New to 1/200

[Planeoldwill]

Hello everyone.

I'm just getting into collecting 1/200 and I was wondering if anyone had an advice about which brands have the best moulds. Are there any particular ones you should avoid and who has the best?

From what I've seen, the moulds for most major brands look quite good but I wanted to see what more experienced collectors think.

 

[pons399]

There are two major entities in 200 scale, these being Inflight200 and JC Wings. Inflight200 moulds are used by WB and JFox, while Gemini uses JC moulds.

Inflight200 has excellent paint/printing, but avoid their 747 (cradle) and A350 (wrong sharklets). JC's moulds are good for the most part, but their QC and paint/printing are hit-or-miss. I can give you more exact pointers if you specify which type you're looking for.

Most 200 scale moulds have removable gears with terrible fitment, leading to wobbling. You may or may not be bothered by this. One exception is Inflight200's A310, which also happens to be the best mould in the scale.

 

[Irish]

There are two major entities in 200 scale, these being Inflight200 and JC Wings. Inflight200 moulds are used by WB and JFox, while Gemini uses JC moulds.

Inflight200 has excellent paint/printing, but avoid their 747 (cradle) and A350 (wrong sharklets). JC's moulds are good for the most part, but their QC and paint/printing are hit-or-miss. I can give you more exact pointers if you specify which type you're looking for.

Most 200 scale moulds have removable gears with terrible fitment, leading to wobbling. You may or may not be bothered by this. One exception is Inflight200's A310, which also happens to be the best mould in the scale.

Adding to this, NG has started to produce some great 1:200s although the lack of diversity will most likely push you away. They have some excellent CRJ-200, Gulfstream, Falcon, 737, and 757 moulds. As well with some more obscure Chinese moulds.

 

[Planeoldwill]

There are two major entities in 200 scale, these being Inflight200 and JC Wings. Inflight200 moulds are used by WB and JFox, while Gemini uses JC moulds.

Inflight200 has excellent paint/printing, but avoid their 747 (cradle) and A350 (wrong sharklets). JC's moulds are good for the most part, but their QC and paint/printing are hit-or-miss. I can give you more exact pointers if you specify which type you're looking for.

Most 200 scale moulds have removable gears with terrible fitment, leading to wobbling. You may or may not be bothered by this. One exception is Inflight200's A310, which also happens to be the best mould in the scale.

Thank you for the insight mate. My main focus will be on European narrowbodies. From what I’ve seen the moulds look pretty good. I’d say the inflight 200 Airbus moulds look the best but the moulds from JC look good aswell. It’s interesting to hear about the landing gear, I did think they looked slightly loose and will eventually fall out.

 

[Planeoldwill]

Adding to this, NG has started to produce some great 1:200s although the lack of diversity will most likely push you away. They have some excellent CRJ-200, Gulfstream, Falcon, 737, and 757 moulds. As well with some more obscure Chinese moulds.

I’ve seen an NG 757 and they look fantastic! I’ve got a falcon coming in 1/200 from NG through the CRP program so I’m looking forward to seeing what they look like.