1/400 Model and Airport Blog - YESTERDAY'S AIRLINES

JC Wings Undercarriage Height Issues

24/5/2023

JC Wings has some exquisite moulds in its catalogue and has spent the past few years making some really nice new examples, to be used by itself and production partner Gemini Jets. Unfortunately, several 'recent' JC moulds also suffer from an issue that although easily resolvable has not been modified. It is an issue no other brand suffers from to the same extent - short undercarriage.

Hatfield Hopefuls: A Comet 4 Wishlist

3/5/2023

It may be the case that retro-airliners don't sell well but that's not going to stop me advocating for the history of aviation to be represented in 400 scale. Obviously when you're talking Comets it has to be Aeroclassics. The mould hasn't been used for over a decade but there are still some nice schemes that remain unmade, even Comet 4s that fit the mould's proportions. I wonder if we'll ever see them?

Adding Extra Shelves to a Detolf Cabinet

10/11/2022

I have been lucky to mainly be able to source display cabinets from ex-retail stock, however in the new setup there is a single Detolf Ikea display cabinet present. The Detolfs, from Ikea, are a cheap and attractive option but also have serious limitations for displaying model aircraft, however it seems there are cheap options to dramatically increase their usefulness.

Camber Cravings: An IL-86 Wishlist

4/11/2022

JC Wings has a variety of excellent moulds that barely get any use. A good deal of the blame for this can be laid at the door of their production partner Gemini Jets who I have heard block a lot of releases, however with Yu ModeLs producing an IL-86 on the JC mould soon there is hope we might get to see more of the big Russian Airbus.

Yu ModeLs Latest Updates - Il-86 Photo & New Releases

13/10/2022

Yu ModeLs appear to be ramping up their production somewhat with their A300 now out, the first image of the new Il-86 emerging and four other releases in the pipeline. All of these are Chinese subjects and the models can still at present only be purchased through Taobao, however the subject matter is a lot more interesting than the majority of 400 scale model releases.

Panda Models October Announcements

7/10/2022

I admit I can't quite get a handle on Panda Models release schedule, which seems often rather random. Certainly they are still making almost as many models for exclusives for retailers as they are for themselves. However, they have just announced their next batch of 6 models bringing their 2022 announcements to 17.

HYJLwings October 2022 Announcements

4/10/2022

HYJLwings have been back on the scene for a couple of years now and slipping out limited edition models of mainly Chinese airliners using their A321 mould and various NG Models moulds. However the company has a strong connection to Canada and so it isn't just Chinese airliners they make as the latest releases illustrate. Read on...

Thanks to my friend Đặng Tùng for alerting me to these releases.

TOBY Fire Station - 1:400 Scale

16/9/2022

I recently picked up a nice little addition for any model airport in the form of a Fire Station made by a new company called TOBY. I have very little information as to who they are but this set will be available at a variety of retailers in limited numbers soon. Read on for further details...

Jet Hut Reappears With Their First Release

5/8/2022

Way back in April 2021 I wrote about a company that I had been informed of going by the name of Jet Hut. It gradually became clear that they were the people behind the JAL Collection models. I was told they were going out on their own making entry level 400 scale models, but following the initial contact I heard nothing more. Well out of the blue, a few days ago, they contacted me and it seems their first product is almost ready.

HYJLwings & Yu ModeLs Latest

22/7/2022

As you probably know I like to keep an eye on some of the more obscure brands in 400 scale including those that cater heavily for the Chinese market. Two of these are HYJLwings and Yu ModeLs. The former is seemingly back as an independent company and the latter is growing well with new announcements so let's take a look at what's new.

The Babiest Bus: An A318 Wishlist

7/7/2022

The A318 didn't get a massive production run, but 80 frames is still quite a lot of possible liveries when you throw 20 private examples and 11 distinct Frontier tails into the mix. In 400 scale there have only been a handful of releases but with the new NG Models A318 imminent here I take a look at all the possibilities.

Tail-sitters!

26/6/2022

You spend hours organising your cabinets with all the models in just the right spots but there are always some that just refuse to do as they are told. These few are determined to point skywards rather than accept the touch of blessed tarmac. Tailsitters are a pain and require a range of solutions to solve. Just for fun here are the worst tailsitting moulds in 400 scale.

A Quick Jumbo Repair Job

19/6/2022

BigBird and Aeroclassics 747s are hard to come by so picking up a UTA 747 at Waffle's Scratch & Dent section for under $20 was an unexpected and lucky discovery. The only drawback was the nosegear was broken. Replacement nosegears for 747s are not common either and my repair skills are limited but I think this came out ok.

An Avalanche of A380s!

15/6/2022

Some things in 400 scale are depressingly predictable. No sooner does a manufacturer come out with a new mould then other brands attempt to flood the market with as many versions of the same aircraft as they can hoping to steal away sales. Competition is good but this is pretty damn cynical. So a few days after AV400 announce its first A380s both Phoenix and JC Wings announce a raft of their own.

Aviation400 A330ceo Changes & A330neo

9/6/2022

Back in May when I spoke with AV400 regarding their A320 series moulds they also told me about some other news. AV400 have long been fans of modern widebodies and now along with their new 787 and A380 they are expanding their widebody line to include the A330-900 too. Additionally at the same time they are making some changes to their A330ceos also.