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

EXCLUSIVE: Another New Mould from AV400

25/3/2021

It was only in December that I exclusively announced Aviation400's next new mould (the 787 series) but they are busy creating another new mould too, which has reached the resin sample stage. Yet again AV400's focus is on modern widebodies but this is one that hasn't got a huge amount of love in 400 scale to date - the Superjumbo A380.

Delta Gets Tough With Licensing

22/3/2021

I have known about this for a month or so now and, since it is basically common knowledge and been discussed in various places, I see no reason not to comment on it. The rumours that Delta have come down hard on model manufacturers, and retailers of those models, is true and obviously the situation is more complicated than just that. It has the potential to be a real pain for collectors so obviously this is a large issue, and part of a pattern of behaviour in recent times to damage competition in 200 and 400 scale.

Airshop Diecast's Latest & the New Panda 737-8

6/3/2021

Indonesian collectors continue to be well served by the relationship between Indonesian retailers and several manufacturers, especially Panda Models. The latest trio of releases cover Batik Air 737s and use the new 737-800 mould from Panda, which has been slipped out with little fanfare.

El Aviador 400 - Latin Classics

13/1/2021

El Aviador is a company which has a standard webstore but also specialises in the production of 200 scale Latin classics airliners. It is based in Texas but its focus is definitely south of the border and since at least 2019 it has been using Inflight200 moulds to make an impressive array of A320s, 727s, 737s, 767s in the larger scale. It has now branched out into 400 scale and has 5 releases out, or in the pipeline.

2020: The 400 Scale Year In Review - Part 2

7/1/2021

Despite the complications thrown up by 2020 the world of 400 scale model aircraft continued on its way with barely a gap in releases and all the major brands survived the year. Nonetheless competition is clearly rising and how long can the marketplace sustain the addition of NG Models and Aviation400 along the incumbents? In part 2 I'll look at the year 2020 for the remaining four brands and look forward to what 2021 may hold.

2020: The 400 Scale Year In Review - Part 1

4/1/2021

With 2020 behind us I thought I’d take a look back at the year in 400 scale that was and pick out some salient points for discussion. Obviously for most it was a year best forgotten but in 400 scale it was actually a superb year. In general, the scale seems vibrant and healthy with some excellent innovation and models being made. In part 1 I take a look at 3 of the major brands.

Exclusive: Aviation400's Next New Mould

1/12/2020

Aviation400 have been making some really high quality models for several years now. Over the past few months I've struck up a relationship with Aviation400 and my contact there has told me that they are nearing completion of their latest new mould in 400 scale. He has given me permission to show a few early photos of the sample mould. In this post I'll look back at AV400 and the what the new mould means for 400 scale.

Taobao Arrivals - Dream Air / Panda / NG Models

21/10/2020

The Chinese market often gets releases well before those of us in the West and looking around Chinese sellers can often turn up new information and releases that you might otherwise miss out on. Checking around the past few days has turned up just such releases and announcements from Panda Models, Dream Air and NG Models.

HC-053: 400 Scale Hangar's Latest Club Model

1/10/2020

400 Scale Hangar (found at www.400scalehangar.net) is one of the original homes of 400 Scale on the web. Now under new ownership it is back producing, in partnership with Aeroclassics, the Hangar Club models that the site is famous for. Thanks to Paresh at 400SH I was recently able to purchase the latest Hangar Club offering – a really nice hybrid 727-22 made in very limited numbers.

Yu ModeLs & The Return of the Tu-154

12/9/2020

I was alerted today by my good friend Minh Quân Nguyễn that some new Tupolev 154s had mysteriously appeared on taobao. A quick search revealed there were two new releases using the Aeroclassics mould, but not made by Aeroclassics. Indeed, they are being marketed as Yu ModeLs - a new brand in 1:400 scale. Read on to learn more...

New JC Wings Flaps Down 747-400 Mould

13/8/2020

Way back in August 2018 I was able to announce that JC Wings were working on a new 747-400 mould and was even able to show some photos of a near finished mould. It obviously hasn't been a high priority for them as here we are in August 2020 and they've only just announced the first release using the new 'flaps down' version. Thanks to JC Wings and my friend JagT747 I have been able to access some new photos of the finished mould and here they are.

Aeroclassics August 2020 Releases

8/8/2020

You've got to hand it to Aeroclassics they have motored through the Covid crisis, changed their sales over to aeroclassicsdirect.com and are still producing an excellent variety of 400 scale models. Last month's set saw the return of the 747 and 727-100. There are no 747s this month but the choices of release on other types sure make up for that.

New Collection Additions: April/May 2020

18/6/2020

I am very happy to say that New Zealand is out the other side of its lockdown, and now we are level 1 almost everything is back to normal. Things that aren't are international travel and postage so it has taken some time for models to reach me. Nonetheless 14 models did make it through in the past two months, many of which have already received detailed reviews.

New Collection Additions: March 2020

27/4/2020

March was the month level 4 lockdown began for New Zealand and there was further dislocation to the manufacturing of 1:400 scale, with most companies delaying new releases. Even so there are always older models to acquire and with my job holding on for the timebeing I was able to take advantage of some nice Aeroclassics sales.

The Return of HYJLwings

25/4/2020

The last time that HYJLwings released an A321 was way back in December 2018 and since then NG Models have begun to use the HYJLwings mould for own-branded A321s. It seems however that after a break HYJLwings, or the name at least, is back - with a new trio of Chinese A321s scheduled for May.