Patriot Models - New Military Xi'an Y-7s

The number of manufacturers in 400 scale has remained fairly static since 2018 but the number of brands that have appeared has gone up a lot. Mostly these new brands utilise either Panda Models or JC Wings for their production and several have the intention of moving to their own production facilities in time. The latest is a new brand that has been recently active in 200 scale and is now moving into 400 scale too. They are called Patriot Models.

Patriot's current partner is JC Wings and at present they are mainly a 200 scale brand, however they have also recently announced four new 400 scale models utilising the new, and very nice, JC Wings / Gemini Antonov An-26 mould.

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I not long ago reviewed the new An-26 mould. If you didn't see that review check it out here:

Ukraine Air Force | Antonov An-26 | Blue 48 | JC Wings

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Patriot also have plans to create their own 200 scale moulds and I have seen some evidence of the direction they are moving towards, which so far appears to be mostly ex-Soviet types. It is somewhat ironic that given Russia's actions in Ukraine Chinese companies see Russian aircraft as more popular than ever. I wonder if this is linked to China's ongoing partnership with and usage of Russia as a tool to damage the West?

A 200 scale Patriot PLAN CRJ-700 recently released

Regardless, if you like Soviet era aircraft then the political situation is no reason not to buy them in model form and although these four Antonov's are rather niche for the Western market they are all interesting.

Another recent 200 Scale Patriot Models release

Technically they aren't Antonov An-26s at all since they represent the Xi'an Y-7. This is a reverse engineered version of the An-26 that serves not only with the PLAAF (People's Liberation Army Air Force) but also with the PLAN (People's Liberation Army Navy) and the PLAGF (People's Liberation Army Ground Force). Within the latter there is a small number of props in the Army Aviation Corps section alongside a much larger selection of helicopters.

The model's that are being made for Patriot consist of a pair of PLAAF Y-7Hs:

More unusually there is also a pair of PLAGF Xi-an Y-7Js. Externally the difference appears to be the lack of the bubble window forward. Both of these come in camouflage and as far as I can tell the PLAGF only has two of them so this is a fairly rare type.

I'm told that allowing for JC Wings somewhat unreliable delivery these four should be available in early 2024.