All Categories

Second-hand Additions in 2019

17/9/2019

I admit to getting quite a few new models a month, partly as a result of new purchases but also from the second-hand market. Overwhelmingly these come via Waffle Collectibles Collection Sales. Say what you like about Waffle but he gets the stock and ships it out efficiently at great prices. Here's a selection of 11 additions from the past 9 months acquired from the seconds market, mostly from the Waffle man.

1 Comment

Lost Potential: A TU-204 Wishlist

15/9/2019

2 Comments

The Tupolev TU-204 was robbed off a TU-154 style production run by the collapse of the Soviet Union, which is a real shame as it appears to be a decent aircraft broadly in line with Western contemporaries at the dawn of the 90s. In the end although the aircraft has had a 30-year production run only 86 aircraft were produced! Even so the type has appeared in a surprising number of liveries.

2 Comments

Incoming JC Wings for September

3/9/2019

1 Comment

JC Wings are well known for taking a literal age between announcement of a model and its release. This isn't always the case, but in general you can usually be sure of at least a 6 month wait. That means you're probably reluctant to preorder, but frustratingly when the model is finally released they often slip out with little fanfare. So to help you out here are some JC Wings, which should be hitting the shelves outside China soon.

1 Comment

Classic A320s: A Wishlist 1987-95

15/8/2019

1 Comment

The A320 family is hardly under-represented in 1:400 scale. Even so most manufacturers are fixated on the now and looking back to the service entry of the original A320 is way outside their interest. That’s a shame as there are plenty of cool models that have not been made for A320s from 1987-1995.

1 Comment

A Quick Look at Phoenix August Releases

8/8/2019

4 Comments

I don't write about Phoenix very often and that is partly because their releases are well publicised so I don't need to do it for them. In addition however it is also because their releases are usually super boring and at the same time pretty mediocre. This month's bunch illustrates what I mean.

4 Comments

A Box From Bob

4/8/2019

1 Comment

Model collecting isn't always a friendly business, but at its heart 1:400 scale has a good community of collectors who are happy to go the extra mile for each other. I have made some great friends in my time collecting. Due to the tyranny of distance I don't get too many models from other collectors but just this week a box arrived from Oz so here I'll look at the contents and how you too can get hold of some rare models from the same source.

1 Comment

More FantasyWings GSE Offerings

11/7/2019

2 Comments

FantasyWings have certainly been busy and between getting the interview together and publishing it they have produced several new offerings in areas that have until now not been touched by anyone else producing GSE. This is pretty exciting if you bought the recent JC Wings Beluga XL.

2 Comments

FantasyWings Quality GSE

10/7/2019

7 Comments

The advent of 3D printing has revolutionised the ability for individuals to get involved in making their own equipment and models for display with the professionally made aircraft produced in 1:400 and 1:200 scale. One of the newest additions to the growing area of ground service equipment is FantasyWings, who were gracious enough to give me an interview introducing themselves.

7 Comments

More Muscle Machines: A CV-580 Wishlist

8/7/2019

2 Comments

I have a soft-spot for the mighty Convair 580 ‘muscle machine’ having flown on the type from the cockpit two years ago with Air Chathams. I am sure I am not alone in thanking Gemini Jets for announcing a North Central CV-580 as part of their June 2019 releases in 1:400 scale. Hopefully this model will sell successfully and lead to some more releases of the type. If so there is a decent range of possibilities that can be made.

2 Comments

Aviation400 & Panda Models June 2019 Releases

6/7/2019

3 Comments

No sooner than I have posted updates of the year so far for both Aviation400 and Panda Models then both of them announce their June models. Although they are both relatively small sets both contain some exciting models showing that even with an airframe as common as the A330 there is still gold to be mined in 1:400 scale.

3 Comments

Starting Out: My First 1:400s

1/7/2019

0 Comments

With my personal collection approaching 2000 models it seems like a good time to take a look back at where I began with 1:400 scale. I've had an interest in civil aviation for about as long as I can remember but it was only in 2008 or so that I gravitated towards this scale and finally cut my ties with 1:600s. Here's a look at the early days way before Yesterday's Airlines existed.

0 Comments

Aviation400: Jan-May 2019 Releases

22/6/2019

2 Comments

Aviation400 are another of the newer enigmatic brands in 1:400 scale, although unlike NG Models, Panda Models and HYJLwings they have moved into the smaller scale from 1:200 (where they are Inflight). Like JC Wings their release announcements often do not parallel the actual releases, which can make discussing their models a bit challenging. Nonetheless they are regularly releasing Airbus widebodies and exploring new Boeing moulds as well.

2 Comments

L-1011 Tristar 1 Contenders: Lockness vs JC Wings / Gemini Jets

14/6/2019

2 Comments

Lockheed Tristars are coming thick and fast in 1:400 scale in 2019 with two new and active standard length moulds now in the market since mid-2018 and a third on the way soon. The present pair are made by JC Wings / Gemini Jets and, most recently, Lockness Models (note it isn't Lochness Models - that defeats the purpose of the pun). Considering these two are both active now it pays to compare them to each other and that is what I'll do here.

2 Comments

Aeroclassics & Lockness: June 2019 Releases

10/6/2019

1 Comment

Yesterday marked the announcment of the new Aeroclassics and Lockness models and unusually neither came with photos of the actual models. By now though you should now what you are going to get on the whole, although I admit I won't be ordering anything until I see photos.

1 Comment

Panda Models: March-May Releases

5/6/2019

3 Comments

Panda Models have swung towards a European audience of late and post Chinese New Year their releases continue to be a mix of by now familiar airlines focusing on their Airbus mould catalogue. They have seemed content in 2019 to play second fiddle to NG Models but their models are still high-quality releases that are ticking the box for many, even if they have still not created a particularly viable distribution pathway for themselves.

3 Comments

<<Previous

Second-hand Additions in 2019

Lost Potential: A TU-204 Wishlist

Incoming JC Wings for September

Classic A320s: A Wishlist 1987-95

A Quick Look at Phoenix August Releases

A Box From Bob

More FantasyWings GSE Offerings

FantasyWings Quality GSE

More Muscle Machines: A CV-580 Wishlist

Aviation400 & Panda Models June 2019 Releases

Starting Out: My First 1:400s

Aviation400: Jan-May 2019 Releases

L-1011 Tristar 1 Contenders: Lockness vs JC Wings / Gemini Jets

Aeroclassics & Lockness: June 2019 Releases

Panda Models: March-May Releases

Author

Archives

Categories