[FULL REVIEW] 2020 Cathay Exclusive (by Herpa) Cathay Pacific Boeing 747-467 VR-HOP "Lettuce Sandwich"- The price is right?

[quanng]

Hi everyone and welcome to another review post of mine on CATHAY (made by Herpa) Cathay Pacific B747-467 VR-HOP "Lettuce Sandwich" - the first-ever B747-400 received by Cathay back in 8 June 1989. Having served the airline for more than 26 years, the airframe, by the exit-time registered as B-HOP, came to Bruntingthorpe in the UK in September 2014 to be scrapped. The cockpit of which is preserved at Cathay City after being parted off the aircraft. In September 2020, in order to commemorate 30 years of the 747 operation, CATHAY - the own product brand of CX - introduced a limited-edition model depicting VR-HOP in its delivery scheme. Unlike usual with a thorough review, I would like to start this thread with some, imo, artistic shots of the Queen of the Skies on a beautiful sunset afternoon with its provided stand. The detailed photos with comments would be uploaded later. Please enjoy!

Kai Tak landing feeling (but without the skyrise) - anyone?



A head view



Still port-view but a wider angle for the Lettuce Green to be clearly observed.



A more dramatic sunset and a closer view of VR-HOP.



VR-HOP gettin' away



And finally, a photo which is faulty on Instagram - VR-HOP blurred while the background is clear. And yes, there is a Cathay Pacific A350-900 behind, on the landing to SGN from HKG.



I hope that everyone likes the photo. Wishing you all a great weekend. A detailed review is in the work.

 

[planes_on_a_shelf]

Where would this be available still, if at all?

 

[quanng]

Where would this be available still, if at all?

Hi, it is still available on the official CATHAY (domain name is AsiaMiles) website for HKD840 (approx 120ish USD). It was previously available across shops around the world (in Canada, the UK...). I got mine from Taobao (China) and it came like its description: bubbles. The price is around 45USD excluding shipping so it's a nice deal.

 

[OscarBravo992]

Stunning! It’s a shame so many of these have been affected by awful QC. I think I can wait for another release by either NG or JC (Directly, not through Herpa).

 

[quanng]

Stunning! It’s a shame so many of these have been affected by awful QC. I think I can wait for another release by either NG or JC (Directly, not through Herpa).

I hope that it will happen soon enough. If NG did the 742 Lettuce my 747 Lettuce fleet would be complete!

 

[quanng]

The 2nd post features the in-depth review of this model. First, let's look at the real machine with the same livery combination: green cheatline engines, VR- reg and Union Jack on the tail. Photo credited to its owner.


On the Herpa stand with the box behind which features the Lettuce Green design same as the livery - other CX-branded model has the same generic style iirc.



The content on the inner flap of the box with information regarding the airframe! The stand information is kinda simple and didn't have any foot-print regarding the airline. On my Herpa LH Cargo B77L, the airline name is printed on the stand. I remembered that SQ has its logo and title printed on that area.



Here it is on the port side. This is the only RR B744 JC made on the market. The manufacturer has a SilkWay in Skygate livery in the plan. The model looks classy from this angle. Also, like Emirates, CX seems don't want to put antennas on its 1:400 models (CX even did not have them on their diecast A321neo - ironically that model is cheaper than this one on the store. However my 1:100 DC-3 from CX has the antennas - maybe because it was wayyyy larger than those on the previous mentioned models). I guess that the airline is afraid that the tiny parts would be accidentally swallowed.

Here is a view from behind, which shows the dome in the middle of the fuselage.


Face to face with the Queen of the Skies.


The starboard side.


A perspective from the back.


Then from above, you might notice some small bubbling spots on the wings. Also, there is no "NO STEP" sign as compared to the BB version. From my quick look across the net, it seems that only BB added the marking. I believe that as an exclusive model for the brand, Cathay has captured all the necessary details of VR-HOP.


17 years apart from the 2003 BB400 version, this model showed the great progress of our 1:400 world. From finer details, crispier printings, to the rollable/tiltable main lainding gears, this VR-HOP somewhat outperformed its predecessor. Though, it still leaves lots to be desired, for both models: QC. I hope that in the near future, a much more refined version, which has all the details done correctly. Thank you all for reading my review.

 

[planes_on_a_shelf]

A great model for sure and a great buy
TaoBao I've been unable to navigate
120 USD is crazy. Will wait for future options

 

[LeoMuse747]

What a super nice looking model!!! Beautiful Jumbo. The classic colors of Cathay are really great.

 

[quanng]

A great model for sure and a great buy
TaoBao I've been unable to navigate
120 USD is crazy. Will wait for future options

I agree that Taobao search engine is kinda difficult to use. You night wanna use Engtaobao - they can buy the products on taobao and ship to you. 120USD retail is too much for a 1/400. I was put back by the price of 80ish-90ish of the ARD BA A388.

What a super nice looking model!!! Beautiful Jumbo. The classic colors of Cathay are really great.

I think so too, Leo! A beautiful and classy Jumbo jet! Had it got all the modern features it would be an absolute banger!

 

[YesterAirlines]

Great review. My copy is finally on its way from China via engtaobao now, along with some other models.

 

[planes_on_a_shelf]

I agree that Taobao search engine is kinda difficult to use. You night wanna use Engtaobao - they can buy the products on taobao and ship to you.

Yeah will try that too. Chinese websites are blocked in my country and with VPN it gets tricky as payments don't get through. Will check again nonetheless

 

[quanng]

Great review. My copy is finally on its way from China via engtaobao now, along with some other models.

Thank you Richard for your kind words! Hope to see this model review by you! It takes quite a while for engtaobao to ship from their warehouse to you.

Yeah will try that too. Chinese websites are blocked in my country and with VPN it gets tricky as payments don't get through. Will check again nonetheless

Yeah I think I got problem to install Taobao when my Apple location is set in India (they don't have it in their store). When I switch to Vietnam everything went fine.

 

[planes_on_a_shelf]

Yeah I think I got problem to install Taobao when my Apple location is set in India (they don't have it in their store). When I switch to Vietnam everything went fine.

Okay that perhaps explains why it glitches on the PC. If they don't deliver to India, I guess I have no option. .
The Cathay store doesn't deliver to India either, and in any case, 120 USD is atrocious for them to sell it at.
Thanks for the update! Really appreciate it.

 

[quanng]

Okay that perhaps explains why it glitches on the PC. If they don't deliver to India, I guess I have no option. .
The Cathay store doesn't deliver to India either, and in any case, 120 USD is atrocious for them to sell it at.
Thanks for the update! Really appreciate it.

That might be the reason. Taobao won't ship directly to India (even to Vietnam). The solution is to use Engtaobao - which helps you get the product from China and shipped to you. I hope this can help you with the purchase!

 

[LeoMuse747]

That might be the reason. Taobao won't ship directly to India (even to Vietnam). The solution is to use Engtaobao - which helps you get the product from China and shipped to you. I hope this can help you with the purchase!

a bit offtopic but is it easy to use Engtaobao?
Do they accept PayPal? I'm in Brazil, I wonder if I can buy from it. We have access to Chinese websites, specially Aliexpress.

 

[quanng]

a bit offtopic but is it easy to use Engtaobao?
Do they accept PayPal? I'm in Brazil, I wonder if I can buy from it. We have access to Chinese websites, specially Aliexpress.

I haven't used Engtaobao as my country has services to bring goods from China back to Vietnam. I think Richard @YesterAirlines can help you with this. From what I tried long time ago, it is not a smooth website but it still did the work.

 

[planes_on_a_shelf]

Thanks @quanng

 

[YesterAirlines]

My copy of this model arrived this week and I take a quick look over it at the site and discuss Herpa's relationship with Cathay too:

https://www.yesterdaysairlines.com/...ay-pacific-boeing-747-467-vr-hop-herpa-models

 

[LeoMuse747]

My copy of this model arrived this week and I take a quick look over it at the site and discuss Herpa's relationship with Cathay too:

https://www.yesterdaysairlines.com/...ay-pacific-boeing-747-467-vr-hop-herpa-models

View attachment 17504

It's a beautiful model, but I think the green should be brighter than this, just like you mentioned. Your old Gemini version seems to have a better saturation.

 

[OscarBravo992]

My copy of this model arrived this week and I take a quick look over it at the site and discuss Herpa's relationship with Cathay too:

https://www.yesterdaysairlines.com/...ay-pacific-boeing-747-467-vr-hop-herpa-models

View attachment 17504

A lovely model and livery. It's not perfect by any means, but it is pretty decent. As you and Leo mentioned, the green needs to be more saturated, and obviously it would look much better with a chrome belly.