NEW 1:400 MOULD: Tupolev TU-104A by Retro Models

I am late to the party I admit it but last week whilst I was on hols a new and  historically important classic mould was announced in 1:400 scale by a new manufacturer. This was the world's first jet airliner in regular sustained commercial service (if you discount the Comet 1 for it's early service withdrawal) - the Tupolev Tu-104 'Camel'.

This announcement comes only a few months after the Tu-104 came in at number 13 in my The Most Deserving Missing Aircraft in 1/400 Scale Pt1 post.

The model was announced at Aviation Retail Direct (ARD) first it appears but has since also been listed by Collectors Aircraft Models (CAM) in Sydney, Aviation Center Berlin, Germany and at Waffle Collectibles in the USA. It is made by a new company called Retro Models run by a guy called Kamran.

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RETRO4001 | Retro Models 1:400 | Tu-104A CSA Ceskoslovenske Aerolinie OK-LDA (with stand)

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The mould has been made in co-operation with Inflight 200 and will be made at the Inflight factory in China. Kamran the owner has posted on DAC and says:

"The mould took a very long time to produce as I wanted to make an everlasting impression by perfecting it. We went through several modifications before finalising the mould and its very fine details.

The model does indeed have undercarriage and is made of diecast metal. We shall be producing very low quantities of this model and all other models in the future, so that what you collect will always remain a limited edition valuable collectible.

We have other liveries of the TU-104A planned, and if all goes well, we are working on other aircraft models and new toolings.

This CSA TU-104A model is still in production but should be ready within a month but our retailers are already taking pre-orders.

I am now working on developing a Retro Models website that will contain interesting information and news updates."

As you'd expect the new announcement has been met with joy by many classics collectors who can sit more comfortable knowing that the tooling has been looked over by Adrian Balch (a long time collector and forumite) and has the backing of a major manufacturer in Inflight.

Kamran has stated that he expects a second release in December and is looking at other types like the Tu-134. I wish him the best of luck with this venture. There just aren't enough classics being made!