In part 2 of this beginner series I will talk about sharing content. Some people are happy with just displaying their models in a cabinet, but there are many ways to share pictures and videos of your models with other people online. In this article I will mention the most popular options. Social media Probably the most used platform is social media. On Instagram and Facebook you can find endless pictures and posts from people with all kinds of collections. Instagram is used a lot by people who like sharing pictures and short videos. I myself post there too and it's a great way to see what other collectors have and how they display their models. On Facebook you will find lots of groups, some with thousands of members. In my opinion Facebook is much better if you want to discuss something, ask for advice or buy/trade models. There are dedicated groups for buying/selling/trading, scale or brands. I'm pretty sure some people are on Tiktok too, but I am not so I have no idea how much it's used. Forums Another way to communicate with your fellow collectors is via forums. These forums are a great way to discuss models and stay updated with the latest releases. If you want to dig into the history of diecast collecting, these forums will have all the information you need. Each had their own moments of controversial and heated discussions, but I will not discuss them here as you can read everything yourself. The most well-known are: Model Airliner Forum (MAF) The newest diecast aircraft forum, started in October 2022. Nowadays probably the most active forum aswell. 400scalehangar (400SH) Home of the exclusive Hangar Club releases and the only place where Aeroclassics hints are (legally) posted. Other brands are discussed too, but not as much. Diecast Aircraft Forum (DAC) With 1,3 million posts and over 31.000 members it is (or was) by far the most used forum. These days it's not even close to what it once was unfortunately. There is also Wings900 and DIMA, of which the latter has an incredible database with almost all models ever made. Your own website or Youtube channel Some people created their own channels, like a Youtube channel or a website like this one. They often use it to showcase models or write reviews. I am not collaborating with anyone except Yankeevictor400, so I will not name specific channels or websites, but if you search on Facebook and the forums, you will find them easily. Other options Apart from everything mentioned above, there are also Discord groups. For those who don't know, Discord is a mix of Facebook and Skype: you can (video)call and discuss things in groupchats. An honorable mention is that some people are so dedicated to their work, that they publish their content in a book. You can often find these people at collector fairs. What is the best for me? If you simply want to share pictures and see what other people post, go on Instagram. If you want to have everything in one place, Facebook is probably the place for you. Don't want the recommendations and ads that Facebook throws at you? Join the forums. If you want to post articles and videos in your own style and have full control, then you're better off creating a website or Youtube channel. In part 3 of this series I will talk about the manufacturers and brands in the diecast aircraft world. Want to know where and how to sell models and what their value are? Then stay tuned for part 4. - Mark Retrohangar Diecast on Instagram Mark22 on MAF, 400SH and DAC Want to collaborate or let me review your product? Send me a message via the channels mentioned above!

All the 1:400 releases & announcements of the month in one place What got announced for May 2023: Aeroclassics/BlueBox: 1. Air Cal Boeing 737-200 N406AC 2. Air Deccan Airbus A320 VT-ADW 3. Air Inuit Boeing 737-200 C-GMAI 4. Air Malta Boeing 737-200 9H-ABA 5. Air New Zealand Boeing 767-200 ZK-NBC (Pacific Wave c/s) 6. Alaska airlines Airbus A320 N853VA 7. Federal Express Boeing 727-200 N219FE (Purple top c/s) 8. Vietnam airlines Boeing 767-200 VH-RMA 9. Volaris Airbus A320 XA-VOM “Sara” 10. American Airlines Boeing 737-200 N462AC (Air Cal c/s) – Blue Box release. GeminiJets 11. Air New Zealand Airbus A321 Neo ZK-OYB (Star Alliance c/s) 12. Azul Airbus A321 Neo PR-YJE (Brazilian flag c/s) 13. Delta Air Lines Airbus Boeing 737-800 N346H (World Champion Atlanta Braves nose logo) 14. Flair Airlines Boeing 737-MAX8 C-FLKD 15. ITA Airways Airbus A330-200 EI-EJP 16. JetBlue Airbus A220-300 N3044J 17. Republic Airways Embraer E-175 N402YX (Republic 2020s Corporate Image c/s) 18. Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-MAX8 N871HK “The Herb D. Kelleher” (Desert Gold retro c/s) 19. Trump Boeing 757-200 N757AF (U.S. Flag on tail) GeminiMACS 20. Royal Australian Air Force Boeing E-7A (737-700 AEW&C) A30-001 21. U.S. Air Force Boeing B-1B Lancer 86-0140 (Dyess AFB) NG Models 22. Chrono Aviation Boeing 737-800BCF C-GVZB 23. Copa Airlines Boeing 737-800 HP-1830CMP (Star Alliance c/s) 24. Air China Boeing 737-800 B-5425 (Star Alliance c/s) 25. Air China Boeing 737-800 B-5497 (Star Alliance c/s) 26. Ryanair Boeing 737-800 EI-DLF 27. British Airways Boeing 777-300ER. G-STBF (fantasy with Landor c/s and RR engines) 28. Garuda Indonesia Boeing 777-300ER PK-GII (Sky Team c/s) 29. Jetstar Airbus A320 VH-VFY 30. Air Transat Airbus A321 Neo C-GOJC (Pride c/s) 31. Spirit Airlines Airbus A321 Neo N720NK 32. Aerolíneas Argentinas Airbus A330-200 LV-FVH (Argentina National Football Team c/s) 33. Shenzhen Airlines Airbus A330-300 B-1017 (Shenzhen City c/s) 34. Shenzhen Airlines Airbus A330-300 B-303N 35. Starlux Airbus A350-900 B-58503 36. Pan American World Airways Lockheed L1011-500 “Clipper Northern Eagle” N507PA Phoenix Models 37. Air China Boeing 747-8I B-2481 38. Air China Boeing 747-8I B-2487 39. Canadian Airlines International Boeing 767-300ER C-FCAB 40. Cubana Tupolev TU-154B CU-T1256 (last c/s) 41. HK Express Airbus A321neo B-KKA 42. ITA Airways Airbus A350-900XWB EI-IFF (Monza 100 logo) 43. Japan Airlines Airbus A350-1000XWB JA01WJ 44. Lufthansa Airbus A380-800 D-AIMA 45. Lufthansa Airbus A380-800 D-AIMA (“Danke! Thank you” titles) 46. Lufthansa Boeing 747-8I D-ABTU (old c/s) 47. Qantas Boeing 747-200 VH-ECC 48. SF Airlines Boeing 767-300ER B-222D 49. Silkway Cargo Boeing 747-8F VQ-BVB 50. Thai Airways Boeing 777-200ER HS-TJT 51. Thai Airways Boeing 777-200ER HS-TJW 52. Turkish Airways Airbus A350-900XWB TC-LGH (400th Aircraft logo) Look Back To put things in perspective, let’s look at how May 2023 compares to some recent key months in terms of releases and announcements by the main brands of 1:400 scale aircraft models. The previous month, April 2023, included 105 announcements. Interestingly, it included announcements from JC Wings, Panda, BigBird and Aviation400, which do not do regular monthly announcements. This might explain the unusually high number of announcements, even for these times that are characterized by NGs high output, and in spite of the GeminiJets/MACS 400 offering for April 2023 only including a total of three models due to their release of the 1:200 AN-225, which according to sources took up more shipping space than usual. March 2023 included 92 announcements. The GeminiJets announcement was combined with the February 2023 announcement, and JC Wings made two announcements during the month, one at the beginning and another one towards the end (The latter was labeled as a late March/early April announcement). It is worth noting that many of the JC Wings announcements will join their extensive list of models to be released long-term (we are talking up to more than a year potentially). We can see that May 2023 saw a decrease in the number of 1:400 models announced compared to the previous months. This is in part due to NG cutting back their output to catch up with a backlog of models from the previous heavily loaded months. A year ago, May 2022 saw a total of 78 models announced, including 60 from all four regulars (Aeroclassics, GeminiJets, Phoenix and NG), and 18 from JC Wings, all of which seem to have already hit the stores. What’s Hitting the Stores: May 2023 Aeroclassics. May 2023 GJs. April 2023 Phoenixes. Some March 2023 NGs, some April 2023 NGs, NGs delayed from February 2023. Some March 2023 JCs. Crowd Pleasers - NG Cathay Pacific L1011-1 VR-HHK (Lettuce sandwich c/s) February 2023 - JC Wings United Airlines 747-400 N183UA (Saul Bass, flaps up and down versions) March 2023 - NG Iberia L1011-1 TF-ABM April 2023 - Aeroclassics Federal Express 727-200 N219FE (purpletop c/s) May 2023 Other Scales 1:200 scale seems to be going through a prolific era with Gemini200 having recently released three new molds (AN-225, AN-124, and C-5), plus a future one announced by Elliot Epstein in a recent interview (767-400). NG Models have also recently unveiled the samples of what is their first airliner in 200 scale (757-200). At the same time, InFlight200 and associated brands and collaborators, such as ARD and El Aviador, are on a roll with a continuous stream of announcements that include many contemporary classics that are highly sought after in 400 scale, as well as some subjects that don’t even exist in 400 scale but rank high on many wish lists. Finally, JC Wings has recently announced two interactive 1:200 freighters: MD-11 and 767-300. Gemini200 has already announced an interactive MD-11 for June (GJ June 1:400 releases to be included in the next month’s wrap-up). Outlook (to be discussed next month) We already know about one of the highlights of June 2023! The GeminiJets brand new 767-400 mold in 1:400 scale! Their June announcement was made on May 14th and included a Delta Air Lines 767-400 in the Ron Allen livery. NG hints for the June announcements include their first 747-8s (One is a fantasy BOAC 748). And just as we close the month JC Wings dropped their June announcement. Interestingly, their set includes yet another fantasy British aircraft (British Airways 748 in the Landor c/s). Share on social www.yankeevictor400.com This email was created with Wix.‌ Discover More

With the various brands releasing diecast aircraft and the many different kind of collections, it may be difficult to know where to start your own collection. This guide will hopefully help you to make the correct decisions. In the first part I will talk about the most important thing: what models do I buy and where can I find them? Note: this guide is mostly about civil aircraft. Step 1: decide what you want to collect First you have to decide where your interest lie. Do you want to buy models of aircraft that you've flown in real life? Collect a certain airline? Or perhaps dig into the history of aviation and go for retro models? No matter what you look for, there is something for everyone. It is important to make clear what you want before putting all your hard earned money in this hobby, as otherwise you may regret your decision later and end up selling your entire collection because you lost interest. Still not sure what your collecting criteria are? Visit a physical store or look at websites like eBay to get an idea of what's available. There are also aviation fairs around the world where you can buy/trade models and meet lots of people. In the first part of this series I will not go into detail about the different brands, as in my opinion it is not so important when starting out. Step 2: choose the scale Another very important part of this hobby is scale. For civil aircraft the most prominent scales are 1/200, 1/400 and 1/500, but you also have a small amount of 1/250, 1/300, 1/600 and even 1/1000. In this article I will summarize the most popular ones, please keep in mind that the mentioned prices are estimated for retailers in the EU, it may be different in other parts of the world. 1/200 is the biggest scale of the three. They are the most detailled (not always though) but also the most expensive. A brandnew narrowbody costs around €60-90 ($65-98), a widebody €120-180 ($130-195). To find out how large a model is, simply devide the dimensions of the real aircraft (Google will help you) by 200. For example: a 747-400 is 71 meters long, so 7100 cm / 200 = 36 cm. 1/400 is probably the most popular scale. They are much smaller and cheaper than 1/200, but still very detailled. A new release costs around €45 ($49) for a narrowbody and €50-60 ($55-65) for a widebody. The scale is twice as small, meaning that a 747-400 is about 18cm long. 1/500 is the smallest scale that is still actively produced. Although popularity has dropped, they are still made by Herpa, which have a great variety of moulds in this small scale. They are not as detailled as the other scales, but if you're on a budget or have very little space, it might be the best option. New models cost on average €30-40 ($32-43), the length of a 747-400 is 14cm long. Step 3: you have made a decision, but where to buy? After completing step 1 and 2 you are ready to buy your first diecast model. But where can you get them? Luckily there are many online retailers these days, which means it has become very easy to see what's available. It's highly recommended to buy new models from physical stores, so you can check the condition beforehand. Just because a model is new in box, doesn't always mean it comes without issues. The diecast aircraft models as we know them today have been around for over two decades, meaning that most models in existence can only be bought secondhand. Some (online) stores buy collections and resell them, meaning you can find a very rare model without having to bid against other people. Another very popular option is eBay. Here you can find thousands of models in any scale from all around the world. With some luck you get a great deal, but lots of sellers ask crazy prices with the hope that someone will buy it. If you don't know what a model is worth; look for sold listings, but remember that one tiny difference can make a huge difference in it's value. In the end, a model is worth whatever you're willing to pay for it. Other options are auction/secondhand websites in your own country, Facebook groups and forums. There are many Facebook groups about diecast aircraft, some are dedicated to selling and trading. Be aware though that there are lots of scammers. If you don't fully trust a seller: stay away or at least use the Goods & Services option with Paypal. Step 4: enjoy your models! Congratulations! You just bought your first model. Now it's up to you what to do next. Display it in a cabinet, build an airport diorama, post pictures on Instagram, etc. One final thing is that the box and cradle are very important. Without it you will have a much harder time selling your models and the value decreases by around 50%. In part 2 of this series I will talk about where you can share your content with other collectors. Want to know which brand is best for you? Stay tuned as I will discuss it in part 3. - Mark Retrohangar Diecast on Instagram Mark22 on MAF, 400SH, DAC and DIMA Want to collaborate or let me review your product? Send me a message via the channels mentioned above! All pictures are mine (unless stated otherwise) and may not be used without my permission! PNG icons from Flaticon.com

As with almost every current special livery, just about every manufacturer with the mold will rush to put out their version in hopes of to capture a portion of the market. With Argentina winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup we got to see one of the country's flag carriers A332, LV-FVH, wear a special livery to celebrate this historic event. Three manufacturers announced the release of the model in 1:400 scale shortly after the World Cup final: Phoenix Models, NG Models, and JC Wings. Each one of those manufacturers is living up to their respective stereotypes with their releases. Phoenix Models, a highly experienced manufacturer known for not caring too much about ultra-perfectionism, were the first ones to get their version to the stores. It wasn't a bad model by any means, though it came with some minor drawbacks as a result of their mold lacking precision in some areas. Then we had NG Models, who took their sweet time with theirs but ended up putting out a rather refined product. And then in the best JC Wings fashion, we are still waiting to see their product. Luckily for them, Argentineans are going to be celebrating their victory until they win again (however many years it might take), so I think there will be a market for this model for years to come, extending beyond aviation enthusiasts. How does Phoenix's compare to NG's? Let's start by looking at some photos of the models. The following pictures were taken months apart, shortly after each model was delivered to my residence: Now let's look at some comparison shots. And now we start to have something to say. While the artwork of the vertical fin is clearly different between the two models, I find it similar in terms of quality, and I think they both could look a lot sharper. See the image of the real airplane below for comparison. Other printed details and the shape of the tail cone seem better on the NG version. Phoenix's window line and doors also are shifted upwards a tad (see the picture prior to the last one above to compare Phoenix's aft port fuselage with the real aircraft below). On the Phoenix example, the skin tone of the players gathered below the registration looks warm and rich, whereas NG's rendition looks cool and opaque. The artwork on the real aircraft is somewhere in between, looks like NG might be closer, though I like Phoenix's richer colors better. One of the most criticized aspects of the Phoenix A330 mold is the size of the horizontal stabilizer. The photo below shows that in fact, Phoenix's horizontal stab is too wide. Or is NG's too short? Keep reading and you'll find out that Phoenix is likely in the wrong here. On the forward area of the fuselage, it is NG's turn to shift some artwork elements upwards. The AFA coat of arms is touching part of the grey stripe on top, whereas the static ports on the bottom are too high above it. NG also missed the reg on top of the right wing (reference). Phoenix also included some antennas and masts on the bottom aft fuselage that are present on the real aircraft, but missing on the NG example. The finishes are different, Phoenix being shinier, while the NG version has more of a matte tone. Neither one seems to be particularly realistic, but I find NG's finish more pleasant to the eye. Colorwise, the Phoenix example has a slightly darker tone. NG brighter finish brings the livery colors closer to the real aircraft. It is a subtle difference though, the Phoenix example also looks generally accurate in terms of livery colors. The profile view below also shows that Phoenix's nose landing gear doors are grossly oversized. NG's main gear door detailing is so subtle that it is almost invisible. Phoenix's gear door detailing is dark and well-defined. I noticed that the nose gear on the Phoenix example seemed slightly aft (using passenger doors as reference), while the mains seemed a bit forward (in relation to the engine exhaust pipe). I confirmed my observation as seen in the image below. After the initial broad comparison of the two models side by side, I found enough differences between the two molds that I decided to investigate a bit further. I remembered a technique used by a well-known collector on the forums (username Phantom), which consists of placing the models on top of a printed diagram of the aircraft sized to match the scale. Unfortunately, I struggled to find easily available blueprints of the A330-200 online that matched perfectly Airbus's published official dimensions. The wingspan on the blueprints below came out shorter than what Airbus claims it to be, aside from that, NG's horizontal stabilizer matched the blueprint perfectly (4.8 cm), as did the distance between the main and nose landing gear hubs (5.46 cm). The wings will need further research to get sorted out. At any rate, the NG mould does seem to have a definite edge over Phoenix's. Last but not least, the boxes. This alone might be good enough of a reason for hardcore Argentinean football fans to get both models. I personally think both of their artworks look a bit rushed. I like NG's box design slightly better. Conclusion Both models are a fairly accurate representation of LV-FVH in 1:400 scale. NG did a better job than Phoenix in refining the main elements of the mold, but Phoenix did better in including all of the small antennas and masts. NG omitted the reg. on top of the wing, but their finish looks slightly better. Both of them slightly misplaced some artwork elements, but in general, did a good job. Some people might prefer NG's refined mold, whereas others might favor Phoenix's details. If I was to keep one, I'd probably keep the NG version as the overwing reg can be added with a decal, and the lack of some antennas on the lower fuselage don't bother me as much as the oversized nose landing gear doors of the Phoenix example. As things are though, the Phoenix version is sold out at most prominent online retailers, whereas the NG one is still widely available. I personally think Phoenix deserves some credit here as they were able to put their product out in collector's hands only a few months after the World Cup final, when the heat was still on. With releases associated with historical events like this one, timeliness does play an important role. The NG version is objectively better, but not by much. Was it worth the wait? The answer to that question would be personal. Jorge A. Zajia

A well discussed topic these days is the monthly NG releases. Especially the number of models in each release and the amount of duplicate liveries spark some discussion. Some people say NG is "flooding the market", but how much of this is true? How big were the monthly releases from other manufacturers back in the day? And is NG the only brand drowning in old stock (if at all)? In this article I hope to find an answer to those questions. How big are NG's releases? In 2021 there were on average 11-12 models every month, but as we all know this was influenced by Covid. In Q1 2022 this number was still very low with 14 models in total, but after that we see the average number increasing every quarter: Now the average NG release is around 33 models per month. I expect September to be around 35-40 models, which would make the average of Q3 2023 the same as Q2. What NG seems to be doing with recent releases is that they take one large batch and split them in two seperate models with different registrations, when a few years ago this batch probably would have gotten the same registration. This may explain why the releases have grown so much, while the actual production numbers are the same, and why they release so many Pan Am Tristars. How big are the releases from other brands? I will look at 3 other main brands in 400 scale: JCwings, GeminiJets and Aeroclassics. I will count how many models the brand released in total in some specific years and then divide by 12. I will start with 2009, because it was the first full year in which JCwings released 1/400 models. The results have been summarized below. Please keep in mind that the numbers may not be 100% accurate, but it gives an idea of how big releases used to be. GeminiJets has stayed very consistent with their releases. JCwings not so much, but these days it's about 15 models per month. Aeroclassics used to have large releases of more than 20. However, their releases have dropped quite significantly somewhere after 2016, which coincidentally (or not?) is the same time when NG came on the market. Are NG's releases irresponsible towards retailers? For this question I will use the stock from a large local store. There are 286 unique NG models available, 138 from JCwings, 294 from Aeroclassics, 204 from GeminiJets and 300 from Phoenix. These numbers do not indicate total stock, as most of the older Aeroclassics only have one or two left in stock, while with NG there are often more than two, so in reality there is more available from NG than Aeroclassics. But what we can't forget is that these Aeroclassics models are sometimes older than NG as a brand, so they had more time to sell. I would rather say JCwings is irresponsible, as out of 309 total items, 159 are pre-orders! Quite a few are still from 2021, meaning people have been waiting over 2 years to get their model! Conclusion Now we have the facts, let's look at the questions we had at the start: Is NG flooding the market? It is undeniable that NG has by far the largest 1/400 releases, more than the other 3 brands combined. So in some way you could say NG is flooding the market, but that doesn't mean it's negatively affecting us as collectors. In my opinion it's not a bad thing to see such huge releases, but it's frustrating when they re-release models that they made themselves not too long ago. My opinion may have been very different if I owned one of the other brands, but I am a collector so that is not my point of view. How big were the releases from other manufacturers back in the day? Most brands had their ups and downs. GeminiJets has stayed very consistent with around 9 models, JC has been all over the place and Aeroclassics used to have quite large releases with over 20 models. But none of them have ever been nearly as large as recent NG releases. Is only NG drowning in old stock? The store I used as reference has roughly the same amount of stock left from NG, Aeroclassics and Phoenix, so the answer is no. This has to be taken with a grain of salt, as we don't know from any of the brands how much they have stored in their factory / warehouse. NG's point reward system may be an indication they want to get rid of some unsold inventory though. To summarize, I don't think NG is doing anything wrong in terms of quantity. The only thing that bothers me so much is that they don't know how to use their moulds. Instead of making the liveries that we as collectors want, we get duplicates, questionable re-releases of liveries and niche hybrids. There are many questions, but let's just say that in this hobby patience is key. Afterall, it wouldn't be much better if there were 10 models from my wishlist released every month. - Mark Retrohangar Diecast on Instagram Mark22 on MAF, 400SH, DAC and DIMA Want to collaborate or let me review your product? Send me a message via the channels mentioned above! All pictures are mine (unless stated otherwise) and may not be copied without my permission!

NG Models is the enigmatic brand that came out of thin air in the late 2010s, and almost immediately captured the spotlight of the 1:400 community. Their first mold was a 757-200 released in 2017, but by 2020 their catalog included 13 molds in 1:400 scale, plus some 1:200. For its size, their catalog had a lot of variety by having a good mix of current jetliners, as well some nice contemporary classics, being the L1011 TriStar series the sweetheart of the latter group. Besides their quick expansion and variety, from the get-go NG established itself as an innovative brand that brought 1:200 scale level of detail to the 1:400 world, and took pride in putting out top-quality products: the NG standard. NG quickly became a favorite among 1:400 collectors, and just as quickly also earned the hate and repulse of competitors. The initial upswing that catapulted NG to 1:400 scale stardom started to flatten out sometime between 2022 and 2023 when they started failing to live up to their reputation of crowd-pleasers, and their release set started to include a rather high number of repetitive and odd choices. However, just when it seemed that the NG craze was starting to wind down, things took a turn as they managed to continue being the center of many discussions in the 1:400 community. Not so much in terms of product innovation, but by taking a weird twist with their release choices and practices. Teasing: It has been a long-established practice by Aeroclassics to put out a set of hints of upcoming releases in the form of registration pre-fixes, and it is well known that they have taken this opportunity to have a bit of fun with collectors by throwing them off releasing aircraft registered in countries other than where they are based. Typical of a newcomer, NG has adopted many practices from model manufacturers that have been around for much longer than them, and two of such practices include both, putting out reg. prefixes hints, and releasing aircraft registered in a different country than the airline’s home base. However, it appears that they are taking the practice a bit beyond simply having some fun. An example of this is the recent announcement of a Corsair 747SP registered in Luxembourg when they had released a French-registered example, in the same livery and all, not long ago. And all this while there are some interesting Luxembourg-registered 747SPs that had never been released in 1:400 scale. It seems that NG may have intentionally sought to cause frustration in some collectors. Besides teasing with reg prefixes, they also do the same with hybrid liveries. An example of this is how they have released multiple L-1011s in the basic Eastern chrome c/s, but with the titles of other operators, while the Eastern example itself is missing from their catalog. There is no harm in a bit of playing around, but an unmeasured amount of it could result in them coming across as cocky. Re-releasing: Just about any model manufacturer has engaged in re-releasing, be it by putting out a slight variation of something they have released before, by releasing a duplicate of a competitor’s product, and everything in between. I for one support re-releasing as it helps curb the overly inflated prices of the second-hand market (sorry, die-cast investors). But besides lowering the prices, NG re-releases of old models, with their improved quality and details, also enable collectors to replace their aging pieces with new generation ones, if they wish to do so. However, NG is breaking the paradigm by engaging in frequent re-releasing of particularly rare subjects. Namely, their L-1011s wearing iconic liveries (plus some 757s too). In more than one case not even changing the registration; effectively re-stocking highly sought-after items. I personally prefer to pay MSRP to retailers than an inflated price to a re-seller. But NG is taking things to such extremes that I, a strong supporter of re-releasing, am starting to have second thoughts about the practice. Matching the demand for rare items and taking a slice of the pie that would otherwise be eaten entirely by the re-selling crowd is one thing. But flooding the market is another thing. What is going to happen with retailers that rely heavily on collection sales? Could the scale tip the other way and sought-after models start to devaluate? Not that NG should care about those questions, but they are certainly being bold. It is too early to tell how far NG will go with this practice, and what effect will it have on the hobby. But it is definitely going to be interesting to watch as they continue to break the norm. Fantasy Models: Fantasy models do have a place in the hobby, especially when they include potentially realistic “what if?” subjects, canceled aircraft orders, movie subjects, etc. Beyond that, I see very little reason for their existence. It seems that I am not alone in thinking this, as a recent survey in which around 200 collectors participated clearly showed that fantasy releases are largely unpopular. Yet, we have NG releasing an increasing number of fantasy models, with the latest one being as bizarre a release as you can imagine – a Southwest 737 MAX 8 in which the blue has been replaced with fuchsia. Now, it is being rumored that the initiative to release this latest fantasy model by NG was actually started among the collectors. But still, why? It can be that NG is, again, simply being playful and going a bit overboard in doing so. Or it could be something more macabre: “Collectors say they don’t like fantasy models, let's give them more of them and watch how they buy them.” Whatever the case may be, the latest NG fantasy announcement is in line with their recent collection of unprecedented moves, which, besides what has already been mentioned here, also includes oversized release announcements, and models made exclusively for NG Model club members. In the end, I hope NG has a bigger plan that will ultimately benefit collectors. As of right now, it is hard to tell if they are just enjoying having us by the strings. Jorge A. Zajia

Hi everyone! I'm a new author on yankeevictor400, so I would like to introduce myself. My name is Mark, on the forums known as Mark22 and on Instagram as Retrohangar Diecast. I started collecting in 2017, the first model being a Phoenix KLM 777-300ER PH-BVK with 95 years sticker. Shortly after, I bought a KLM 747-400... and an MD-11... and... oh well, it got rather addicting. Eventually it grew to a bigger collection of Dutch airlines such as KLM, Martinair and Transavia. Later I switched to 747's from airlines all around the world and posted pictures on Instagram (account name used to be 747_models and Retrohangar400). These days I only collect retro aircraft, mainly Hangar Club releases and other aircraft that I find interesting and goodlooking. For me retro aircraft are a lot more diverse and often better looking compared to what we often see now; twinjets and eurowhite liveries. With my content I hope to inspire new and younger collectors to collect these retro aircraft too as there are less and less of them in the sky. To get some basic questions out of the way: my favorite aircraft are the 747 classics (-400 too), Lockheed Constellations and the L-188 Electra. The IL-18, DC-3 and B737-200 are also high on my list. In real life I haven't flown many different aircraft at all: B737-800, A320neo, A321neo and A330-300. Recently I started to expand my content by writing reviews of new releases on 400scalehangar and making simple videos on Instagram. And from today onward I will also write about various aviation model related subjects here on this website (suggestions are welcome!). I have plenty of ideas for further improvements, so stay updated with my content to not miss out! This September I will visit the Amsterdam Aviation Collectors Fair (or AACF) as standholder. I highly recommend everyone to visit the show too as it is the biggest when looking at number of tables (correct me if I'm wrong). The Aviodrome aviation museum, which is a 45 minute drive away from Schiphol Airport, is also a must-visit for any aviation enthousiast. Well, that's all I have to say for now. I hope to see you at the Amsterdam fair this September, perhaps there will be a report on this website about it. Also huge thanks to Jorge for making me an author on this website, looking forward to write many articles here! - Mark All pictures in this post are mine and may not be used without permission

All the 1:400 releases & announcements of the month in one place What got announced for July 2023: Aeroclassics Canada 3000 A320 C-GVXF Canada 3000 A320 C-GXBB (Monarch basic c/s) Jetblue A321WL N982JB (Mint c/s) Monarch A320 G-MONY Philippine Airlines DC-10-30 PH-DTI (KLM sticker) Philippine Airlines DC-10-30 RP-C2114 Scoot A321neo 9V-NCC Scoot A321neo 9V-NCD Simplifly Deccan A320 VR-ADU Aviation400 10. Air China A320WL B-8743 11. Air China 787-9 B-1368 12. Airbus Industrie A330-900 F-WTTN (house c/s) 13. All Nippon Airways – ANA 787-9 JA894A (Pikachu Jet c/s) 14. Boeing Company 787-9. N1015B (“Dreams Take Flight” c/s) 15. China Eastern 787-9 B-209N 16. China Southern 787-9 B-1128 17. Hawaiian Airlines 787-9 N780HA 18. Luftwaffe A350-900 10+02 19. Riyadh air 787-9 N8572C 20. Starlux Airlines A330-900 B-58302 GeminiJets 21. Alaska Airlines 737 MAX9 N915AK (Seattle Kraken c/s) 22. American Airlines A321neo N421UW 23. British Airways 777-200ER G-YMMR (One World c/s) 24. British Airways 777-200ER G-YMMR (One World c/s) – Flaps down 25. Delta Air Lines 717-200 N998AT 26. Delta Air Lines 767-300ER N1201P (current c/s) 27. Kalitta Charters II 747-400 N405CK 28. Lufthansa A330-300 D-AIKQ (Fanhansa Diversity Winds c/s) 29. Southwest Airlines 737 MAX8 N872CB (Canyon Blue retro c/s) 30. TAM Brazil Fokker F-100 PT-MRA 31. United Airlines 767-400ER N69059 (Continental globe c/s) NG Models 32. Aeromexico 737-700/w XA-GAM(polished fuselage) 33. Air Canada L1011-1 C-FTNA(Eastern Airlines basic bare metal c/s)( Buchannan Models Release) 34. Air China 737-600 B-5027 (without star alliance logo) 35. Air France A330-200 F-GZCG(revised new colors; named "Saint-Nazaire") 36. Air-India L1011-500 V2-LEJ 37. Atlantic International L1011-1 N330EA (Fantasy model from the movie Passenger 57) (Buchannan Models Release) 38. Bonza Airline 737 MAX 8 VH-UJK 39. Cathay Pacific Airways L-1011-1 VR-HHY (1970s c/s with Union Jack) 40. China Eastern Airlines C919 B-919A (with metal stand. 1st revenue flight of C919) 41. China Southern Airlines 737-700 B-5222(with SkyTeam logo) 42. Cubana Cargo Tu-204-100SE (TU-204CE) CU-C1703 43. EVA Airways 787-9 B-17883 44. OK Air 737-900ER B-1739 45. Scoot 787-8 9V-OFL 46. Starlux A350-900 B-58502 47. Thai Airways International 787-8 HS-TQF The following NG Models have been included in their July release announcement, but have not been counted as part of this month’s releases since they were already counted on the June announcement as “future releases”: A320neo N776AV (AeroGal Heritage c/s) Airbus Industrie A321XLR F-WWAB (QR code c/s) Airbus Industrie A321XLR F-WWBZ (Flying Xtra Long Range c/s, with PW1100G engines) Airbus Industrie A321XLR F-WXLR (Flying Xtra Long Range c/s, with CFMI LEAP-1A engines) Alaska Airlines 737-800/w N559AS (Salmon People c/s, with scimitar winglets) Alaska Airlines 737-900ER/w N493AS (More to Love c/s, with scimitar winglets) Avianca A320-200 N398AV. (Aviateca Heritage c/s) GOL Linhas Aereas 737-800/w PR-GXI (smile c/s) GOL Linhas Aereas 737-800/w PR-GXN (Clube Smiles c/s) Mexico - Air Force 787-8 Dreamliner TP-01 Qatar Airways 737 MAX 8 A7-BSC Southwest Airlines 737 MAX 8 N8710M (Imua One c/s) Tajikistan Government 787-8 Dreamliner EY-001 Virgin Australia 737 MAX 8 VH-8IA Phoenix Models 48. Air Seychelles 767-300ER S7-AHM 49. CAAC 747-200 B-2440 50. China Postal Airlines 777F B-221X 51. Delta Air Lines A330-900neo N421DX 52. Etihad Airways 767-300ER A6-EYZ 53. Ilyushin Design Bureau Il-96-300 CCCP-96000 (test-bed, Aeroflot c/s) 54. Lufthansa 747-200 D-ABZD (delivery c/s) 55. Lufthansa A340-300 D-AIGU (current c/s) 56. Qatar Airways 737 MAX 8 A7-BSC 57. Qatar Airways 777-200LR A7-BBH 58. United airlines 777-300ER N2749U (Evo Blue c/s) The following Phoenix Models from their June 2023 announcement have been delayed and included in this batch also. They are not counted as part of this month’s announcements, as they were already counted in June: All Nippon Airways – ANA 787-9 JA894A (Pokemon c/s) Indigo Air Boeing 777-300ER TC-LKD Solaseed Air Boeing 737-800 JA803X (Pokemon c/s) Swiss Airbus A340-300 HB-JMI Look Back A rather small set overall at 58 announcements/releases, compared with 125 in June 2023. May 2023 was also a small set with only 52 models, but April and March had 105 and 92 respectively. What’s Hitting the Stores Aeroclassics from July 2023, Phoenix from May 2023, Aviation400 from April 2023, GeminiJets from July 2023, Panda (C Models) from March, June 2023, some NG from March, June 2023. Crowd Pleasers · Aviogenex Tupolev TU-134A YU-AHX Panda Models, April 2023 · Russian Navy Tupolev Tu-134UBL RF-12037 Panda Models, June 2023 · Canadian Airlines International Boeing 767-300ER C-FCAB 40 Phoenix Models, May 2023 · Cubana Tupolev TU-154B CU-T1256 (last c/s) Phoenix Models, May 2023 · ITA Airways Airbus A350-900 EI-IFF (Monza 100 sticker) Aviation400, April 2023 Other Scales NG has not yet announced its first 757 releases in 1:200 scale, but they have joined the stream of classics that is being put out by InFlight200 with a very nice set of CRJ200 (American Eagle old c/s, Independence Air, Air Inter/Air France). Speaking of InFlight200, they continue to release many subjects in 1:200 scale that are rare and sought after in 1:400, just FYI. Waffle Collectibles announced earlier in the month the arrival of a nice set of Herpa releases in 1:500 and 1:200. Another small set of 1:200 Herpa pre-orders came via Eztoys, including a Maerks Air DHC-7. Outlook The GeminiJets recent MD-80 trend continues in August with an Aeromexico one in the 1980’s c/s and a USAir one in the early 1990’s. Aeroclassics and Phoenix July announcements came late in the month. Aeroclassics advertised theirs as “Summer.” So we could not be seeing another announcement from them until late August or even September. Featured Article Have you seen the new GeminiJets 767-400? Click on the image below to check it out. Would you like to receive this publication via email at the end of every month? Subscribe here. Thanks for subscribing! Please share! See you next month!

In April 2023 GeminiJets announced a new mold in 1:400 scale, the 767-400, making it one of the latest in the scale. Gemini's first release using their brand spanking new 764 mold was a Delta Air Lines example wearing the Ron Allen livery in May 2023. That model was reviewed and also compared against its Dragon Wings counterpart by Richard Stretton at Yesterday's Airlines. It was a good review and comparison; you can read it here. The following month, June 2023, the second release came, this time a United Airlines example wearing the Continental Globe livery. This release really excited me as it gave me a genuine reason to take a look at this fresh-from-the-oven mold. I live in Houston, a city in which these relatively rare birds have been adorning the skies since the 2000s when the then hometown airline, Continental, became the first company to place the type in commercial service. Today these sexy airplanes continue to grace the Houston skies daily wearing the United Airlines titles. Only a handful of 767-400s have been produced in 1:400 scale, the majority are around 20-year-old releases. I happen to own one of those releases, a Continental Airlines example produced by Dragon Wings, the brand most associated with the type up to this point among collectors. It was released in 2000, just about the same time the actual aircraft was delivered! Since both models wear essentially the same basic livery, except for the airline titles and some details, I thought I would share some pictures comparing them so that we can see the effect a 23-year gap has on 1:400 diecast model making. Take a Look at Them: What do you think? Which model do you think is better overall? Tough choice. I have always liked my Dragon Wings example, and continue to do so, but I have to say that there is very little you can do to hide the fact that 23 years have passed. Below are my observations. DW Pros/GJ Cons: The DW sits at a better height above the surface. The GJ nose landing gear is too short. This is also evident by looking at the engine clearance. The wings on the DW are thinner and look more refined. The GJ Wings are too thick and the leading edge looks chunky. The DW one has a better wing dihedral. The wings on the GJ do look too flat when seen from the front. Solid printing. While the DW lacks many details, all the elements present are neatly displayed and fit tightly for the most part. I particularly like how the cockpit windows look on the DW example. The GJ cockpit windows are a bit oversized which makes them look wonky from certain angles. Also, my GJ example has a minute paint chip on the First Officer forward window and the height of the artwork is not symmetrical (!). Quality control is something that has not aged well at some brands, including GJ. Another DW strong point is its properly shaped, sized, and positioned engines. GJ placed the engines too forward along the pylon. They are also missing the inboard strakes, whereas they are present on the DW model. Below are some pictures highlighting the attributes of the Dragon Wings model. Notice how the GJ sits too low, its engines are too far forward, and its wings look chunky. I also tend to favor the DW cockpit windows from this angle: GJ's artwork is shifted upwards about .5mm on the starboard side. This is virtually impossible to notice when the model is seen from the sides, but it is a big disappointment when the model is seen from the front. From this angle, you can also see the more refined shape of the DW wings. The real deal: Alright, so, are you getting the feeling that for the most part, Dragon Wings is winning? I do, but it is a tight competition and GJ still has a few tricks up its sleeve. GJ Pros/DW Cons: While the GJ livery is asymmetrical (at least on my example) overall it seems to adjust better to the real aircraft. The golden line present on Continental's globe livery is justified with the bottom of the main passenger doors. This means that on the 767 it should be positioned just slightly below the midpoint of the nose. On some aircraft, it seems to cut right through the middle of it (depending on how precise the application job was done, I suppose), but never above it. This means that GJ, with its asymmetrical application at least managed to get a correct version of it on either side. On the DW example, the golden line seems to be positioned slightly above the midpoint of the nose. It is otherwise properly aligned with other elements of the livery and mold, so it could be a case of the wings sitting a tad high on the fuselage, or the nose not being precisely shaped. Whatever is going on with DW's mold it is almost negligible, but this livery exposes it. Now, the Dragon Wings model, though not technically correct, looks a lot better than GeminiJets' effort, which has a slanted golden line. However, I am placing this as a pro for Gemini, because it seems that their fuselage is better shaped/constructed, whether they apply the liveries correctly or not is a different issue. GJ accurately molded the flap track fairings extending aft of the wings' trailing edge. DW did not. Besides GJ's element misalignment and sizing issues, their artwork is as neat as DW's. Furthermore, GJ's amount of detail is very good and, as far as I can tell, accurate. This will ultimately push GJ's version over the top for me, it is just a better model overall, I think. DW's version is very bland. All the important elements of the livery are present and correct (except one underbelly detail that I will mention later) for when the aircraft was delivered, but besides that, there is not much more to it. Oddly enough, the rain gutters on top of the entry doors are among the few details DW decided to include, a rather innocuous element. The GJ landing gear is more detailed. While the questionable dimensions of the nose landing gear were already discussed, the higher level of detail does give the model a nice look, especially when compared with DW's simplistic, though well-proportioned, landing gear. Also, the nose landing gear doors on the GJ version are better shaped and positioned than DW's. Below are some pictures highlighting some of the attributes of the GeminiJets example: Underbelly commentary: Not only GJ's belly has more detail, but they also caught the different placement of the PACK ram air intakes on the 767-400 vs. the -300. On the -400 the intakes are aligned with the fuselage centerline, whereas on the -300 they are shifted toward the port side. Given that this is a detail accurately represented on their -300s I am glad to see that GJ didn't just transfer the artwork (kudos to GJ!). Unfortunately, DW's belly is not only overly simplistic but in the case of this particular livery, also inaccurate. Many Continental aircraft in the globe livery do have that bare metal stripe you see running along the belly of the Dragon one, but not the 767-400s. I looked at pictures of these aircraft from the early 2000s, and their bellies seem to have always been completely grey making GJ's version detailed and correct. Barring GJ's artwork quality issues, their excessively short NLG, poor engines, and chunky wings, their finish, level of detail, and accurate fuselage shape save their face. They could and should have done a better job though. While the photos below show the models at an odd angle that they probably won't be looked at from, it highlights the advantage of the current level of printed details. Wrap-up The fact that a 20-year-old model from 2000 can hold itself against a brand-new one made in 2023 is a testament to how good some early Dragon Wings models were and explains why they hold their value so well. It also shows how quality and craftsmanship have suffered over the years. Now, of course, these are two different models, even though they share the same basic livery. Dragon Wings was effectively out of the business by the time Continental and United merged, so I have no regrets about getting the new GJ 764 with the United titles, as there will never be a DW alternative. Herpa did release a United 764 in the Continental globe livery in 1:400 scale and, based on pictures that I have seen online, it looks like a potentially better alternative to this new GJ example, depending on your priorities as a collector. But the Herpa model lacks the "new mold" enticement, and if you want it you will have to hunt for it (not too hard to find), whereas a few weeks before this writing I was getting bombarded with emails from retailers allowing me to preorder the new GJ example with only one click, at MSRP, and with tons of discounts codes. The fact of the matter is that both models fit the bill for me, and I am getting what I want out of them. The real question is, what would I do when GeminiJets releases a Continental example (and I think it is pretty safe to bet that they will do it sooner than later)? The answer is it depends on what else is being released at the time, how my model budget is looking, and what mood I'm in when it happens. Honestly, right now I'm leaning towards the idea of saving my money and keeping my Dragon Wings example. Now, what would I do in that same scenario if I didn't already have a Dragon Wings example? I would probably just get the GJ version. In the end, it is a United 764 alright I didn't get this model with the intention of doing this review, but I thought it would be a good opportunity to complement/corroborate Richard's opinion. If you read his review also, you can tell we are pretty much on the same page in regard to GJs new 764 mold. I did get this model because United 767-400s, especially in this livery, are starting to become part of my cherished aviation memories. I won't bother you with a personal dose of nostalgia right now, but I will leave you with a photo that I took in 2013. I always remember this photo because the aircraft (the second largest type in Continental's fleet at the time) was operating a 1-hour flight to New Orleans. I don't recall ever finding out if it was a special flight or a regular schedule. Yeah, the engines sit way too far forward on the pylons... Jorge A. Zajia

Your Airplane Model Arrives Like This: What Do You Do? Broken Models are Part of the Business Anyone who has been collecting die-cast airplane models for some time, likely knows that wings, stabilizers, engines, landing gears, antennas, and anything else that can become detached, will indeed do so more often than not. I, for one, keep a tube of Japanese super glue (that stuff is good!) handy on my desk and use it frequently when unboxing models. A loose wing or detached landing gear is certainly not a problem in my book. However, things can go downhill in a hurry when the loose part is nowhere to be found, or it becomes in contact with other parts of the model scratching the paint off and possibly causing other damage. The latter happened to me for the first time earlier this year when a Viasa DC-10 (YV-135C) arrived with a loose horizontal stabilizer that created several deep scratches on the tail area. Luckily, besides paint, it didn’t touch any elements of the artwork, such as titles and emblems. But still, the model was effectively ruined. So, what do you do when such a thing happens? Well, I’ll tell you what I did. The first thing is to document the damage with pictures and contact the retailer. Normally I will seek to return the model for a full refund and try to find a replacement from a different retailer. My reasoning behind this is that, as stated earlier, these occurrences are not all that uncommon, so I want to avoid any chances of having to return a second defective model to the same retailer as I don’t think that is a good position to be in. However, in this case there was no replacement available, the model came from a collection sale and had been sold out for more than a decade. While I already owned two examples of the same model, I really wanted to keep the third one. So, instead of returning the model and taking the full refund that the retailer offered, I told the retailer that I was willing to keep the broken model and take a partial refund in the form of a store credit. Not the greatest deal, but at least it helped me feel that I had not been ripped off entirely – only partially and by choice. Moving on... Okay, so now I had a model with some serious paint chips that were probably not going to look okay by simply covering them with paint. Time to use my brain. To the Shop... If you are an avid modeler and craftsman, you are welcome to continue reading for entertainment purposes, but I doubt I will mention anything you don’t already know; in fact, you probably will be able to teach me a few things after reading this story. But for those of you wondering if a badly damaged model can be restored so that it can be proudly displayed, read on! I am happy to report that the answer is yes, but the process can be painful. The first thing I did was apply small dots of putty to fill out the voids left by the missing paint. Since I wasn’t counting on diving into – another – customization project when I received this model, it sat like that for more than a month as I did not have the time to sit down to sand excess putty. Eventually, I got around to it. I was initially trying to be gentle using a very soft sanding sponge to avoid damaging surrounding areas, but I wasn’t making a lot of progress, so decided to switch to a more abrasive sandpaper. Things started moving forward quickly then, but of course, the surrounding undamaged areas could no longer be described as such, and that was a bit terrifying to see, but I ended up achieving the even smooth surface that I was looking for. Next, I needed to come up with a plan to paint the patches. I needed to do some color blending to match the Viasa orange, a task that resulted to be more challenging and messier than I had expected. When I finally found a color tone that I was satisfied with, I was so tired that I became complacent in the subsequent steps of this process: thinning the paint, and masking. While I did mask some areas I wanted to preserve, I did a poor job overall, and the airbrush splattered blobs of overly thick paint all over the place. I still thought that the model looked okay enough and for several days considered the project to be done. Below you can see some pictures showing how the model looked during this stage, including some comparison shots with an undamaged model. At a distance, my shoddy workmanship was not evident to unsuspecting eyes, but it quickly became obvious upon closer look. In the end, I decided that I was not satisfied with the results, so I started from scratch again. Second Attempt The second try started by scrubbing off all of the paint that I had applied that managed to cover parts of the #2 engine, followed by a more meticulous masking job than what I had done the first time. I decided that I was going to fully repaint the whole vertical fin, hoping that the vertex between it and the #2 engine would help attenuate the slight contrast between the original orange tone and my homemade mixture. In the end, it did. Then I proceeded to destroy the entire vertical fin with sandpaper removing my first sloppy paint job, but also parts of the original paint and the Venezuelan flags. Yes, even though the model was already damaged, it was difficult to inflict this level of destruction on a holy grail as I was keenly aware that at that point the model became literally worthless. Luckily, I was able to return its value later. I knew that the improperly thinned paint had been an issue on the first try, so this time I made sure that I was satisfied with its consistency before starting to airbrush. To avoid opacifying the newly applied orange paint layer with masking tape, I applied a generous layer of RustOleum clear coat enamel, after the paint had dried, of course. The thick shiny coat brought the tail in line with the rest of the finish the model comes from the factory with. After the clear coat dried overnight, I used masking tape to paint the leading edge with silver enamel. To replace the Venezuelan flags, I printed some decals on white water-slide paper. Viasa applied a white background above and below the flag to increase the contrast between the red and yellow with the orange tail. To achieve this, I purposely left out excess white decal paper above and below the flag artwork. The white stripes on my decals are a bit bigger than what they were on the real aircraft, but this was a decision I made to better manipulate the tiny decals without damaging the artwork. One advantage of having to reapply the flags using homemade decals is that I was able to add the stars to the blue stripe. This is a detail that the original model did not have and that I have always considered the only significant omission of this otherwise stunning artwork, my favorite of all time. Finally, the time came to apply one last layer of clear coat to seal in the flag decals and the leading edge silver paint. For this last coat, I used Mr. Hobby Top Coat gloss finish, my favorite modeling topcoat. Below are some pictures of the final result. Done So, there you have it. If we ignore my first try, the process is the following: prepare the surface (putty and sanding), paint (with all that it implicates), apply clear coat, more paint, create and apply decals (I damaged one decal so had to use a spare), and apply one more layer of clear-coat. Remember also that every layer must dry (ideally overnight) before applying the next one. All that just to fix a 1:400 scale DC-10 tail! Is it worth it? How much do you think a repair like this should cost? This particular repair was absolutely worth it for me, it was also an opportunity to learn skills that I will be able to apply in future custom projects. I have no idea what the going rate is for this type of repair, but after doing it myself and knowing all the time and effort that goes into it, I don’t know if I would have been willing to pay what I’d consider a fair price for someone else to do it for me. Of course, more avid modelers can do this type of repair more efficiently, but it still is a rather specialized job nonetheless, and very time-consuming. The model has plenty of signs that indicate the tail area was repaired at home, but at least it looks a lot neater than my first attempt, which looked more like a 5-year-old art school project (hahaha). Jorge A. Zajia

The 3D printing technology finally got a hold of me. Even though I had been aware of the implementation of 3D printing on 1:400 scale, I never gave it much thought. But after playing around with a couple of resin-printed airstair vehicles from West Coast Diecast I can confidently say that I am pleasantly surprised. Pros Higher level of detail compared to GSE available from regular model brands. When compared with GeminiJets airstairs, the 3D printed finish is similar. The adjustable height function works very well. The extendable segment slides easily with a slight amount of pressure and remains in place while the stair is being handled. They fit the airplanes very neatly. Affordable. They are listed for $3 in the West Coast Diecast 3D printed section with an option to negotiate the price for bulk orders. They are blank so you are forced to customize them, which can make them look more interesting than generic GSE from regular model brands. Cons The user has to paint and decorate them. While this can be an advantage as it encourages creativity, it means that there is quite a bit of work involved to get them ready to use. Some small parts and tight crevices can be difficult to paint. How did I get them ready? I set out to get them ready in the least complex way, taking into account the tools that I had available and my expectations. First, I removed with my fingers what seemed to be some residue from the 3D printing process. Then I airbrushed them with Testors enamel. I didn't use primer but applied several layers. The orange one required color blending. I let them dry overnight and then filled the gaps with a regular brush (they can be painted without an airbrush). I let them dry overnight again, but the following day they were still feeling sticky to the touch (high humidity in Texas), so they ended up curing for 10 days since I had to go to work. When I came back the paint coat felt slick to the touch. I dug out some logo designs that I had stored on my computer, resized them, and printed them on white water-slide decal paper. As you can see I didn't bother too much matching the orange background with the color that I used to paint the wide-body stairs, I also didn't attempt to hide the edges. A better result could have certainly been obtained with a bit more time and effort. While the decal sealant was drying I painted the tires, windows, and other details using permanent ink Sharpie markers and, to a lesser extent, paint. The decals and painted details were allowed to dry overnight and then I applied one layer of clear coat, just to make sure that I did not peel the decals off with my fingertips while handling them, particularly when adjusting the stair's height. And that's it! Again, with more work, the results could have been better. For example, I could have also used decals for the windows and other details instead of a Sharpie, but I am satisfied with the results for the amount of work that I put into them. Have you considered using 3D-printed items in your 1:400 dioramas? Hopefully, my experience helped you decide if it is for you. Bonus pic: Jorge A. Zajia

All the 1:400 releases & announcements of the month in one place What got announced for June 2023: Aeroclassics Aer Lingus Vickers Viscount 700 EI-AFV Air Canada Vickers Viscount 700 CF-GXK Air Côte d'Ivoire Airbus A320 TU-TSX Air India Airbus A320 VT-EPK (Act'07 Red Livery) Air New Zealand Boeing 767-200 ZK-NBJ (All-white c/s) 400 Scale Hangar Club Release Alaska Airlines Airbus A320 N855VA (Alaska Giants c/s) Hawaiian Vickers Viscount 700 N745HA Royal Netherlands Air Force Douglas DC-10-30 T-255 Thai Douglas DC-10-30 HS-TGA United Airlines Boeing 727 N7010U (Saul Bass c/s) United Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 N1853U (Saul Bass c/s) GeminiJets (Announced May 15, 2023) Air France A320-200 Air France A320-200 F-HEPF Mauritius B747SP Air Mauritius B747SP 3B-NAG Atlas Air B767-300ER Atlas Air B767-300ER N649GT Contour Airlines E145LR Contour Airlines E145LR N12552 Copa Airlines B737-800S Copa Airlines B737-800S HP-1841CMP (75th anniversary retro c/s) Delta Air Lines B737-900ER Delta Air Lines B737-900ER N856DN Delta Air Lines B767-400ER Delta Air Lines B767-400ER N826MH (Ron Allen/interim c/s) – First release on this mold. Hawaiian Airlines B717-200 Hawaiian Airlines B717-200 N491HA Trump Shuttle B727-200 Trump Shuttle B727-200 N918TS JC Wings Abu Dhabi Amiri Flight B747-8(BBJ) A6-PFA Air Canada Cargo B767-300ER(BDSF) C-GHLV Airbus Industrie A350-1000XWB F-WMIL (Upnext titles) Airbus Industrie A350-1000XWB F-WMIL (Upnext titles) - Flaps down Airbus Transport International A330-700L F-WBXL - Interactive Argentina Air Force Boeing 757-200 ARG-01 (2023 presidential c/s) British Airways B747-8i (Fantasy Landor c/s) Cathay Pacific Boeing 747-400 B-HKT Cathay Pacific Cargo Boeing 747-400F B-*** China Eastern COMAC C919 B-919A (“First Commercial Flight” titles) with stand Dragonair L-1011-1 VR-HOD (delivery c/s) 1 of 2 Box-set of 2 Dragonair L-1011-1 VR-HOK (final c/s) 2 of 2 Box-set of 2 Ethiopian Cargo B777F ET-AWE - Interactive Garuda Indonesia B737-800 PK-GMZ (75 Indonesia Maju c/s) Iraqi Airways B787-8 Dreamliner YI-ATC Iraqi Airways B787-8 Dreamliner YI-ATC - Flaps down KLM Exel ERJ-145MP PH-RXA Kuwait Airways B747-400(M) 9K-ADE Kuwait Airways B747-400(M) 9K-ADE - Flaps down Martinair MD-11 PH-MCP Privilege Style B777-200ER EC-MUA Privilege Style B777-200ER EC-MUA - Flaps down JC Wings Late June Announcement Expected to reach stores in August: Air India B747-400 VT-ESO Air India B747-400 VT-ESO - Flaps down Boeing Company B777-9 N779XY French Air Force A330-200 F-UJCT Middle East Airlines A321neo T7-ME3 (10000th A320 Family logo) Nok Air ATR 72-500 HS-DRC Norse Atlantic Airways B787-9 LN-FNB Norse Atlantic Airways B787-9 LN-FNB - Flaps down Omni Air International B767-200ER N225AX (Aer Lingus titles) Future releases: All Nippon Airlines (ANA) B787-9 JA894A (Pikachu Jet c/s) All Nippon Airlines (ANA) B787-9 JA894A (Pikachu Jet c/s) - Flaps down B747-400F B-HUO - Interactive Japan Airlines B767-300ER JA614J (Dream-Go-Round c/s) Ukrainian Air Force Antonov An-26 48 NG Models (Future release set announced in June 2023) A320neo N776AV (AeroGal Heritage c/s) Airbus A321XLR F-WWAB (QR code c/s) Airbus A321XLR F-WWBZ (Flying Xtra Long Range c/s, with PW1100G engines) Airbus A321XLR F-WXLR (Flying Xtra Long Range c/s, with CFMI LEAP-1A engines) Alaska Airlines 737-800/w N559AS (Salmon People c/s, with scimitar winglets) Alaska Airlines 737-900ER/w N493AS (More to Love c/s, with scimitar winglets) Atlas Air 747-8F N863GT (bare metal, pre-paint factory skin) Avianca A320-200 N398AV. (Aviateca Heritage c/s) British Overseas Airways Corporation 747-8 G-BOAC (fantasy) GOL Linhas Aereas 737-800/w PR-GXI (smile c/s) GOL Linhas Aereas 737-800/w PR-GXN (Clube Smiles c/s) Hainan Airlines 737-800/w B-1501 (Pepsi c/s, with scimitar winglets) Mexico - Air Force 787-8 Dreamliner TP-01 Qatar Airways 737 MAX 8 A7-BSC Southwest Airlines 737 MAX 8 N8710M (Imua One c/s) Tajikistan Government 787-8 Dreamliner EY-001 Virgin Australia 737 MAX 8 VH-8IA NG Models/Buchannan Models June announcement Air France 777-300ER F-GZNT (SkyTeam c/s) Air India 777-200LR VT-AEG (revised new c/s) All Nippon Airways - ANA L-1011-1 JA8522 (Blue Triton c/s) American Airlines 777-200ER N795AN (delivery c/s) American Airlines 777-200ER N796AN (One World on delivery c/s) American Trans Air (ATA) L-1011-1 N31022 (in TWA basic c/s) – Buchannan Models British Airways 757-200 G-OOOB (Air 2000 basic c/s) – Buchannan Models China Southern Airlines A321-200 B-2282 China Southern Cargo 777-200F B-20EN Euro Atlantic Airways 777-200ER CS-TFM Euro Atlantic Airways 777-200ER CS-TSX ("30th Anniversary" sticker) Finnair A350-900 OH-LWO ("Moomin, Finnair 100" sticker #2) Finnair A350-900 OH-LWP ("Moomin, Finnair 100" sticker #1) Garuda Indonesia A330-300 PK-GPZ (Kembara Angkasa - 74th Anniversary c/s) Japan Airlines A350-1000 JA01WJ Jetstar Airways A320-200 VH-VQH (with website titles) JetBlue A321-200WL (2010 c/s with “Our 200th Aircraft” titles) Exclusive for Airliners International 2023 Qatar Airways 777-200LR A7-BBE (with "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022" sticker) Qatar Airways 777-200LR A7-BBG Qatar Airways A330-300 A7-AEE Russia - Air Force Tu-154B-2 RA-85565 Sichuan Airlines A350-900 B-325J (Panda Route c/s) Turkish Airlines 777-300ER TC-LJJ (UEFA Champions League cs) Turkish Airlines A330-300 TC-JNM (UEFA Champions League cs) Panda Models British Airways (Dan-Air London) B 737-400 G-BNNK (Landor c/s) – ARD Exclusive British Airways B 737-400 G-DOCV (Chatham Dockyard c/s with nose black rim) – ARD Exclusive China Postal Airlines B 737-400 B-2891 Pan American Airways (Carnival Airlines) B 737-400 N407KW (Pan Am Billboard c/s – Clipper Rapid) Russian Navy Tupolev Tu-134UBL RF-12037 Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 N8645A (Heart c/s with “Heart Two” nose titles and scimitar winglets) Phoenix Models All Nippon Airways (ANA) Boeing 787-9 JA894A (Pokemon c/s) Boliviana de Aviación (BoA) Airbus A330-200 CP-3209 Cathay Pacific Cargo Boeing 747-400BCF B-HKJ (polished belly) Cathay Pacific Cargo Boeing 747-400BCF B-HKS (polished belly) Delta Air Lines Boeing 747-100 N9896 (Widget c/s with polished belly) Delta Air Lines McDonnell Douglas MD-11 N806DE (Widget c/s with polished belly) EgyptAir Airbus A340-300 A40-LE (Gulf Air reg. Delivery c/s) EI AI Israel Airlines Boeing 747-200 4X-AXB Indigo Air Boeing 777-300ER TC-LKD Kras Air Tupolev TU-154M RA-85694 Lufthansa Airbus A321neo D-AIEP Lufthansa Airbus A321neo D-AIEQ (“600th Airbus Aircraft” titles) Lufthansa Boeing 747-400 D-ABTK (old c/s) Mercado Livre (Operated by GOL Linhas Aéreas) Boeing 737-800PS-GFD National Airlines Boeing 747-400F N663CA Northwest Airlines Boeing 747-400 N667US (Bowling Shoe c/s) Qatar Amiri Flight Boeing 747-8 BBJ A7-HBJ Solaseed Air Boeing 737-800 JA803X (Pokemon c/s) Swiss Airbus A340-300 HB-JMI United Airlines Boeing 747-200 N161UA (Battleship Grey c/s) United Airlines Boeing 747-400 N187UA (Battleship Grey c/s) Virgin Australia Boeing 737-8max VH-8IA Look Back June 2023 closes with a total of 125 models being announced. May had a total of 52 announcements, April 105, and March 92. The heavy output can be attributed to the fact that JC Wings added heavily to their future release pipeline and NG Models did the same. Out of the smaller brands only Panda Models contributed to this month with five releases, so not a huge impact. What’s Hitting the Stores: June 2023 Aeroclassics, June 2023 GeminiJets, April 2023 Big Birds. Some JC Wings Future releases (July 2020, December 2020, March 2022, July 2022, September 2022, Late November 2022, Late December 2022, Late March 2023) Crowd Pleasers Aeroclassics United Airlines Boeing 727 N7010U (Saul Bass c/s) Aeroclassics United Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 N1853U (Saul Bass c/s) GeminiJets Atlas Air B767-300ER Atlas Air B767-300ER N649GT GeminiJets Delta Air Lines B767-400ER Delta Air Lines B767-400ER N826MH (Ron Allen/interim c/s) – First release on this mold. NG Models JetBlue A321-200WL (2010 c/s with “Our 200th Aircraft” titles) Exclusive for Airliners International 2023 – Sold out at WestCoast Diecast during the convention. Phoenix Models British Airways B747-136 G-AWNP (Landor c/s) – April 2023 Outlook GeminiJets July’s batch includes their second release on their brand new 767-400 mold wearing the United Continental merger livery, which is posed to perform well. Across the Community June saw a fair share of exciting exclusive releases. These include two Panda Models British Airways 737-400 exclusive for ARD, an NG Models JetBlue A321-200 exclusive for Airliners International 2023, and the return of the 400 Scale Hangar Club with an Aeroclassics Air New Zealand 767-200. You can see a photo report of Airliners International here: Thanks for subscribing! Please share! See you next month!