abdulmohiuddin
Well-known member
Arabian Express: Saudia L-1011-200 HZ-AHJ NG Models
When I first started collecting around 2016, I resolved myself to get examples of a 747, a DC-10, and an L-1011. Subject matters for the 747 and DC-10 would be easy, they would have to be in the colors of PIA. But I had no clue which airline should represent the L-1011 in my collection. A quick search of which airlines flew the L-1011 to Pakistan in the past yielded the following: Saudia, British Airways, Alia, Air Lanka, and Gulf Air. The list of potential models was set, now it was time to find them.
To my dismay, the only one I was able to find at a reasonable price was a Gemini Saudia L-1011. An attractive offering, but it was painted in the 1996 colors, which seemed to only have been painted on one L-1011 so I let it go for the time being. I wanted the old Saudia colors, and the only model made in that scheme by Witty was incredibly rare to come across.
In November 2022, NG leaked the artwork for a Saudia L-1011 in the old colors. I was ecstatic, a holy grail I've wanted was finally here and I wanted to make sure it didn't pass me. It was announced in April 2023 but was delayed until October. To make matters worse for me, my retailer had their shipment delayed until December. Bogged down with exams, I didn't realize until February 2024, when it sold out. Lucky, NG announced a second Saudia L-1011 in December, one I quickly ordered to avoid losing out again. Delays in shipping meant that the model arrived at my retailer in July 2024, almost 1 and 1/2 years after the artwork was leaked. Eight years of searching for a Saudia L-1011 finally bore fruit, and in my excitement, I chose to christen this model with a review.
The Real Thing
Saudi Arabia, enriched by the 1973 Oil Crisis it caused was ushering in a new era of economic and social development. With this, demand for air travel in Saudi Arabia had increased immediately, with Saudia reporting for the first time carrying one million passengers in 1973 on scheduled services. Seeing the need for increased capacity, Saudia realized its 707 fleet would be inadequate and turned to widebody aircraft. After a year of deliberation, Saudia chose the L-1011 and placed an order for two L-1011-100's in 1974, receiving them in 1975.
British Pathe
The L-1011's were initially placed on the Riyadh-Jeddah “Arabian Express” route in 1975. The capacity increase the L-1011 allowed caused Saudia to report a 60 percent increase in passenger numbers in 1975-76, an incredible statistic. Saudia was impressed with the L-1011 and would order a further sixteen more throughout the 1970's for a total fleet of eighteen L-1011's, placing them on routes in the Middle East, and Europe
Saudia L-1011's can be divided into 3 groups. Early L-1011's converted into L-1011-200's, those delivered as L-1011-200's without the Frisbee Faring, and late L-1011-200 deliveried with the Frisbee Fairing. The first 3 L-1011's, HZ-AHA, HB, and HC were delivered as L-1011-100's. The next 2, HZ-AHE and HF were TWA L-1011-1's sold immediately upon delivery and converted into L-1011-100's for Saudia. These 5 were delivered between 1975-76 and would all be converted into L-1011-200's by 1978, making up the first group of deliveries. The next 3, HZ-AHD, HG and HH would be delivered from Palmdale as L-1011-200's in 1977, followed by another 2, HZ-AHI and HZ-AHJ in 1979. These 5 make up the second group, factory delivered L-1011-200's without the Frisbee Fairing. They would never be retrofitted with Frisbee Fairings. The last 8, from HZ-AHK to HZ-AHR would make up the final group of L-1011-200's delivered with the Frisbee Faring, delivered between 1979-81.
Simon Neville/Air-Britain Photographic Images Collection
This model represents HZ-AHJ, part of the second group of deliveries. Delivered to Saudia on March 30, 1979, it entered service on April 02. On Dec. 22, 1980, on a flight from Dhahran to Karachi as Saudia 162, it suffered an explosive decompression over the Persian Gulf, sucking a 7 year old boy and a 13 year old girl out of the aircraft. It made an emergency landing at Doha, where it was discovered that a flange on the hub of a main landing gear wheel had failed due to fatigue, causing a tire blow out. The aircraft was repaired and flew without incident afterwards until Saudia retired its L-1011 fleet in 1998.
Mould
NG's L-1011 mould stands as among the finest moulds ever produced in 1/400 scale, earning praise from collectors and envy from manufacturers. The dolphin shaped nose is captured perfectly, the no.2 engine duct fairing follows the lines it should and the wing-fuselage fairing is correctly shaped. Despite being a L-1011-200, it never had a Frisbee Fairing, something I associated with the L-1011-200 and 500. The model correctly uses the L-1011-100 casting to showcase this. The nose gear could be slightly lower, however that issue only stands out at close up photography and any changes made may end up for the worse. I see no fault with the mould.
Score: 10
Livery
The L-1011 adorned 4 variants of the Saudia livery.
Clockwise from top left: Delivery Scheme, 1981-82 Scheme, 1987 Scheme, 1996 Scheme
This model wears the 1987 Scheme, the one most Saudia L-1011's wore during the twilight of their careers. The livery itself is simple, a classy cheatline consisting of 5 different colors. The colors are accurate and the cheatline correctly tapers off by the no.2 engine. The narrow band of white that separates the cheatline from the belly is present and correctly sized, although almost invisible to the eye. The black dot on the radome is too small, it should just be touching the dark blue color of the cheatline.
The English “Saudia” titles on the left side of the fuselage are well done and correctly sized and shaped. The Arabic “Saudia” titles on the right were beautifully realized but could have been slightly more bold. The white space inside some of the Arabic writing is too large. It doesn't make much of an impact on the model itself in person.
The “TriStar” titles on the no.2 duct could be slightly more bold as well, but once again, barely noticeable. The green tail fits just inside the confines of the vertical stabilizer, but leaves a smidgen more white than it should near the top. The stylized Saudi coat of arms are well done, the white standing out brightly from the green tail. The shape of the palm tree is as good as it can be considering the size.
Too high TriStar titles, discussed in Printing and Quality Control
Owing to the slightly narrow titles, it scores a 9. It isn't perfect but it's incredibly close.
Score: 9
Printing & Quality Control
NG have placed great care in the amount of printed detail on this model. The engine cowlings are correctly painted half grey and have at least 20 bits of printed detail on each of them. The underside is equally detailed, most notably the area near the no.2 engine. The fine nature of the print makes it near invisible from a distance, pleasantly appearing upon close inspection. Despite being only 2mm by 4mm, the “shahada” on the Saudi flag is clear when zoomed in. Truly an impressive feat.
All aerials arrived in place, aided by a plastic cradle that does not squish the aerials. The gear rolls nicely, however all four of the inner main gear and the right nose gear hubcaps lack detail. This doesn't bother me, however it could be improved upon. The “TriStar” titles are printed a bit too high on the no.2 engine duct, The box artwork has the "TriStar" titles located properly so instead of being an error in the livery, it is instead a quality control issue. Both the hubcaps and "TriStar" titles are minor in my opinion, so they lose the model one point.
Score: 9
Summary
The issue of the Arabic “Saudia” titles honestly might not warrant knocking off a point. However despite that and the few minor QC issues that dogged the model, it's a wonderful little model. NG have produced the finest rendition of a Saudia L-1011 ever in this scale, dethroning the Witty/Apollo Saudia L-1011 from 2008. This model scores 28/30, the first release would probably score around the same. After such a long wait, I'm glad it was worth it. Thank you NG Models, for making this model, do consider using the L-1011 mould a little more!
Score: 28/30
When I first started collecting around 2016, I resolved myself to get examples of a 747, a DC-10, and an L-1011. Subject matters for the 747 and DC-10 would be easy, they would have to be in the colors of PIA. But I had no clue which airline should represent the L-1011 in my collection. A quick search of which airlines flew the L-1011 to Pakistan in the past yielded the following: Saudia, British Airways, Alia, Air Lanka, and Gulf Air. The list of potential models was set, now it was time to find them.
To my dismay, the only one I was able to find at a reasonable price was a Gemini Saudia L-1011. An attractive offering, but it was painted in the 1996 colors, which seemed to only have been painted on one L-1011 so I let it go for the time being. I wanted the old Saudia colors, and the only model made in that scheme by Witty was incredibly rare to come across.
In November 2022, NG leaked the artwork for a Saudia L-1011 in the old colors. I was ecstatic, a holy grail I've wanted was finally here and I wanted to make sure it didn't pass me. It was announced in April 2023 but was delayed until October. To make matters worse for me, my retailer had their shipment delayed until December. Bogged down with exams, I didn't realize until February 2024, when it sold out. Lucky, NG announced a second Saudia L-1011 in December, one I quickly ordered to avoid losing out again. Delays in shipping meant that the model arrived at my retailer in July 2024, almost 1 and 1/2 years after the artwork was leaked. Eight years of searching for a Saudia L-1011 finally bore fruit, and in my excitement, I chose to christen this model with a review.
The Real Thing
Saudi Arabia, enriched by the 1973 Oil Crisis it caused was ushering in a new era of economic and social development. With this, demand for air travel in Saudi Arabia had increased immediately, with Saudia reporting for the first time carrying one million passengers in 1973 on scheduled services. Seeing the need for increased capacity, Saudia realized its 707 fleet would be inadequate and turned to widebody aircraft. After a year of deliberation, Saudia chose the L-1011 and placed an order for two L-1011-100's in 1974, receiving them in 1975.
British Pathe
The L-1011's were initially placed on the Riyadh-Jeddah “Arabian Express” route in 1975. The capacity increase the L-1011 allowed caused Saudia to report a 60 percent increase in passenger numbers in 1975-76, an incredible statistic. Saudia was impressed with the L-1011 and would order a further sixteen more throughout the 1970's for a total fleet of eighteen L-1011's, placing them on routes in the Middle East, and Europe
Saudia L-1011's can be divided into 3 groups. Early L-1011's converted into L-1011-200's, those delivered as L-1011-200's without the Frisbee Faring, and late L-1011-200 deliveried with the Frisbee Fairing. The first 3 L-1011's, HZ-AHA, HB, and HC were delivered as L-1011-100's. The next 2, HZ-AHE and HF were TWA L-1011-1's sold immediately upon delivery and converted into L-1011-100's for Saudia. These 5 were delivered between 1975-76 and would all be converted into L-1011-200's by 1978, making up the first group of deliveries. The next 3, HZ-AHD, HG and HH would be delivered from Palmdale as L-1011-200's in 1977, followed by another 2, HZ-AHI and HZ-AHJ in 1979. These 5 make up the second group, factory delivered L-1011-200's without the Frisbee Fairing. They would never be retrofitted with Frisbee Fairings. The last 8, from HZ-AHK to HZ-AHR would make up the final group of L-1011-200's delivered with the Frisbee Faring, delivered between 1979-81.
Simon Neville/Air-Britain Photographic Images Collection
This model represents HZ-AHJ, part of the second group of deliveries. Delivered to Saudia on March 30, 1979, it entered service on April 02. On Dec. 22, 1980, on a flight from Dhahran to Karachi as Saudia 162, it suffered an explosive decompression over the Persian Gulf, sucking a 7 year old boy and a 13 year old girl out of the aircraft. It made an emergency landing at Doha, where it was discovered that a flange on the hub of a main landing gear wheel had failed due to fatigue, causing a tire blow out. The aircraft was repaired and flew without incident afterwards until Saudia retired its L-1011 fleet in 1998.
Mould
NG's L-1011 mould stands as among the finest moulds ever produced in 1/400 scale, earning praise from collectors and envy from manufacturers. The dolphin shaped nose is captured perfectly, the no.2 engine duct fairing follows the lines it should and the wing-fuselage fairing is correctly shaped. Despite being a L-1011-200, it never had a Frisbee Fairing, something I associated with the L-1011-200 and 500. The model correctly uses the L-1011-100 casting to showcase this. The nose gear could be slightly lower, however that issue only stands out at close up photography and any changes made may end up for the worse. I see no fault with the mould.
Score: 10
Livery
The L-1011 adorned 4 variants of the Saudia livery.
- Delivery Scheme: “Saudia” and “Saudi Arabian Airlines” titles on fuselage exclusively in Arabic on the right and English on the left. Polished belly
- Revised 1981-82 Scheme: “Saudia” titles revised, removing offensive dead space. “Saudia” titles in Arabic on right and English on left. “Saudi Arabian Airlines” titles in Arabic on left and English on right. Polished belly with some grey paint on belly
- 1987 Scheme: Identical to 1981-82 Scheme, polished belly fully painted over into grey
- 1996 Scheme: New brand identity, purple tail and beige top fuselage. “Saudia” titles eliminated for “Saudi Arabian”. Only painted on HZ-AHO
Clockwise from top left: Delivery Scheme, 1981-82 Scheme, 1987 Scheme, 1996 Scheme
This model wears the 1987 Scheme, the one most Saudia L-1011's wore during the twilight of their careers. The livery itself is simple, a classy cheatline consisting of 5 different colors. The colors are accurate and the cheatline correctly tapers off by the no.2 engine. The narrow band of white that separates the cheatline from the belly is present and correctly sized, although almost invisible to the eye. The black dot on the radome is too small, it should just be touching the dark blue color of the cheatline.
The English “Saudia” titles on the left side of the fuselage are well done and correctly sized and shaped. The Arabic “Saudia” titles on the right were beautifully realized but could have been slightly more bold. The white space inside some of the Arabic writing is too large. It doesn't make much of an impact on the model itself in person.
The “TriStar” titles on the no.2 duct could be slightly more bold as well, but once again, barely noticeable. The green tail fits just inside the confines of the vertical stabilizer, but leaves a smidgen more white than it should near the top. The stylized Saudi coat of arms are well done, the white standing out brightly from the green tail. The shape of the palm tree is as good as it can be considering the size.
Too high TriStar titles, discussed in Printing and Quality Control
Owing to the slightly narrow titles, it scores a 9. It isn't perfect but it's incredibly close.
Score: 9
Printing & Quality Control
NG have placed great care in the amount of printed detail on this model. The engine cowlings are correctly painted half grey and have at least 20 bits of printed detail on each of them. The underside is equally detailed, most notably the area near the no.2 engine. The fine nature of the print makes it near invisible from a distance, pleasantly appearing upon close inspection. Despite being only 2mm by 4mm, the “shahada” on the Saudi flag is clear when zoomed in. Truly an impressive feat.
All aerials arrived in place, aided by a plastic cradle that does not squish the aerials. The gear rolls nicely, however all four of the inner main gear and the right nose gear hubcaps lack detail. This doesn't bother me, however it could be improved upon. The “TriStar” titles are printed a bit too high on the no.2 engine duct, The box artwork has the "TriStar" titles located properly so instead of being an error in the livery, it is instead a quality control issue. Both the hubcaps and "TriStar" titles are minor in my opinion, so they lose the model one point.
Score: 9
Summary
The issue of the Arabic “Saudia” titles honestly might not warrant knocking off a point. However despite that and the few minor QC issues that dogged the model, it's a wonderful little model. NG have produced the finest rendition of a Saudia L-1011 ever in this scale, dethroning the Witty/Apollo Saudia L-1011 from 2008. This model scores 28/30, the first release would probably score around the same. After such a long wait, I'm glad it was worth it. Thank you NG Models, for making this model, do consider using the L-1011 mould a little more!
Score: 28/30
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