Gemini Jets February 2025 Releases

[JJ Skippy]

I’m really happy to see Ron Allen announced this month. I will also be getting the Southwest since my Panda splits one broke, and I never liked NG’s performance on the color. Overall I imagine this is a set that a lot of people are going to gloss over as per usual, but I find my interests to be catered to quite well here.

 

[YesterAirlines]

That's a lot of cargo airlines this month. The 737s are all pretty weak but the MD-80 has some interest, however I'm tending towards waiting for a better version I admit. It isn't a very inspiring batch is it?

 

[Purpleplane]

I'm definitely getting the Delta MD-88, and possibly the FedEx 767-300F

 

[Boeing_3019]

Why is GJ so interested into Atlas Air models just out of interest?

 

[JJ Skippy]

That's a lot of cargo airlines this month. The 737s are all pretty weak but the MD-80 has some interest, however I'm tending towards waiting for a better version I admit. It isn't a very inspiring batch is it?

Maybe not for you or other collectors outside of the US. As always GJ tends to cater to North American folks the most, and as unfortunate it might be generally speaking, I rarely see you order their models (if they are to make something that caters to you) anyway for certain and obvious reasons.

Why is GJ so interested into Atlas Air models just out of interest?

No idea.

 

[LachieHare]

Ah man, most boring batch of releases in 2025!

All in all, not inspiring in the least. Happy for the US collectors, especially those who are keen for those average at best 737s.

 

[pommy80]

I might pick up the Atlas 777. One of the good moulds GJ have.

 

[Mikeymag]

Getting the Virgin Atlantic G-VSRB, named in honour of Richard Branson.

 

[BHD]

This release is pretty pale…

The MD-80 takes the cake though by a landslide!

 

[bakejobb_23]

GJ hitting every Delta livery on that mad dog mould, cant be too mad about that. Also interested in the FedEx. Not crazy about the 737s, just don't like that mould at all unfortunately but they'll be good pickups for those who don't mind it.

geez... nearly 50% cargo planes in this realease. Wasn't this one of their "big issues" back just a couple years ago with people?

 

[BD416]

I feel like Gemini has just been releasing the same set month after month. Like obviously the models are different but generally consist of a few N-reg narrowbodies, some cargo widebodies, and 2-3 odd models. Maybe it's just because I'm not super interested in this stuff but I haven't seen something intriguing in a while.

 

[Jazajia]

Ah man, most boring batch of releases in 2025!

All in all, not inspiring in the least. Happy for the US collectors, especially those who are keen for those average at best 737s.

People are not keen of “average” products. What many of us need to understand is that there are different perspectives. Not everyone who buys an airplane model understands the differences between molds. And what makes a mold better than other has a lot of subjectivity involved also (just think of the people that claim AV400’s mold are the best because of he level of detail, that alone…)

Gemini struggles to compete among the type of knowledgeable, detail-oriented collectors like us found in forums, etc. But this is just a segment of the market, and Gemini has a huge advantage, which is their ability to push their products to corners of the world that no other brand can.

I was just in Osaka with a coworker and took him to visit Crosswings. He isn’t a collector, but saw a model (made by GJ) of the airplane we were flying on that trip, he thought it was cool and bought it. Do you think I thought about telling him “hey don’t buy this, I know this so and so brand who can make it better, or this other brand who could release it in the future and that would make it even better. Of course not. It wouldn’t have been appropriate nor assertive to do that, and he would have thought I was crazy for being so concerned about the accuracy of a 1:400 scale model. This is just an example.

 

[JJ Skippy]

geez... nearly 50% cargo planes in this realease. Wasn't this one of their "big issues" back just a couple years ago with people?

I remember those days in 2020 when everyone I knew (myself included) complained about their releases. I’m still glad they took the criticism to heart and changed their release strategy ever since.

 

[CM Aviation]

Solid release, before we gloss over this set as long-time collectors, let's think about people who weren't collecting in 2020 when the UA 738 SA and Aeromexico 737-800 (maybe wasn't 2020, but a while ago is my point) last came out! Really cool to have options for newer collectors. Also, the 1:200s provide options for anybody wanting to spend more money!

 

[CM Aviation]

People are not keen of “average” products. What many of us need to understand is that there are different perspectives. Not everyone who buys an airplane model understands the differences between molds. And what makes a mold better than other has a lot of subjectivity involved also (just think of the people that claim AV400’s mold are the best because of he level of detail, that alone…)

Gemini struggles to compete among the type of knowledgeable, detail-oriented collectors like us found in forums, etc. But this is just a segment of the market, and Gemini has a huge advantage, which is their ability to push their products to corners of the world that no other brand can.

I was just in Osaka with a coworker and took him to visit Crosswings. He isn’t a collector, but saw a model (made by GJ) of the airplane we were flying on that trip, he thought it was cool and bought it. Do you think I thought about telling him “hey don’t buy this, I know this so and so brand who can make it better, or this other brand who could release it in the future and that would make it even better. Of course not. It wouldn’t have been appropriate nor assertive to do that, and he would have thought I was crazy for being so concerned about the accuracy of a 1:400 scale model. This is just an example.

REALLY good rundown, thank you for sharing! Really like the thoughts here and my vision aligns right with this.

 

[LeoMuse747]

I feel like Gemini has just been releasing the same set month after month.

My same thoughts. These GJ releases always make me yawn
They always find a Delta, Southwest or UA thing to release each month. Meanwhile, nothing really exotic, exciting, groundbreaking this month...

BTW, I do agree about the Delta MD-80 being cool. It's good to see GJ using their MadDogs lately.

 

[The_SingingAvgeek]

Pretty meh set of releases this month. My wallet is safe

 

[YesterAirlines]

Maybe not for you or other collectors outside of the US. As always GJ tends to cater to North American folks the most, and as unfortunate it might be generally speaking, I rarely see you order their models (if they are to make something that caters to you) anyway for certain and obvious reasons.

I don't disagree but I collect:

• Almost any airline/aircraft combo worldwide that was operational before 2000 (I own 986 models from the USA alone)
• Anything from China
• A lot of Russia, Iran, Indonesia
• Any house colours
• A lot of unusual aircraft types

It is impressive they mostly manage to miss out this enormous chunk of the industry. Meanwhile some collectors who buy a lot of GJ have the temerity to complain about the subject matter and releases of other brands. I just find that an impressive double standard, especially if we're talking about re-releases.

In relation to the wider undercurrent of this thread:

Most of the models this month will be perfectly good products (just not the 737s) and I agree with most of what @Jazajia says from a factual basis, although I do find a good chunk of it to be irrelevent to this thread or forum. Just because GJ have been at this longer and have greater brand recognition doesn't mean they should be praised for that. It is an artefact of the system that is all. It is in the interest of ALL collectors for GJ (and any other brand) to either improve their product or lose out to those who have.

In terms of buyer's, ignorance isn't exactly ideal or something to be praised. Plus, this IS a model forum so you would expect people to be able to tell the difference between a 737 and A320 and want to discuss it. The point I see pushed by a minority (and usually those with vested interests at certain brands) is that we should not discuss the models - in fact we are wrong to talk about them critically at all. Instead we should praise the models regardless of their quality and be happy just because they exist. I 100% disagree with that and find it to be pretty offensive, especially when some of the defences of that position basically amount to lying. Note, nobody is saying don't buy them BUT don't pretend they are amazing either when they are not.

Incidentally @Jazajia strawman arguments are not helpful. I don't see anyone saying AV400's moulds are the best (aside from the A380). They are however broadly comparable with the competition and offer things others don't. A fair amount of mould comparison is subjective, but not that much! You always overplay this angle. Objectively the GJ 737s are weak - that is a fact that can be backed up easily, not an opinion.

In summary it is ok to discuss and criticise model aircraft on a model aircraft discussion forum!! It is not ok to make personal attacks or lie. It depresses me how often this seems to need to be reiterated.

 

[JJ Skippy]

It is impressive they mostly manage to miss out this enormous chunk of the industry. Meanwhile some collectors who buy a lot of GJ have the temerity to complain about the subject matter and releases of other brands. I just find that an impressive double standard, especially if we're talking about re-releases.

I’ve seen Gemini sticking to a certain formula for their releases — thus you see the same airlines over and over again and it looks repetitive on paper. With what I collect though it’s not a problem since they are airlines I collect most often. It is nice that they dive into the occasional oddball though (ex. Cubana AN-26) and I hope there are more to come.

How I see the complaints of other brands is that some people (predominantly US-based collectors like myself) want more of the same stuff Gemini does from brands like NG because they objectively possess the better hard product. Most of my collector friends pass on Gemini releases and wait for NG because of this. While I’m not here to deny my complaints about that kind of stuff, in fact I acknowledge my past complaints, what I will say is that I put more focus in release choices rather than quality of models; combine that with my criteria for collecting, thus my more positive reception of this release compared to the frequent forum users who delve into other regions of the world, and/or hold models to higher standards than I do.

Some clarification on the Southwest since you mentioned the 737s: NG’s rendition obviously had the wrong color, and for me it would look weird to have that alongside my previous Southwest models. Blue is my favorite color so admittedly I get a little picky with some blues. While objectively that model is better from a quality standpoint, it’s just that the color scheme looks too far off for me to like it as much. I know plenty who still bought it despite the dark color, and there’s no shame in that. Fingers crossed that the color is better from Gemini, and they are pretty good with getting their colors right.

 

[YesterAirlines]

Some clarification on the Southwest since you mentioned the 737s: NG’s rendition obviously had the wrong color, and for me it would look weird to have that alongside my previous Southwest models. Blue is my favorite color so admittedly I get a little picky with some blues. While objectively that model is better from a quality standpoint, it’s just that the color scheme looks too far off for me to like it as much. I know plenty who still bought it despite the dark color, and there’s no shame in that. Fingers crossed that the color is better from Gemini, and they are pretty good with getting their colors right.

Colour vs mould is a tricky choice I agree. It's a shame we sometimes have to make it. You're right though it'd be nice if a fleet you owned could all be the same colour! I've got a few airlines like that in my collection - Hainan, Sichuan, United battleships often have annoyingly different shades.

To be honest I actually think you and are a lot closer together in terms of our views that we sometimes seem