THE DIECAST FLIER - FIRST ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION
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ISSUE 7 | APRIL/MAY 2018
SAN FRANCISCO AIRPORT 1937-1949
AIRPORT SPOTLIGHT F.L.O. AIRPORT
MODEL REVIEWS... GEMINIJETS ALASKA ERJ-175 NG MODELS AIR CHINA B757F GEMINIJETS LUFTHANSA A350-900 INFLIGHT200 IRON MAIDEN B747-400
AMSTERDAM AVIATION COLLECTORS FAIR 2018 REVIEW ALL THE LATEST RELEASES IN ALL SCALES THE ONLY MAGAZINE DEDICATED TO MODEL AIRLINER COLLECTORS
LATEST RELEASES PHOENIX 1/400
MARCH 2018 RELEASES Thai B777-200ER HS-TJV Boeing B777-200LR Blue House Livery N60659 Boeing B777-200LR Blue House Livery N6066Z Boeing B777-200LR “Zhenghe” N6066Z PIA A330-300 New Livery 4R-ALN Korean Air B748-I HL7644 EVA Air MD-11 ANK Joint Livery B-16101
EVA Air MD-11 Old Livery B-16102 EVA Air CARGO MD-11F B-16112 El Al B787-9 4X-EDA JAL B777-300ER “PGA Tour Champions” JA731J JAL B777-300ER JA741J Korean Air A330-200 “Pyeong Chang 2018” HL8227
PHOENIX 1/200
MARCH 2018 RELEASES Korean Air A330-200 “Pyeong Chang 2018” HL8227
PHOENIX 1/400 APRIL 2018 RELEASES
Etihad A380-800 “Louvre Abu Dhabi” A6-API Etihad A380-800 “TMALL” A6-APE Virgin Atlantic A340-600 “A Big Thank You” G-VNAP Xiamen Airlines B787-9 “UN GOAL” B-1356
Hainan Airlines B787-9 Gold, Panda B-1343 Hainan Airlines B787-9 Gold, Panda, Skytrax B-1343 ANA B777-200ER “Hello 2020 Jet” JA741A
PHOENIX 1/200 APRIL 2018 RELEASES
Thai B787-9 HS-TWA Etihad A330-200 HAPPY 11,11 A6-EYD Virgin Atlantic A340-600 “A Big Thank You” G-VNAP Etihad A330-200 "TMALL", English A6-EYH ANA B777-200ER “Hello 2020 Jet” JA741A
ARD 1/200
FEBRUARY 2018 RELEASES BEA De Havilland DH-106 Comet 4B G-APMF Swissair Sud SE-210 Caravelle III HB-ICS POLISHED KLM Boeing 747-200 PH-BUB “Donau”
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MODEL AIRLINER MAGAZINE SPECIAL FEATURE
SAN FRANCISCO AIRPORT 1937-1949
Article and Photos by Andy T. Payne
Not too many dioramas can claim to model a real location with two terminals, 4 hangars, and a cargo space in less than 3 square feet. Fortunately, I found one such example existed around 80 years ago... Meet San Francisco Airport. In a small 2 ½ square feet is the terminal and maintenance area of land based aircraft between 1937 and 1949 in the scale of 1:400. Pan American had their own separate terminal near Seaplane Harbor, but I’ve taken the liberty of merging it with the land plane terminal. History What is now today San Francisco International Airport was originally called, in 1927, Mills Field Municipal Airport of San Francisco, and later renamed in 1930 San Francisco Airport. Early growth for the airfield was slow and unsteady, but by the mid-1930s it had secured daily scheduled flights and traffic was growing steadily. The original administration building, which also functioned as a terminal, was replaced in 1937 by a Spanish Colonial Revival terminal funded by the Public Works Administration. For a few years, the administration buildings sat alongside each other, which is specifically represented in the dio-
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rama. During the Second World War, San Francisco Airport became a USAAF training center, but also served carriers bumped from Oakland, and of course its own flights. Before the war was ended, the tower was renovated with an angular window setup and a new interior.
As for the original airport, Hangar 1 burned down in 1955 taking a Southwest Airways Martin 202 with it. After serving as the executive terminal, the 1937 Administration met its end in the latter half of the 1960s, along with the rest of the hangars.
In the late 1940s, traffic began to be measured in the millions and it became apparent that it was necessary to increase the apron. By 1949, two piers were added to the terminal, which is the ending of my diorama’s time-frame. Eventually this expansion was inefficient and a completely new Central Terminal (now Terminal 2) opened in 1954.
ISSUE 7 | APRIL/MAY 2018 | 11
THE DIECAST FLIER'S FIRST 1/400 SCALE REVIEW
Lufthansa Airbus A350-900 [D-AIXA] GeminiJets 1/400
Article and Photos by Richard Stretton
The Diecast Flier's First for the basis of my first Diecast Flier re1/400 scale review was writ- view. Let’s get started… ten by Richard Stretton and THE REAL THING featured Lufthansa A350-900 release by GeminiJets. Lufthansa took delivery of their first A350The A350 Counts to 10: Lufthansa Gemini Jets A350-900 Welcome to the first of hopefully many model reviews partnering Yesterday’s Airlines with “The Diecast Flier”. In these reviews I will do something that until now I’ve avoided – reviewing individual models rather than the model moulds or the history of airline operations. There’ll still be some of the latter two areas in these reviews but this new partnership gives me the opportunity to take a closer look at models that I often wouldn’t usually purchase. As those of you who are familiar with my site and collecting habits already probably know I don’t buy many Gemini Jets anymore – in fact of the 226 models I have purchased in 2015 and 2016 only two have been GeminiJets. That isn’t to say that Gemini don’t make great models, they do – sometimes. In general though Gemini’s output of mainstream modern airlines and airliners rarely fits my collecting criteria. However in this review I’ll be looking at both a mainstream airline and modern airliner in the form of GeminiJets recent 1/400 scale release of the new Lufthansa Airbus A350-900 D-AIXA. My wife is half German so this is a rather fitting release 14
900, D-AIXA, on December 19, 2016 and was the second European operator to do so (after Finnair) and the tenth A350 operator globally. The frame, cn 74, had first flown on November 29 as F-WZNC. Lufthansa’s order for A350s covered 25 A350-900s with seven to be delivered this year. Lufthansa’s A350s are fitted in a 293 seat configuration with 48 Business, 21 Premium economy and 224 Economy class seats. Though delivered in December Lufthansa Technik is fitting out Lufthansa’s A350s with premium economy seats and other features such as a self-service area for business class passengers. This delayed service entry of the first aircraft on long-haul routes until February 10, when D-AIXA was used on the Munich-Delhi route as flight 762. The first ten of the 25 A350s will be based at Munich, replacing A340-600s. Lufthansa actually slipped in the type’s first commercial service on February 9th, operating LH350 – a roundtrip between Munich and Hamburg, where Airbuses’ Finkenwerder plant is located. The first ten A350s will all be in service by the end of 2018 with deliveries of all 25 not complete until the end of the first quarter of 2023. This is a fairly leisurely schedule but no doubt takes into account Lufthansa’s tentative restructuring of recent years and the pushback it has
received from staff, especially the pilot union. The second Lufthansa A350 is scheduled to enter service on March 14 flying between Munich and Boston. It’s a shame to see twinjets replacing quads but Lufthansa’s simple but stylish scheme is worn well by the A350, which in my opinion is a much more attractive jet than the 787.
THE MODEL The format for my reviews is to split them into three key areas: • The mould of the aircraft • The paint and livery • Printing and quality control Each can get a maximum score of 10 for a section giving a maximum combined total score of 30.
THE MOULD First things first, as with most of Gemini Jets mould back catalogue this is really a JC Wings mould. In fact as far as the two brands go nowadays they are effectively interchangeable since GeminiJets are made in the JC Wings factory. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing since combining both manufacturers back catalogues gives a huge range of moulds which can be used and JC Wings seems to spend a lot of money upgrading the moulds too. Putting them together is another issue but we’ll discuss that in the quality section. This A350 mould is as you’d expect fairly recent and I think it is superb. The nose beneath the cockpit may not be 100% perfectly shaped but it’s really very close and leagues ahead of many of the moulds available for other types in 1/400 (I’m thinking Phoenix A300/A320/737/747400s, Gemini A330/A380/737/747-400s). The undercarriage is correctly scaled, delicate and finely made, with excellent legs and correctly sized tyres. This contrasts with the Phoenix mould, which has seemingly oversized gear legs and tyres. The engines are well off the ground and tightly fitted to the pylons – again superior to the huge ground huggers on the Phoenix mould, which literally are touching the ground on some releases. I hadn’t noticed before that the engines are hollow,
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with beautifully defined fan blades fitted, meaning you can see all the way through them – a nice touch. The aerials and satnav dome are well sized and tightly fitted. If only Gemini and JC Wings could do this kind of thing with their narrowbody moulds, which are too often fitted with oversized gears and antennae. On the minus side the engine exhaust cones are not the correct shape – more on these later. There are a few other small compromises which may annoy some and a comparison with the Phoenix A350 shows the different choices the manufacturers have made. The JC Wings / Gemini A350 comes fitted with only two of the five antennae. It is missing the two underbelly ones and the most rearward. They are very small and I can understand the omission, however they are fitted to the Phoenix mould. In addition the small mid-length fuselage top comms bumps are only outlined and not elevated out of the fuselage as on the Phoenix. Personally I prefer the overall mould look to be better and there’s no point in favouring a mould which may have extra details but fails to get major things correct. As such I much prefer this JC Wings / GeminiJets mould to the Phoenix, which in fact I steer clear of. Having said that the engine issues and lack of some aerials keep this from elevating to true greatness. SCORE – 9
PAINT & LIVERY Lufthansa is very conservative when it comes to its livery, despite the relatively radical shakeup of its business model over recent years. It’s a simple Euro-white scheme but it looks good on almost anything (perhaps it wouldn’t look good on a Deux-Ponts!). So it really ought to be dead easy for our model manufacturers to get this scheme correct since it’s mainly a deep blue tail, plus logo, simple Helvetica blue titles and a grey belly. That
didn’t stop Phoenix recently bungling their Lufthansa A340-600, which had a very dark grey belly, but how have Gemini done? According to Lufthansa themselves (see here) these are the correct colours for their scheme: Yellow (Pantone 1235) Blue (Pantone 2766) Pantone Cool Gray 4-11 Now I have to admit colour is not my strongpoint but comparing the model to these I haven’t got any complaints. Gemini has made 28 Lufthansa models in 1/400 so you’d expect them to How’s the white base? Without other Lufthansa models to compare to its hard to say, but neither me or my Mrs. could determine any difference between the wing tops and fuselage so at least it’s uniform. It may be a bit too dull, but it doesn’t really bother me – though it might if I had a full LH fleet. One area where the colour definitely isn’t correct is the engine exhaust cones. A deep blue on the real thing they are silver on this release. Engine component colours are a common error point in this scale but this one is quite obvious. Another place where components aren’t correctly coloured is the undercarriage legs and hubs. They should be silver but are light grey. Again not idea. There is another livery area where the model isn’t perfect too. The extremely fine Lufthansa logo on the inner and outer side of the winglets is well rendered but oriented incorrectly. The crane is pointing noseward at about an 11 o’clock angle compared to the real thing which is more like 9 o’clock. SCORE – 7
ISSUE 7 | APRIL/MAY 2018 | 15
THE DIECAST FLIER'S FIRST 1/200 SCALE REVIEW
Ed Force One Boeing 747-400 [TF-AAK] Inflight200
TF-AAK is a Boeing 747-400 that was originally delivered to Air France in March of 2003 as F-GITH. It flew with Air France until storage in 2015, when Air Atlanta Icelandic acquired the airframe and it entered service in early 2016. Up until this point, the plane lived a normal life as a commercial wide body airliner flying aroundthe world. However that would soon change when it became a flying tour plane. The infamous rock band, Iron Maiden, led by Bruce Dickinson, chartered the airplane for their Book of Souls World Tour in 2016. The tour spanned 35 countries and Dickinson, who is a commercial airline pilot himself, would pilot the plane. The plane was christened as Ed Force One to honor Dickinson and his aviation accomplishments, as well as the band’s mascot Eddie. Inflight200 models are considered to be some of the best in the industry with their excellent molds, graphics, and impeccable attention to detail. This limited edition of the Inflight200 model of Ed Force One is no exception to these high standards produced by Inflight. The first thing you will notice about this model, is its size and weight. The model is 13.75” long with a wingspan of 13”, and is made from solid die-cast metal. It comes neatly packaged in a Styrofoam box, with a cardboard sleeve that covers the box. Included with the model, is a sharp looking, solidly built stand, that requires some assembly and landing gear pieces. The landing gear on this model is in the fixed position, unlike some of the other brands 30
Article and Photos by Cyrus Cambata
and model types that allow the gear to be interchanged from inflight configuration, to a landing or ground configuration. This is an option that would later change in the Inflight line up, as its newest 747s have the magnetic gear and gear doors to interchange between the two configurations. I like this detail as its gives the model a whole new look with the gear in the retracted position.
Let's get down to the model... The overall mold of the Boeing 747 shows great workmanship and attention to detail. Inflight200 is known for their superior molds, and the 747 is no doubt, one of the best on the market for die-cast aircraft collectors. Inflight200 has perfected many aspects of the 747, including the famed 747 nose. That iconic symbol of the 747 from the cockpit section, down to the nose, is a thing of beauty on this model. Inflight has definetely gotten it
model. Inflight has definitely gotten this
right with the 747 model. Other manufacturers either have a nose that is too stubby, or often times droopy just below the cockpit section. The wing and fuselage meet in the center with little signs of manufacturing. There is a slight gap between the body and wing assembly underneath the second emergency exit door on the main level, but it is subtle enough and blends nicely with the contours of the overall airframe. It really is hard to come across any flaws with this mold.
The painting and livery of this model are also excellent and true to the original form. The Iron Maiden font and size cut nicely through the windows on the upper deck and the promotional logos and names of the tour cities are perfectly placed. The fine detail that went into the promotional logos, engine decals and tail proves that a lot of thought and planning went into this model. The level of detail overall is incredible as well, going all the way down to the red warning stripes on the lower fuselage antennas. The overall craftsmanship of the model is excellent, as previously stated in this review. It really is hard to find any flaws with this model. The overall quality of both the model, packaging and box is top notch. My only complaint about the packaging would be the cardboard sleeve that goes over the Styrofoam box which has a tendency of being a tight fit. Over time, repetitive removal from the box could lead to wear and tear, especially around the edges. That is, however, a relatively minor detail considering all aspects of this model.
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Grading: I will be grading this model as well as future reviews based on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being flawless and 1 needing lots of work. Items I will be grading include, the overall mold and design of the frame, the paint and livery and printing and quality control. A perfect model will receive a score of 30 points. Inflight has shown they really have the mold on their 747 line up down to perfection. It will get a perfect 10 from me. The paint and decal process on this model were excellent as and I will assess a solid 9 out of 10 for the fine craftsmanship shown by Inflight. The quality control and printing of this model will get another solid 9 from me. So with that being said, this Ed Force One, Inflight200 model will get an impressive score of 28 out of 30.
ISSUE 7 | APRIL/MAY 2018 | 31