1:400 Phoenix Atlant-Soyuz IL-96-400 review!

When I first heard about Phoenix working on the IL-96-400 mould, I was very excited. There are very few liveries they can make, but three are already available with two more on pre-order. After some hesitation about which one to get, I bought the Atlant-Soyuz which is now displayed among the other Ilyushins and Tupolevs in my collection. This is actually my first new Phoenix purchase in about two years, so lets take a look at how the quality is in 2024.

Operational history of the aircraft

First lets take a quick look at the history of this particular aircraft. The IL-96-400 is basically an IL-96M (which is a stretched IL-96-300) equipped with Russian avionics and engines. The RA-96101 was delivered in 1997 as an IL-96M, carrying four PW engines and was used as testbed. During this time it was wearing the recognizable classic Aeroflot livery. Around 2008 it was modified into a IL-96-400T, meaning the western PW engines were replaced by Russian made Aviadvigatel PS-90A1. It started operating for Atlant-Soyuz, which was a Moscow-based airline that seized cargo operations in 2010. The red-white-blue livery didn't last long, as the aircraft was painted into the colors of Polet Flight in the spring of 2009. Unfortunately this service was also for a short time, because it has been in storage at Aerodrom Pridacha since 2013. Current sattelite images on Google Maps only show a couple IL-96-300's, so it's unknown to me whether it's moved or scrapped.

Review

As usual there are 6 parts that will be given between 1 and 10 points, 1 being the lowest and 10 being perfect. In the end the average of these scores will be the final score.

Accuracy of colors

The colors are simple as they represent the red-white-blue from the Russian flag. On some pictures the blue color seems a little more faded (and thus lighter), but to me the model shows what it looked like with fresh paint, so no reason to deduct any points.

Score: 10 / 10

Livery

The livery containts a red belly at the front with the blue color taking over towards the rear. The front half of the engines are blue, the wingtips red and the tail represents the Russian flag.

Phoenix did a great job here as I can't find any major issues. Something you could notice is that the blue and red color seperate exactly at the wingjoint while on the real thing the red color should be lower at this point. However, I think this is because the wingbox of the mould is not fat enough, meaning you can't really fix it in the arwork without compromising somewhere else.

The only clear issue I could find is the blue color being too close to the horizontal stabilizers. Everything else is pretty much perfect.

Score: 9,5 / 10

Logos, titles and stickers

There are some complex titles and logos. The Atlant-Soyuz titles at the front are in English on one side of the fuselage and Russian on the other side. The "ATLANT-SOYUZ" text and logo are very well done, but the smaller red titles should be fatter and a little more darker. The sticker with the horse is very detailled and Phoenix replicated it nicely. The Russian flag has the grey shade behind it, which has a very slight offset to the top-right.

Near the cockpit there are "Ilyushin Finance Co." titles, again in English on one side and Russian on the other. All letters should be capitalized, so a minor issue there. The IL96-400T text is accurate, being written as "IL96·400T".

The registration can be found on the top and bottom of the wings and the rear of the fuselage. The font and positioning are both good.

Score: 9 / 10

Other details

The IL-96-400T has one aerial at the front and a small bump in the middle. Phoenix printed the latter, which in my opinion is fine. The cargodoor could have had one or two additional details as it looks a little empty now, but overall there is plenty of detailling on the fuselage and engines with nothing to complain about. Phoenix is relatively cheap (here in Europe at least), showing that you don't need to pay premium prices to get nice detailling.

There is some detailling on the top of the wings, which I assume is similar to the "NO STEP" markings you see on other aircraft. I couldn't find a picture of the Atlant-Soyuz livery that has these, but here: https://imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/6/4/3/1574346.jpg?v=v40you you can see the RA-96101 that clearly shows the marking being on the front side, not the rear.

Score: 9 / 10

Paint and printing QC

Overall the paint looks good, some tiny smudges here and there but nothing really bad. The only noticable issue is the front door being a little messy, which is something I missed when checking the model at the store.

Score: 9 / 10

Mould QC

Being a brand "new" mould there shouldn't be any major issues and this is indeed the case for this model. No noticable gaps or assymetricly placed parts. The main landing gear points inwards a little and some wheels are too far apart (I can't push them closer). Overall I'm satisfied with the QC.

Score: 9 / 10

Conclusion

The total score is 55,5 / 6 = 9.3, which is the second highest of my reviews so far. Despite looking like a simple livery, Phoenix did a good job with replicating the more difficult elements. I'm also very happy that they made this mould; not only because I like Ilyushins, but also because it shows that manufacturers are willing to invest in moulds that have very few options to release and that they actually use it. NG and JC/GJ should take notes, as they seem to forget about half of their mould catalogue.