August Announcements from Panda & Skywings

It is hard to keep up with the sheer number of new announcements from China's other 3 brands in 1/400 scale but they continue to announce a wide range of new models. Even better for the non-Chinese collector they also continue to announce really competitive non-Chinese models which I can see are going to give the established players some real competition. This month Panda branches out to new horizons - Malaysia and Singapore, whilst Skywings go to Germany.

Panda Models - August

Panda are really breaking new ground for themselves. At the Beijing model expo in April I reported that they showed off a new A340-300 mould and lo and behold this month they'll produce two Air China examples, one with and one without the national flag.

Add to that they are also continuing their lead in producing 737-MAX 8 models. They have already produced 5 MAXs but this month they add 3 more including two in the livery of Batik Air - the type's launch customer.

Likewise Panda have the best A330 around and this month they are producing two Singapore Airlines examples, which surely must be in high demand. They also continue to ignore the model embargo on Cathay branded models with yet another in this range - this time the Cathay Dragon "Spirit of Hong Kong" model.

Lastly there are a couple of bread and butter releases - a pair of China Eastern Peacock 737-800s and a second HK Express A320neo.

Here's the full list from July, which means they'll be out soon:

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Skywings - August

Skywings are continuing to leverage their relationship with Panda models and have released a colourful special scheme China United 737-800, however I suspect it is the release of a pair of Lufthansa A330s that will be of wider interest to non-Chinese collectors.

Regarding the China United 737 the aircraft has been painted with patterns that incorporate lnner Chinese Sui and Tang dynastic art elements. The aircraft presents a picture of a serene Mongolian grassland view. For some reason it reminds me of Santa's reindeer!

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