YESTERDAY'S AIRLINES
  • Home
    • About
    • Links
  • My Models
    • The Hangar
    • My Collection >
      • US Trunk Fleets >
        • My American Airlines Fleet
        • My Braniff Intnl Fleet
        • My Continental Fleet
        • My Delta Air Lines Fleet
        • My Eastern Air Lines Fleet
        • My National Airlines Fleet
        • My Northeast / Capital Fleet
        • My Northwest Airlines Fleet
        • My Pan Am Fleet
        • My TWA Fleet
        • My United Airlines Fleet
        • My Western Airlines Fleet
      • US Local Service Fleets >
        • My Frontier Airlines Fleet
        • My Hughes Airwest Fleet
        • My Ozark Airlines Fleet
        • My Republic Airlines Fleet
        • My Texas Int Fleet
      • US Other Fleets >
        • My Alaska Airlines Fleet
        • My Hawaiian / Aloha Fleet
        • My PSA Fleet
        • My Flying Tigers Fleet
        • My World Airways Fleet
      • UK Fleets >
        • My British Airways Fleet
      • Canadian Fleets
      • China Fleets >
        • My Cathay Pacific Fleet
      • Russian Fleet >
        • Russian Fleet Video
      • Fleet Videos >
        • US Trunk Airlines
    • Model Airports >
      • Dowse National Airport >
        • Gallery 1: Chicago c.1966
        • Gallery 2: Miami c.1970
      • Wright Field Municipal >
        • Wright Field Video Tour
      • Xin Long International
      • Imogenia Intnl 1/600 Scale
  • AV History
    • Airline History Blog
    • Airline Development >
      • CANADA >
        • Canadian Mainline
        • Canadian Charters & LCCs
        • Canadian Regionals
      • CHINA >
        • Part 1: China's Airlines Industry Blossoms 1984-2002
        • Part 2: The Big Six in the 1990s
        • The Big Three
        • Hainan Airlines Group
        • Other Chinese Airlines
      • MEXICO >
        • 1988-2005: Competition arrives
        • 2005-2014: Low cost in Mexico
        • Mexican Airline Genealogy
        • Mexicana Livery Tails
      • RUSSIA >
        • Aeroflot Group
        • S7 Airlines & AiRUnion
        • Other Russian Airlines
      • SOUTH AFRICA
      • UNITED KINGDOM >
        • BA Genealogy Pt1
        • BA Genealogy Pt2
        • BA Genealogy Pt3
        • BUIA & BUAF Genealogies
        • UK Charter Airlines Pt1
        • UK Charter Airlines Pt2
        • BEA Liveries 1946-1974
        • BOAC Liveries 1939-1974
      • UNITED STATES >
        • Trunk & Local Service Airlines >
          • American / TWA Genealogy
          • Delta / Northwest Genealogy
          • United / Continental Genealogy
          • Braniff / Eastern / US Airways Genealogy
        • Territorial Airlines
        • Intra-State Airlines
        • Supplemental Airlines
        • Deregulation Startups 1
        • Deregulation Startups 2
        • Trunk Airline Livery Changes 1959-1980
    • Liveries >
      • American Airlines Liveries
      • British Airways Liveries
      • Continental Airlines Liveries
      • Delta Air Lines Liveries
      • Eastern Air Lines Liveries
      • Landor Liveries
      • National Airlines Liveries
      • Northeast Airlines Liveries
      • Northwest Airlines Liveries
      • Pan Am Liveries
      • Trans World Airlines Liveries
      • United Airlines Liveries
      • Western Airlines Liveries
    • Real Airport Histories >
      • Albany International
      • Dallas Love Field
      • Rochester International Pt1
      • Rochester International Pt2
      • San Francisco - 1927-1959
      • San Francisco - 1959-1978
      • San Francisco - 1978-2015
      • San Jose International
      • San Jose International Pt2
    • Aviation Stickers >
      • ATR Stickers
      • A300 Stickers
      • DC-9 Stickers
      • DC-10 Stickers
  • 1:400 SCALE
    • Collecting 1:400 Scale >
      • Who Is The Best?
      • Who Has The Best Mould?
    • The History of 1:400 Scale >
      • 1:400 History 1996-2000
      • 1:400 History 2001-2008
    • 1:400 Brands >
      • Aeroclassics >
        • Generation One History
        • Gen 1 Photo Galleries >
          • BAC One-Eleven
          • Douglas DC-6
          • Douglas DC-9
          • Fairchild FH-227
          • Lockheed L-1049 Super Connie
          • Lockheed L-188 Electra
          • Vickers VC10
          • Vickers Vanguard
          • Vickers Viscount
      • AURORA Models
      • Big Bird 400 Your Craftsman
      • Black Box Models
      • Dragon Wings
      • Gemini Jets
      • Jet-X >
        • Jet-X: Part 1 2000-2006
      • MP4 & Airshop Diecast
      • Seattle Models Co (SMA)
      • Skyjets400
      • Sovereign Models
      • TucanoLine
    • Zinc Rot
  • 1:400 Moulds
    • Airbus >
      • Airbus A300
      • Airbus A310
      • Airbus A320
      • Airbus A330-200/300
      • Airbus A330-200F
      • Airbus A330 Beluga XL
      • Airbus A350-900/1000
    • Boeing >
      • Boeing B-377 Stratocruiser
      • Boeing 707-120/138/720
      • Boeing 707-320/420
      • Boeing 727-100
      • Boeing 727-200
      • Boeing 737-100/200
      • Boeing 737-300/400/500
      • Boeing 737NG >
        • P-8 Poseidon Mould Review
      • Boeing 747-100/200
      • Boeing 747SP
      • Boeing 757-200
      • Boeing 767-200
      • Boeing 767-300
      • Boeing 777-200
      • Boeing 777-300
    • British >
      • BAC One-Eleven 200-500
      • BAE-146 / Avro RJ-85-100
      • De Havilland DH-106 Comet
      • Hawker Siddeley Trident
      • Shorts 360
      • Vickers VC10
      • Vickers Viscount
    • Douglas >
      • Douglas DC-3 / C-47
      • Douglas DC-6
      • Douglas DC-7
      • Douglas DC-7C
      • Douglas DC-8-10-50
      • Douglas DC-8-60s/70s
      • Douglas DC-9-10
      • Douglas DC-9-30
      • Douglas DC-9-41/51
      • McDonnell Douglas DC-10
      • McDonnell Douglas MD-11
      • McDonnell Douglas MD-80
      • McDonnell Douglas MD-90
    • Lockheed >
      • Lockheed Constellation
      • Lockheed Super Connie
      • Lockheed L-1649 Starliner
      • Lockheed L-188 Electra
      • Lockheed L-1011 Tristar 1 / Tristar 200
      • Lockheed L-1011 Tristar 500
    • Other >
      • Convair CV-240-580
      • Convair CV-880/990
      • Curtiss C-46
      • Fairchild F-27 / Fokker F27
      • Fairchild-Hiller FH-227
      • Fokker F28/F70/F100
      • SE 210 Caravelle
    • Chinese >
      • Comac ARJ21
      • Xi'an Y-20
    • Russian >
      • Ilyushin IL-62
      • Ilyushin IL-86/IL-96
      • Tupolev TU-154B-2/M
      • Yakovlev Yak-42
  • 1:400 News
    • Model Blog
    • New Mould Samples >
      • Aviation400
      • JC Wings >
        • Boeing 747-400
      • NG Models >
        • A330-200/300
        • Airbus A330 Beluga XL
        • A350-900
        • Boeing 737-600/700/900
        • Boeing 737-800
        • Boeing B747SP
        • Comac ARJ21 - 1:200
        • Falcon 7X - 1:200
        • Gulfstream G550 - 1:200
        • Lockheed L-1011 Tristar
        • Lockeed Tristar 500
  • 1:400 Reviews
    • Detailed Mould Comparison >
      • Airbus A320neo
      • Airbus A330 Beluga XL
      • Airbus A330-900neo
      • Airbus A350-900
      • Boeing 777-300ER
    • 1:400 Model Reviews
    • Model Airliner.com Reviews
  • 1:600 SCALE
    • Schabak >
      • Schabak History 1982-2006
      • Schabak Airline Numbers
      • Schabak Wheel Variants
      • Schabak Window Variants
      • Schabak Decal Cracking
    • Schabak Moulds >
      • Airbus A300
      • Lockheed L-1011 Tristar
      • McDonnell Douglas DC-10
    • Schabak Non-airline Models
    • Silver Wings
  • Dioramas
    • As Real As It Gets 1:200
    • As Real As It Gets 1:400 >
      • Real As It Gets - Africa
      • Real As It Gets - Asia
      • Real As It Gets - China
      • Real As It Gets - Europe
      • Real As It Gets - Middle East
      • Real As It Gets - N America
      • Real As It Gets - Oceania
      • Real As It Gets - Russia
      • Real As It Gets - S America
Picture

Why Asking Who Is The Best Is The Wrong Question

I regularly see on social media people asking who is the best model manufacturer or whether x is better than y. To be honest these posts annoy the hell out of me, not because they are being asked necessarily, but because they are asking a false question and the answers typically received are often rubbish. As someone who owns over 2,000 models and spends literally tens of hours writing about 1:400 scale I thought I should write something to explain why this question makes no sense so the next time someone asks I can just point to this post and say “hey you, read this”. So here it goes:

1. ALL BRANDS MAKE GOOD MODELS
Picture
Firstly all 1:400 scale models made by any of the reputable brands (which in 2020 are Aeroclassics, Aviation400, Gemini Jets, HYJLwings, JC Wings, NG Models, Panda Models and Phoenix Models) are made in the same way using die-cast moulds and Tampo printing. Unless you actually know what you are looking at they are virtually indistinguishable from each other in terms of quality. That isn’t to say there aren’t fairly major differences just that unless you look at lots of models or read around the subject you won’t see them.


2. ALMOST ALL BRANDS MAKE BAD MODEL RELEASES
Picture
Bad printing mucked up this United 737
Most brands make literally hundreds of models a year. There are always going to be some dud models as an entire release. Of the brands listed above only NG Models and Panda Models rarely make fairly major mistakes. These mistakes can vary from poor colours, missing details, incorrect fonts, poor printing of cockpits etc etc. Making sweeping generalisations in this department is difficult unless you do a lot of work looking at the models and comparing releases, which I actually do.

3. ALL BRANDS MAKE THE ODD BAD INDIVIDUAL MODEL
Picture
This is not that unusual
Shit happens. These models are made in Chinese factories by people earning not a lot who don’t speak English. There are regular mistakes in putting the models together often due to poor use of glue which leads to pieces like wings falling off. Add in the journey from factory to your door and if you collect lots of models you’ll be getting bits that aren’t connected quite a lot. Yes, some manufacturers are a little worse than others (Phoenix and Gemini especially) but in reality, everyone will get a model with a wing off from time to time. Get over it. Most of the noise I see on social media in this space is a bit silly and usually someone making a sweeping assertion based on one model or a couple of models of the ten or so they bought that year. It is hardly statistically useful data.


4. BRANDS SHARE FACTORIES & MOULDS ALL THE TIME
Picture
This A350 mould is used by both Gemini Jets and JC Wings
There are lots of brands and a lot less manufacturers. Even some of the big brand names like Gemini Jets get their models made for them (by JC Wings in this case). So it is silly to spend a lot of time looking at an individual brand as if it lives in isolation unless you know it does. Plus mould sharing across brands and manufacturers has been common and continues to be so. These factors really do decrease the differences between various brands substantially.

5. ALL BRANDS HAVE GOOD AND NOT SO GOOD MOULDS
Picture
Nobody is perfect. Every manufacturer has great moulds and not so great moulds. Just because say Phoenix make a great A380 it doesn't mean they make a great 737. Every mould is different and often made years apart from each other by different staff and designers. This makes it pointless to say that a brand is better across the board than another even when ignoring 1-4. Additionally moulds change a lot over time so a brand's moulds may get comparatively better or worse over time depending on what changes they and competitors have made.


6. MOSTLY YOU DON"T HAVE A CHOICE ANYWAY
Picture
Unless you collect a very specific and tiny subset of airlines, and aircraft, most of the time you simply don't have the luxury to choose, which brand you will collect. I don't understand collectors with a strong brand affiliation, it simply rarely makes any sense. Only the most common and obvious models are made by multiple brands and some with connections (Gemini and JC Wings for example) go out of their way not to compete. If you want x Airways 787 there is a passable chance you might be able to choose between Phoenix, NG Models and JC Wings / Gemini, but if you want a lot of other models forget it.


WHAT YOU SHOULD BE ASKING
What I am trying to say with 1-6 is that you can get a rubbish model from anyone and a great model from anyone and there is a good chance you don't have a choice anyway. So, nobody is really the best – whatever the fuck that means (although I admit NG Models have been impressive to date).
BUT
All of the above isn't to say that objective differences don't exist and shouldn't be used to determine your purchasing. There are certain brand characteristics that are worth understanding but they are quite general. More importantly you should stop focusing on who is making the model and start focusing on what the model is like i.e. don't compare brands compare the moulds being used.
For more read on:
WHO HAS THE BEST MOULDS FOR AN AIRCRAFT TYPE?
  • Home
    • About
    • Links
  • My Models
    • The Hangar
    • My Collection >
      • US Trunk Fleets >
        • My American Airlines Fleet
        • My Braniff Intnl Fleet
        • My Continental Fleet
        • My Delta Air Lines Fleet
        • My Eastern Air Lines Fleet
        • My National Airlines Fleet
        • My Northeast / Capital Fleet
        • My Northwest Airlines Fleet
        • My Pan Am Fleet
        • My TWA Fleet
        • My United Airlines Fleet
        • My Western Airlines Fleet
      • US Local Service Fleets >
        • My Frontier Airlines Fleet
        • My Hughes Airwest Fleet
        • My Ozark Airlines Fleet
        • My Republic Airlines Fleet
        • My Texas Int Fleet
      • US Other Fleets >
        • My Alaska Airlines Fleet
        • My Hawaiian / Aloha Fleet
        • My PSA Fleet
        • My Flying Tigers Fleet
        • My World Airways Fleet
      • UK Fleets >
        • My British Airways Fleet
      • Canadian Fleets
      • China Fleets >
        • My Cathay Pacific Fleet
      • Russian Fleet >
        • Russian Fleet Video
      • Fleet Videos >
        • US Trunk Airlines
    • Model Airports >
      • Dowse National Airport >
        • Gallery 1: Chicago c.1966
        • Gallery 2: Miami c.1970
      • Wright Field Municipal >
        • Wright Field Video Tour
      • Xin Long International
      • Imogenia Intnl 1/600 Scale
  • AV History
    • Airline History Blog
    • Airline Development >
      • CANADA >
        • Canadian Mainline
        • Canadian Charters & LCCs
        • Canadian Regionals
      • CHINA >
        • Part 1: China's Airlines Industry Blossoms 1984-2002
        • Part 2: The Big Six in the 1990s
        • The Big Three
        • Hainan Airlines Group
        • Other Chinese Airlines
      • MEXICO >
        • 1988-2005: Competition arrives
        • 2005-2014: Low cost in Mexico
        • Mexican Airline Genealogy
        • Mexicana Livery Tails
      • RUSSIA >
        • Aeroflot Group
        • S7 Airlines & AiRUnion
        • Other Russian Airlines
      • SOUTH AFRICA
      • UNITED KINGDOM >
        • BA Genealogy Pt1
        • BA Genealogy Pt2
        • BA Genealogy Pt3
        • BUIA & BUAF Genealogies
        • UK Charter Airlines Pt1
        • UK Charter Airlines Pt2
        • BEA Liveries 1946-1974
        • BOAC Liveries 1939-1974
      • UNITED STATES >
        • Trunk & Local Service Airlines >
          • American / TWA Genealogy
          • Delta / Northwest Genealogy
          • United / Continental Genealogy
          • Braniff / Eastern / US Airways Genealogy
        • Territorial Airlines
        • Intra-State Airlines
        • Supplemental Airlines
        • Deregulation Startups 1
        • Deregulation Startups 2
        • Trunk Airline Livery Changes 1959-1980
    • Liveries >
      • American Airlines Liveries
      • British Airways Liveries
      • Continental Airlines Liveries
      • Delta Air Lines Liveries
      • Eastern Air Lines Liveries
      • Landor Liveries
      • National Airlines Liveries
      • Northeast Airlines Liveries
      • Northwest Airlines Liveries
      • Pan Am Liveries
      • Trans World Airlines Liveries
      • United Airlines Liveries
      • Western Airlines Liveries
    • Real Airport Histories >
      • Albany International
      • Dallas Love Field
      • Rochester International Pt1
      • Rochester International Pt2
      • San Francisco - 1927-1959
      • San Francisco - 1959-1978
      • San Francisco - 1978-2015
      • San Jose International
      • San Jose International Pt2
    • Aviation Stickers >
      • ATR Stickers
      • A300 Stickers
      • DC-9 Stickers
      • DC-10 Stickers
  • 1:400 SCALE
    • Collecting 1:400 Scale >
      • Who Is The Best?
      • Who Has The Best Mould?
    • The History of 1:400 Scale >
      • 1:400 History 1996-2000
      • 1:400 History 2001-2008
    • 1:400 Brands >
      • Aeroclassics >
        • Generation One History
        • Gen 1 Photo Galleries >
          • BAC One-Eleven
          • Douglas DC-6
          • Douglas DC-9
          • Fairchild FH-227
          • Lockheed L-1049 Super Connie
          • Lockheed L-188 Electra
          • Vickers VC10
          • Vickers Vanguard
          • Vickers Viscount
      • AURORA Models
      • Big Bird 400 Your Craftsman
      • Black Box Models
      • Dragon Wings
      • Gemini Jets
      • Jet-X >
        • Jet-X: Part 1 2000-2006
      • MP4 & Airshop Diecast
      • Seattle Models Co (SMA)
      • Skyjets400
      • Sovereign Models
      • TucanoLine
    • Zinc Rot
  • 1:400 Moulds
    • Airbus >
      • Airbus A300
      • Airbus A310
      • Airbus A320
      • Airbus A330-200/300
      • Airbus A330-200F
      • Airbus A330 Beluga XL
      • Airbus A350-900/1000
    • Boeing >
      • Boeing B-377 Stratocruiser
      • Boeing 707-120/138/720
      • Boeing 707-320/420
      • Boeing 727-100
      • Boeing 727-200
      • Boeing 737-100/200
      • Boeing 737-300/400/500
      • Boeing 737NG >
        • P-8 Poseidon Mould Review
      • Boeing 747-100/200
      • Boeing 747SP
      • Boeing 757-200
      • Boeing 767-200
      • Boeing 767-300
      • Boeing 777-200
      • Boeing 777-300
    • British >
      • BAC One-Eleven 200-500
      • BAE-146 / Avro RJ-85-100
      • De Havilland DH-106 Comet
      • Hawker Siddeley Trident
      • Shorts 360
      • Vickers VC10
      • Vickers Viscount
    • Douglas >
      • Douglas DC-3 / C-47
      • Douglas DC-6
      • Douglas DC-7
      • Douglas DC-7C
      • Douglas DC-8-10-50
      • Douglas DC-8-60s/70s
      • Douglas DC-9-10
      • Douglas DC-9-30
      • Douglas DC-9-41/51
      • McDonnell Douglas DC-10
      • McDonnell Douglas MD-11
      • McDonnell Douglas MD-80
      • McDonnell Douglas MD-90
    • Lockheed >
      • Lockheed Constellation
      • Lockheed Super Connie
      • Lockheed L-1649 Starliner
      • Lockheed L-188 Electra
      • Lockheed L-1011 Tristar 1 / Tristar 200
      • Lockheed L-1011 Tristar 500
    • Other >
      • Convair CV-240-580
      • Convair CV-880/990
      • Curtiss C-46
      • Fairchild F-27 / Fokker F27
      • Fairchild-Hiller FH-227
      • Fokker F28/F70/F100
      • SE 210 Caravelle
    • Chinese >
      • Comac ARJ21
      • Xi'an Y-20
    • Russian >
      • Ilyushin IL-62
      • Ilyushin IL-86/IL-96
      • Tupolev TU-154B-2/M
      • Yakovlev Yak-42
  • 1:400 News
    • Model Blog
    • New Mould Samples >
      • Aviation400
      • JC Wings >
        • Boeing 747-400
      • NG Models >
        • A330-200/300
        • Airbus A330 Beluga XL
        • A350-900
        • Boeing 737-600/700/900
        • Boeing 737-800
        • Boeing B747SP
        • Comac ARJ21 - 1:200
        • Falcon 7X - 1:200
        • Gulfstream G550 - 1:200
        • Lockheed L-1011 Tristar
        • Lockeed Tristar 500
  • 1:400 Reviews
    • Detailed Mould Comparison >
      • Airbus A320neo
      • Airbus A330 Beluga XL
      • Airbus A330-900neo
      • Airbus A350-900
      • Boeing 777-300ER
    • 1:400 Model Reviews
    • Model Airliner.com Reviews
  • 1:600 SCALE
    • Schabak >
      • Schabak History 1982-2006
      • Schabak Airline Numbers
      • Schabak Wheel Variants
      • Schabak Window Variants
      • Schabak Decal Cracking
    • Schabak Moulds >
      • Airbus A300
      • Lockheed L-1011 Tristar
      • McDonnell Douglas DC-10
    • Schabak Non-airline Models
    • Silver Wings
  • Dioramas
    • As Real As It Gets 1:200
    • As Real As It Gets 1:400 >
      • Real As It Gets - Africa
      • Real As It Gets - Asia
      • Real As It Gets - China
      • Real As It Gets - Europe
      • Real As It Gets - Middle East
      • Real As It Gets - N America
      • Real As It Gets - Oceania
      • Real As It Gets - Russia
      • Real As It Gets - S America