Many moons ago my mother-in-law, who is responsible for having kickstarted my ANA/Japanese collection, gave me an ANA L1011-1 in the Mohican livery by Blue Box (JA8515). When this happened Blue Box L1011s were already somewhat hard-to-find. However, when I was asked what model I would like from Japan, I decided to try my luck and half-jokingly requested the exotic livery/type combo. Much to my surprise, the model showed up a few months later inside a care package.
Fast forward a decade and some change and a new manufacturer, NG Models, is in business and producing the best L1011s that 1:400 scale has ever seen. An updated version of the ANA Mohican was released by them (JA8501), but I initially passed on it because I already had the Blue Box one, and I had other model priorities at the time. But about a year after its release, I paid a visit to ARD and there was one left on their shelves. By then the model had become sold out in most U.S. retailers (I looked from time to time) so I decided it was time to pull the trigger. And that’s how the old and new generation of Mohican L1011s in 1:400 met, and now happily sit next to each other on my Asian shelf.
While I was unpacking the NG one, I also reorganized the shelf to make space for some new additions. So I took the opportunity to photograph both of them. Obviously, the NG mould is much more refined, but I have to say that they are both pretty good overall! Check them out:
Jorge A. Zajia
