My East Asia Collection Project

[JJ Skippy]

Throughout my time in this hobby, I’ve predominantly focused on North America. When I started, I didn’t have interest in anything outside of modern U.S. stuff. As time has passed, I have done research on other aspects of the commercial aviation industry: retro U.S. being the biggest example. That fleet has grown tremendously in the last couple years with plenty more room to grow (not on my shelves anyway ). Now looking for something new, I am looking forward to starting a collection of models from East Asia.

Why East Asia?
I don’t have any family ties to East Asia, nor have I traveled to this part of the world, however some of my friends are very much into this realm. One friend who hails from the Philippines loves the country’s airline, another is fascinated by Korean Air, and another who visited Japan earlier this year has a lot of interest in the region. This has also been inspired by @Starz10p Aviation and his introduction of Japanese model airports on his channel. Therefore, I’ve become more interested in this realm myself and I want to explore this part of the world through airplane models.

In the short term, my goal is to build a fleet of Japanese and South Korean models. With the addition of an ANA 777, JAL MD-90, and Zipair 787 in the second half of 2025, I’ve already had a soft-launch of the Japanese fleet. Alongside that, I want to collect models from other countries, such as Taiwan, the Philippines, and the Marianas. While I recognize that the latter two are in a different geographical region than East Asia, they are still places I want to explore more of alongside Japan and South Korea. Long term, I will shift focus to the Asia mainland to cover places like Hong Kong and Macau, and of course China given the vast amount of coverage NG has given them. All of these models will have a presence on my Random Model Airports series on my channel; check it out if you want to see what it’s all about. More details will be given in a separate video later this year.

I will be using this thread to document my journey through this new collection. Any tips, suggestions, etc. are welcome alongside questions you might have! I fear for my wallet’s well-being as I move forward with this project

 

[Starz10p Aviation]

Throughout my time in this hobby, I’ve predominantly focused on North America. When I started, I didn’t have interest in anything outside of modern U.S. stuff. As time has passed, I have done research on other aspects of the commercial aviation industry: retro U.S. being the biggest example. That fleet has grown tremendously in the last couple years with plenty more room to grow (not on my shelves anyway ). Now looking for something new, I am looking forward to starting a collection of models from East Asia.

Why East Asia?
I don’t have any family ties to East Asia, nor have I traveled to this part of the world, however some of my friends are very much into this realm. One friend who hails from the Philippines loves the country’s airline, another is fascinated by Korean Air, and another who visited Japan earlier this year has a lot of interest in the region. This has also been inspired by @Starz10p Aviation and his introduction of Japanese model airports on his channel. Therefore, I’ve become more interested in this realm myself and I want to explore this part of the world through airplane models.

In the short term, my goal is to build a fleet of Japanese and South Korean models. With the addition of an ANA 777, JAL MD-90, and Zipair 787 in the second half of 2025, I’ve already had a soft-launch of the Japanese fleet. Alongside that, I want to collect models from other countries, such as Taiwan, the Philippines, and the Marianas. While I recognize that the latter two are in a different geographical region than East Asia, they are still places I want to explore more of alongside Japan and South Korea. Long term, I will shift focus to the Asia mainland to cover places like Hong Kong and Macau, and of course China given the vast amount of coverage NG has given them. All of these models will have a presence on my Random Model Airports series on my channel; check it out if you want to see what it’s all about. More details will be given in a separate video later this year.

I will be using this thread to document my journey through this new collection. Any tips, suggestions, etc. are welcome alongside questions you might have! I fear for my wallet’s well-being as I move forward with this project

thanks for the mention! Looks like we both are growing our Asian collections. I started mine out of particular interest in Japanese public transport, and the train rabbit hole led to finding some cool stuff about aviation in the region that I had not heard of before. Are you ever going to make a full time real or fictional series in Asia in the future when your collection grows?

 

[JJ Skippy]

thanks for the mention! Looks like we both are growing our Asian collections. I started mine out of particular interest in Japanese public transport, and the train rabbit hole led to finding some cool stuff about aviation in the region that I had not heard of before. Are you ever going to make a full time real or fictional series in Asia in the future when your collection grows?

Possibly, yes. Right now any airport updates I do out of East Asia would just be one-offs, but once the collection is large enough and I have space to set up another airport I will introduce a regular series. Whether or not it’s fictional I haven’t decided.

 

[Starz10p Aviation]

Possibly, yes. Right now any airport updates I do out of East Asia would just be one-offs, but once the collection is large enough and I have space to set up another airport I will introduce a regular series. Whether or not it’s fictional I haven’t decided.

Sounds good. I will definitely be growing my collection along side you.

 

[JJ Skippy]

As I await my first East Asia model post-launch, let's take a look at some other models from this part of the world in my fleet.

An addition at Airliners International 2025 ATL was this ANA Boeing 777-300ER by Phoenix. I acquired this from the MV400 Models table for only $40 due to a paint defect by the front boarding door, which honestly isn't that bad for me. I got one of these since I got to see it in ORD landing. Pretty nice model from Phoenix, and I would've gotten the AV400 of the same reg if it made it in time.

ANA flies the 777-300ER on their long haul segments out of Haneda. If you're flying to U.S. cities like Chicago, San Francisco, or New York on ANA, this is the ride you'll most likely find yourself on.

 

[JJ Skippy]

This next model is a little unusual for the collection. At least I can say I have an aircraft from China. This is another Phoenix model, an Air China Airbus A350-900. Released in 2014, this was one of the first Phoenix A350s produced. This particular reg doesn't exist in the fleet however. I picked this up for a cool five bucks off @Irish way back in 2022 during my first Airliners International convention. Not something I particularly wanted, but for five bucks it's hard to say no.

Air China flies the A350 on a mix of domestic flights and throughout Europe.

 

[JJ Skippy]

Switching things over to Gemini Jets, we have a recent release from them in this Japan Airlines (JAL) MD-90. Certainly a plane many weren't expecting GJ to do, but it is a great plane nonetheless. This bird flew for JAS and JAL Domestic before going to JAL, then to Delta as N942DN before being retired in 2019.

I plan on collecting retro models from this region pending my budget and other interesting releases. The China Northern in GJ's latest announcement I will hopefully get time to order soon.

 

[JJ Skippy]

Onward to another Airliners 2025 snag is this Philippines A350 by Aviation400. This aircraft does not fly with Philippines anymore and is now with Lufthansa, registered D-AIVB. Only two A359s are active right now, those being RP-C3501 and RP-C3508, which carries The Love Bus sticker. In North America, they fly into Toronto Pearson and New York JFK. I love the detachable magnetic gear on this; currently it is the second of three AV400 models I have, all with the detachable gear.

This was $65 from West Coast Diecast; a little pricey but by that point they were getting rare as I got two of the last copies available from them (the second was for a friend who was unable to attend the convention). I'm eager to add the A330 for their medium haul flights and to Honolulu and the 777 which fly into SFO, SEA, LAX, and YVR in North America. With the A350-1000 expected to join the fleet at the end of the year, Philippines is sure to have an excellent fleet of widebody jets.

 

[JJ Skippy]

Currently my latest East Asia model in the collection is this Zipair 787-8 by NG. A Japanese LCC wholly owned by Japan Airlines, this airline flies eight of these birds on long haul routes throughout East Asia and North America; here they serve YVR, HNL, IAH, LAX, SFO, and SJC.

I ordered this off Wildcat Diecast, having previously attempted to acquire this specific tail through the last NG exchange run, although they only had the Z tail and an interim scheme.

 

[Ryan_426]

Love the collection!

 

[Aircrafter93]

This is a lot like me and how my collecting habits have changed over the years. I have always mostly been into US carriers, because that it was I see most of in my daily life. I also always collected international airlines that I had personally flown on.

Over the last year, I really started to get into Asian airlines, and that is mainly because the sheer quantity of Asian airlines by brands like NG and others. But I also really like the special schemes that Chinese carriers do; The China United region schemes, China Southerns impressive schemes, to name a few. There are quite a few that are really striking liveries and display well.

Somewhat on topic, I also have been watching old Kai Tak spotting videos from JustPlanes, and have really gotten into airlines that flew into Kai Tak specifically. So anytime I see something that has flown there, I try and find a model and add to the collection. I have never flown on Cathay Pacific, but have always loved the look of their planes. Same applies for Singapore Airlines.

Some people piss and moan over the inarguably large amount of B- models released, but I think that I am certainly in the minority (at least as a US collector) being excited by what special schemed Chinese model is coming out each month.

 

[Starz10p Aviation]

Im more complaining on the lack of JA’s these days

This is a lot like me and how my collecting habits have changed over the years. I have always mostly been into US carriers, because that it was I see most of in my daily life. I also always collected international airlines that I had personally flown on.

Over the last year, I really started to get into Asian airlines, and that is mainly because the sheer quantity of Asian airlines by brands like NG and others. But I also really like the special schemes that Chinese carriers do; The China United region schemes, China Southerns impressive schemes, to name a few. There are quite a few that are really striking liveries and display well.

Somewhat on topic, I also have been watching old Kai Tak spotting videos from JustPlanes, and have really gotten into airlines that flew into Kai Tak specifically. So anytime I see something that has flown there, I try and find a model and add to the collection. I have never flown on Cathay Pacific, but have always loved the look of their planes. Same applies for Singapore Airlines.

Some people piss and moan over the inarguably large amount of B- models released, but I think that I am certainly in the minority (at least as a US collector) being excited by what special schemed Chinese model is coming out each month.

 

[Columbus Aviation]

Im more complaining on the lack of JA’s these days

united express himself over here

 

[Starz10p Aviation]

united express himself over here

I’ve been satisfied

 

[JJ Skippy]

It’s officially the kickoff of my East Asia fleet. My Jetstar Japan Airbus A321LR arrived from JetCollector, marking my first aircraft from this operator. They only have three of these in service compared to about 20 A320s, and they’re flown across Japan and even to Taipei, at least in the last week. An A320 will be next for this airline which I’m hopeful to find soon.

 

[Starz10p Aviation]

It’s officially the kickoff of my East Asia fleet. My Jetstar Japan Airbus A321LR arrived from JetCollector, marking my first aircraft from this operator. They only have three of these in service compared to about 20 A320s, and they’re flown across Japan and even to Taipei, at least in the last week. An A320 will be next for this airline which I’m hopeful to find soon.
View attachment 56843

Looks amazing! Welcome to the Japanese model aircraft club!

 

[OllieBHaas25]

It’s officially the kickoff of my East Asia fleet. My Jetstar Japan Airbus A321LR arrived from JetCollector, marking my first aircraft from this operator. They only have three of these in service compared to about 20 A320s, and they’re flown across Japan and even to Taipei, at least in the last week. An A320 will be next for this airline which I’m hopeful to find soon.
View attachment 56843

Honestly forgot Jetstar had multiple divisions.

 

[JJ Skippy]

Honestly forgot Jetstar had multiple divisions.

Yeah, their Asia division shut down over the summer unfortunately.