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Hi
Looking at getting some die cast airliners.
Just asking is their a best manufacture I should buy and what should I avoid.Thanks
Mark Griffiths
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This website is very good on whats hot and not… Very informative about the Diecast airliners. http://www.diecastaircraftforum.com/
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Depending on what scale you are looking for..I recommend Gemini Jets. JC wing uses their molds especially in 1/200 scale. I know the owner of Gemini and he’s a big stickler when it comes to accuracy. I buy my stuff from Jetwaymodels.com. He has the most reasonable prices when it comes to Diecast. Hopes this helps….
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You may want to be careful about the GJ brand right now. Many of their latest releases have been experiencing zinc rot and the models are falling to pieces over time. Go to diecastaircraftforum.com and look under the 1/400 scale forum under the topic ‘zinc rot’ and you will get an understanding on what I am saying.
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Well that doesn’t sound good and having read some of the post it seems mainly to effect models from 2002 but some other batches as well.
These are expensive models to purchase in the UK and I would imagine in the US and rest of the world as well. This has made me think whether start collecting now!
Thanks for the heads up MrMD11
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The most accurate 1/400 would be Aero Classics, the B747 Big Bird. Can’t beat the Herpa AN-124 and AN-225.
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Tank63 :
Well that doesn’t sound good and having read some of the post it seems mainly to effect models from 2002 but some other batches as well.
These are expensive models to purchase in the UK and I would imagine in the US and rest of the world as well. This has made me think whether start collecting now!
Thanks for the heads up MrMD11It’s actual affecting models produced SINCE 2002. Many of the recent releases (particularly the Delta examples) have been experiencing this issue.
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What’s worse is that GeminiJets is not responding to any of the complaints being sent to them about these issues.
Andy
I have a handful of the Herpa models in 1:500, bought them 4 years ago and they’re still in good shape.
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That’s interest
about the zinc rot. I haven’t had any issues with my 1/200 scale Gemini’s. Is it both scales, or is it the 1/400 or 1/200 scales???? I know he’s had some quality control issues in the past, but I thought he had those taken care off.
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Capt.Rob :
That’s interest
about the zinc rot. I haven’t had any issues with my 1/200 scale Gemini’s. Is it both scales, or is it the 1/400 or 1/200 scales???? I know he’s had some quality control issues in the past, but I thought he had those taken care off.Its been primarily the 1/400 models, though there have been reported problems with some of the 1/200 models as well but less frequently.
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There are a number of major manufacturers, and then there are even more companies that contract models from the major players.
Dragon Wings was the first, back about 1997 I think, initially with 1/400 scale Airbus A340 and A330. Their models are typically a solid metal fuselage with injection moulded plastic wings, fins, stabs, engines and landing gear. The liveries are tampo printed. They can usually be switched between gear up and gear down, and usually include a two piece plastic display stand. Most of their models were pretty good, though a few were awful. JetX used them to make their models, and some models were released (violating trademark in a big way) under the Hasegawa brand. Production of civilian models seems to have stopped. Most releases these days are either 1/400 scale military subjects or space related in other scales. Dragon Wings also had a series called “Skyclub” that produced smaller quantities of models with lower demand. Finally, Dragon Wings offered some nice 1/72 scale military models that included F16’s, Japanese Zeros, and others.
GeminiJets was next, trailing Dragon Wings by about a year. All their models are solid metal, including landing gear, The liveries are tampo printed. Initially offering 1/400, Gemini branched first into 1/250 scale which featured landing gear that could be retracted. That scale didn’t last very long, before they switched to 1/200 scale. Personally, I think their 1/200 scale models are excellent! The 1/200 scale offerings have optional down or retracted landing gear. Gemini typically releases about 8 models in 1/400 and 6 in 1/200 every month. Gemini also had a 1/72 scale WWII warbird series (GeminiACES), with a Spitfire, Me109 and P-51 Mustang among the early releases. For a while Gemini had a 1/500 scale series called “Starjets” that were very nice. Gemini also offers a 1/400 scale series of airport ramps, runways, terminals, hangars, jet bridges and vehicles.
In third place I would put AeroClassics and their 1/400 models. The early models (e.g. DC-9-10, BAC 1-11-200) were painted and decaled, rather than tampo printed. Their next offerings, often refered to as Aeroclassics II, are similar to GeminiJets in being all metal, and tampo printed. The biggest “challenge” with Aeroclassics is the temperament of the owner, a tendency to deliberately produce models in short supply, and to play games offering “special” versions of a model that can only be purchased from him. For example, back around 2010 he released an Alitalia Cargo DC-9-32F in the early cs through his distributors. Lots made. I think it was I-DIZF. He made a small number of I-DIZG that could only be purchased from himself, and of course this is the model everyone wanted because it was “rare”. He would play games such as offering a lot of models generally with low interest, and one that everyone wanted. Production to the same quantity, he required his distributors to buy the same numbers of both. Which meant if a retailer wanted 6 of the model everyone wanted, they had to buy 6 of all the other models nobody wanted. Some of his 737-200 models became famous for “zinc rot” – basically meaning that an inferior grade of metal was used to produce the models that became brittle with age. His two Air Tanzania 737-200’s were an example of this. Pick up the model by the wing and it would snap just outboard of the engines under its own weight. In fairness AeroClassics produced some very nice models – fairly accurate and nicely finished.
InFlight is next, producing all metal models initially in 1/200 then adding a short lived 1/500 scale series. Personally, i like these best.
Herpa was originally 1/500 scale, and in my opinion the early models were a bit rough. Landing gear in particualr was very over-scale. Got better as the years went on. Added a 1/400 scale series that is quite nice. Their early 1/200 scale series were all plastic, and excellent, though expensive, hard to find. Their later 1/200 scale models are a mix of all metal or all plastic, and are generally nicely done, though the 1/200 have a tendency for the white to “yellow”.
JetX used Dragon Wings as their production, and tended to be shorter production runs of models with lesser demand, but serious “gap fillers” in collections.
Corgi produced some interesting airliners in 1/144 scale. They were generally nice models, but suffered visually in that the fuselages were often multi-part, and while they came fully assembled, the seams were very obvious.
Phoenix Models (no relation to the city in AZ!) produced some very nice 1/400 scale models, and a few in 1/200. All metal, tampo printed. Production was usually adequate for initial demand, but then sold out fairly quickly.
The following are some of the lesser brands. Not sure whose moulds they used.
JCWings in 1/400 and 1/200
Aviation in 1/400 and 1/200Finally, there were a number of “let’s hide from the Trademark Police” brands
Big Bird
Blue Box
First Choice
Green Box… and countless more.
Last, but not least, Hogan. Hogan is best known for their excellent series of 1/200 snap together airliners. Most include gear and a display stand. Generally very nice models.
Other plastic “snap together” include Skymarks and Long Prosper.
Long and short of it – the 1/400 scale models are generally very nice, with incredible accuracy and detail considering their size. Personally I like 1/200 better. I have a nice row of Concordes in my display case – All three British Airways schemes and the “Pepsi”. Looking to add a pair of Air France to complete the set, and a prototype or two would be nice too. All brands have their good models and their horrible models. No one brand is always excellent, no one brand is always awful. All are in between.
All brands have been known to produce “custom” models for manufacturers and airlines that are generally not sold to the public.
So – what do collect? You cannot collect them all, there are simply too many, and would cost waaay too much. I know people who have collected “all Gemini 400”, and finally gave up because of space and cost issues. Besides my Concordes I have a shelf full of 1/400 VC-10 and Super VC-10s. Works for me!
Thanks!
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