GSE Review Pt4: Aeroclassics Sets 2.0

As I said in the first part of the Aeroclassics GSE review they have made 17 different vehicle types and the aim of this and the next part of the review is to take a closer look at these individual vehicles. Some appear in almost every set that has been released whilst others are much rarer and have been used much more sparsely. In this post we'll look at some of the commoner elements. So let's get started.

For my other GSE reviews in this series see:

GSE Review: Modern Buses
GSE Review Pt1: Gemini Jets Sets
GSE Review Pt2: Dragon Wings
GSE Review Pt3: Aeroclassics Sets 1.0

Fuel truck and trailer units

Fuel Trucks

We begin with the fuel trucks. Aeroclassics has made a lovely 1950/60s style truck and trailer unit, which can be operated as a separate cab and trailer or together as one piece. As you can see the cabs are usually painted the base colour of the airline livery whilst the logo is usually placed on teh trailer rear side. The detailing on the trailer top, headlights, radiator etc is very good whilst the wheels really do feel like separate tyres. To the best of my knowledge the truck has been present in the following 13 sets:

Braniff International, Cathay Pacific, DHL (as Esso), Eastern, Evergreen, Lufthansa, National, Blank, both Northeasts, TCA, TWA and United.

Scissor Lift Food Truck

The scissor lift truck is a lovely 1950/60s style lorry with working lift and fold down access doorway. As with the fuel truck the detailing is great though perhaps some sort of infill to the container area is warranted when the hatch is open. The size of the lorry is very satisfying (not too thin like the Dragon lorries) and the scissor lift mechanism is quite robust. The food truck is another common element of the sets and appears in at least 11 as follows:

British Eagle, Cathay Pacific, Eastern, Iran Air, Lufthansa, MEA, Blank, both Northeasts, TCA and United

Delivery Van

Another common 1960s style addition to the sets is the classy little delivery van. No moving parts on this one but as with the others great detailing around the wheels and on the cab, though admittedly its often overshadowed by the simple one colour paint work. This one can be found in at least the following 14 sets:

BOAC, Braniff, Cathay Pacific, DHL, Eastern, KLM, Lufthansa, Blank, National, both Northeasts, TCA, TWA and United

Belt Loader

Another piece with moving parts as the belt can be raised and lowered. More nice shaping slightly marred by simple painting, but overrall it's a nice little unit that goes well with the baggage train. It appears in most of the sets made as it neatly can be used for older and more modern settings. Sets include:

BOAC, Braniff Int, British Eagle, Cathay Pacific, DHL, Eastern, KLM, Lufthansa, Blank, National, both Northeasts, TCA, TWA and United.

Small Baggage Cart & Trucks

These pieces usually come together and sometimes there are multiple trucks in a set. I really like the little one man cart, which is one of the more detailed GSE elements. The trucks are nice too but attaching the them to each other is extremely fiddly and they rarely sit level when in trains. Having said that they are great pieces in almost any diorama as they are ageless and never have airline logos on them. They come with most of the sets.

Jeep

The 1940s style jeep is one of my favourite vehicles, though obviously it only really fits older dioramas. Still it has great detailing on the interior and bumper, It is a lovely little mould, which would benefit from some more detailed printing especially around the radiator. It appears in at least the following 10 sets:

Braniff, Cathay Pacific, Eastern, KLM, Lufthansa, Blank, National, Northeast NE, TWA and United.

Static Airstairs

The towed / static airstairs are probably the commonest GSE element made by Aeroclassics since they have sometimes been included with single models for airlines such as Alaska, Cotninental, Eastern and Northwest as well as being a part of most sets. They are a good shape and size but do suffer from being a little thick around the side panelling. Still they do fit narrowbody and prop types well and have good detailing elsewhere.

These are the commonest 8 of the 17 GSE types, however there are a further 9 elements which appear more infrequently in sets. We'll look at those in the next part.