Panda Models Retailer Exclusives 2022 |
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Published: January 2023
2022 continued to see Panda Models release more models for specific retailers than under their own brand name. In fact of the 59 models released or announced by Panda in 2022 31 were for retailers and 28 directly by Panda. The big difference between the two sets was that retailers continued to focus on Panda's A320 and 737 moulds, whereas Panda themselves at least produced some Tu-134s and Tu-204s. Interestingly it seems Panda no longer has access to any widebody moulds, or any of the Chinese types it once did, the latter and the A330F having seemingly migrated over to NG Models.
Below is the breakdown of the retailer exclusives, also including Miniature Models, which isn't a retailer but is a separate brand that works through a small number of retailers. As before, just because a model is made for a retailer it doesn't necessarily mean it will be available from only that retailer. Sometimes the models are shared around a little. The breakdown of retailers was broadly similar to 2021 but with Waffle Collectibles taking the lead as the largest partner outside of Miniature Models. Otherwise the retailers were spread around Canada and Asia once again, with no representation in Europe.
Miniature Models stands out as the only non-retailer in the set and so produced a more varied selection of models. It is unclear who Miniature Models are but their releases are sold only through a small selection of retailers so they are akin to a retailer operation. Their initial 2022 releases covered a trio of A320s (Itapemirim, Dragonair and Eva Air) and a couple of Lufthansa 737-300s and were announced at the end of 2021:
I acquired two of these releases and both got detailed reviews here at the site. Check out the reviews by clicking on the images:
Later in the year another trio of rather random 737-300s appeared - an Olympic example and a pair of Thai Air Asias. These can still be acquired at wings400 in the UK.
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From Canada Prairie Diecast continued its foray into licensed versions of some of the smaller Canadian operators with a delightful pair of 737-300s:
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RM Models got a pair of Allegiant Airbuses made but presumably these will be their last exclusives since it appears they are effectively out of business judging by the lack of updates to their sites and some appalling customer experiences recently.
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Waffle's output focused towards a pair of Sun Country 737NGs and a trio of delightful Southwest Airlines 737-300s, of which I acquired two. I hope to see more classics US 737-300s from Waffle - AirCal and New York Air perhaps?
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Rounding off the American exclusives and El Aviador produced another delightful trio of 737s.
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MyHobbyHouse produced a trio of Australian 737-300/400s but a little frustratingly the passenger variant wasn't in the 1990s colours.
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Taiwan's DreamAir continued its theme from 2021 and got another pair of Tiger Air Taiwan A320s made but this time they were both NEOs.
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Tailwind Diecasts of the Philippines partnered with Panda for the first time. They had previously partnered with Aviation400 for a PR A340-300 but this time it was an Irish registered 737-400 that was the subject.
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Finally, Indonesia continued to be ripe for releases and both MP4 and Airshop Diecast got in on the action once again. I acquired both the Airshop Diecast Sriwijaya Air 737-800s and one got a detailed review.
MP4's releases were a little more obscure but the Indonesian Air Force 737-800 did feature some extra aerials. |
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