continental models are not as good. The gold line is not straight and intersects too low at the nose. It may not bother many but for me it is showstopper I'm afraid.

Compare the cheatline nose position and cockpit windows of the real thing to the model below

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Modern Stuff

​The rest of the releases don't particularly interest me as they are modern MAXs, that don't fit my Chinese collecting criteria, and a solitary JetBlue A320 in the 'Boston Celtics' scheme. I have my issues with the AC MAX mould but these look ok. Just don't compare them too closely to competing MAX moulds. The A320 sports the new larger nosewheel, which to be honest I'm not 100% certain about.

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Conclusion

​This is an excellent month for the classic collector. Aeroclassics Douglas moulds are some of its finest and almost always good value. Even so the uneven quality that has been an issue for Aeroclassics for a while now is still present in a few models. Despite that I imagine that there is more than enough to keep most people happy with this selection and I won't be the only one buying a good chunk of the releases.