1/400 Model and Airport Blog - Yesterday's Airlines

Taiwanese 757s from Dream Air

19/7/2018

Yet again whilst we in the West patiently wait for major 757s like British Airways and Eastern those in Asia are spoiled for choice! Recently I introduced Dream Air and they have quickly capitalised on the new NG Models 757 mould to create a series of 757s for that 757 hotspot Taiwan - I kid you not!

JC Wings: A Friendly Face in 1:400

14/7/2018

Being involved in collecting and reporting on 1:400 scale models can sometimes be an unfriendly experience. Most collectors are pretty decent but the manufacturers themselves are often less interested in engaging positively with their customers. It is therefore with much happiness that I can report how positive my interactions with JC Wings are. They may take ages to release many models they announce but in most other ways they are a model manufacturer, if you pardon the pun!

No Box, No Problem!

7/7/2018

It is a minor peculiarity that a model that does not come with its original box is worth a tiny fraction of the price of one that does, even when a lot of 1:400 boxes are very generic and sometimes almost unidentifiable as belonging to a specific model. I certainly have avoided unboxed models myself but given the opportunity to own some rare models at super low prices a recent sale was too good an offer to pass up.

Alliance A321s: HYJLwings May/June Releases

3/7/2018

HYJLwings is cranking out a steady stream of models nowadays using its A321 mould and the latest batch has settled on Star Alliance and Skyteam house colours for its subject matter. This means it is not just Chinese airliners that feature but also French, German, Canadian and Taiwanese. Let's take a look at them.

Airline Manufacture - Maintenance Rig

30/6/2018

Airline Manufacture are a Chinese outfit that are producing an interesting range of airport equipment in 1:200 and 1:400 scales using mainly 3D printing techniques. They also do a line in airport mats and backgrounds which look really very good. They have been about for a few years now but it is only recently that I have purchased any of their stuff and here I take a look at their maintenance rig.

New Dowse National: Backgrounds, Buildings & Gates

21/6/2018

It has been over three months since I last reported progress on my latest model diorama and although I haven't given it vast amounts of attention progress has definitely been made. In fact it is pretty much half complete now so let's take a look at the changes.

NG Models / HYJLwings 757 Updates

16/6/2018

So far to the best of my knowledge there have been 29 757-200s released or announced using the new NG Models mould under three brands. Firstly NG Models themselves but also in addition Jelly Huang's HYJLwings and the Taiwanese brand Dream Air. In this post I'll take a look at the releases from HYJLwings recently which are all now out in the marketplace.

United Airlines at Wright Field Pt1: 1960s

10/6/2018

Aeroclassics GSE sets are typically rather rare and expensive but living in Australasia they are probably slightly less sought after, though no doubt even rarer than in the USA. Recently I had the good luck to come across someone selling some GSE on a facebook sales sites from Australia and the opportunity to add a United Airlines GSE set was too good to pass up. It also gave me the chance to try it out on my Wright field diorama.

Panda Models April-May 2018 Releases

3/6/2018

It's hard to say what is going on over at Panda Models as they have been really quiet this year and the usual pathways by which I find out about their releases have often been silent. In fact I have been finding out about a lot of their releases via Airshop Diecast - the Indonesian store. It seems they have a new focus on Indonesia so let's take a look at what they've been doing in the past few months.

Retro Models: Exclusive Interview

27/5/2018

It's been a long road, with more than a few traffic jams and speed humps, but finally the time is drawing near when the dreams of a good few classic collectors will be answered by the release of the first new Soviet era 1:400 mould in many years and for a deserving aircraft - the Tupolev Tu-104A. In this blog entry I have an exclusive interview with the man behind Retro Models - Kamran Sekha.

Living the Dream: Dream Air for Taiwan

24/5/2018

In the past few years there has been a proliferation of new brands in 1:400 scale although almost all of them have had a focus on the Asian market over traditional Western markets. One of the newer brands to emerge aiming their product at a niche market is Dream Air, who have so far partnered with JC Wings to produce a range of airliners aimed squarely at Taiwan.

Aviation400 May 18 Releases: Long & Short A350s

19/5/2018

It has been oddly quiet from Aviation400 in 2018 but my understanding is that the people at Inflight, who are behind the brand's resurgence, have simply bitten off more than they can chew. This has resulted in delays as they try and deal with the backlog of releases. It seems 1:400 scale isn't as high in the priority list as it might be. However belatedly AV400 have some new A350s on offer including a new A350-1000.

Aeroclassics May 2018 Releases: Maxes and McDs

8/5/2018

Aeroclassics has literally just announced its May releases and after a bevy of hints it isn't a great surprise that these include a new mould - that of the 737 MAX-8. Even though this may get the bulk of the attention in my opinion it is the classics that are the real draw this month. Even better they appear error free so let's take a look at a great month of releases.

Koryo IL-62s: The Classic Lives On

5/5/2018

There are precious few IL-62s still in service anywhere in the world and in fact it takes an outcast state to see one nowadays. Its isolation has long been a boon for the more adventurous plane-spotter looking to log some time on a TU-134 or such. Unfortunately with their focus on active aircraft very few IL-62s have been made in 1:400, however recent livery changes in the DPRK have opened the door to double the number of Korean IL-62 releases.

HYJLwings New A321s Pt2: The Releases

2/5/2018

In part 1 we looked at the development and background to HYJLwings new A321 mould but what have they made so far? There have in fact been 25 releases under their own brand name up to this point and 4 more for DreamAir of Taiwan. So let's take a look at what is available.