NG Model 1:400 April 2026 Release Hints

[abdulmohiuddin]

Gulf Air 787's seem nice...

Ah well, we shall see what HX and Phoenix have in store for this month

 

[planes_on_a_shelf]

Gulf Air 787's seem nice...

Yep the retros
Though still befuddled on the choice of gold to replace the original violet. Would have been really 'retro' if they'd stuck with the original scheme.

 

[abdulmohiuddin]

Yep the retros
Though still befuddled on the choice of gold to replace the original violet. Would have been really 'retro' if they'd stuck with the original scheme.

That was a conscious choice made by Gulf Air. There's a good story behind it.

Gulf Air was founded from the remains of BOAC's operations in the former British colonies in the Gulf(namely Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, and Oman). These four states each purchased 25% of the company to create a flag carrier for the Gulf region. This meant a new brand identity was needed to represent each of the Gulf nations. They ended up settling on the lovely Golden Falcon scheme, characterized by its use of gold titling and three main colors; Violet, Green, and Red.

Close up shot of the tail, where all the colors of the Gulf Air scheme of the era is visible.

The original violet color was meant to represent the State of Qatar, while the Red and Green were representative of the UAE, Oman, and Bahrain. This scheme lasted until the early 2000's, when Bahrain took full control over Gulf Air as its flagship carrier while the other Gulf States withdrew and created their own Flag Carriers(Oman Air, Qatar Airways, Emirates, and Etihad).

Fast forward to 2017, the Gulf States have this massive falling out with Qatar, accusing Qatar of working against the interests of the other Gulf States. Qatar was shunned by the others, airspace was restricted, and the Saudi's threatened to turn Qatar into an island by digging up their land border with them. As Gulf Air was now the flag carrier of Bahrian, it had to follow its government in shunning Qatar. So when Gulf Air's 70th anniversary came along in 2019, they wanted to paint an aircraft in its iconic retro scheme. But political considerations meant they couldn't. Painting the violet on the aircraft would be a tacit recognition of Qatar, so it was replaced with gold, which made sense since "Golden Falcon".

Long story short, the reason why the gold was used and not the historically accurate violet was because Bahrain didn't want to acknowledge the Qatari role in Gulf Air's history due to a silly political dispute.

 

[Ted Lin]

Wondering will they make a Singapore Airlines A380 in the future… sounds logical but NG hasn’t been releasing much SQ models for the past few years other than the trio A350

 

[planes_on_a_shelf]

That was a conscious choice made by Gulf Air. There's a good story behind it.

Gulf Air was founded from the remains of BOAC's operations in the former British colonies in the Gulf(namely Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, and Oman). These four states each purchased 25% of the company to create a flag carrier for the Gulf region. This meant a new brand identity was needed to represent each of the Gulf nations. They ended up settling on the lovely Golden Falcon scheme, characterized by its use of gold titling and three main colors; Violet, Green, and Red.
View attachment 72846
Close up shot of the tail, where all the colors of the Gulf Air scheme of the era is visible.
View attachment 72845
The original violet color was meant to represent the State of Qatar, while the Red and Green were representative of the UAE, Oman, and Bahrain. This scheme lasted until the early 2000's, when Bahrain took full control over Gulf Air as its flagship carrier while the other Gulf States withdrew and created their own Flag Carriers(Oman Air, Qatar Airways, Emirates, and Etihad).

Fast forward to 2017, the Gulf States have this massive falling out with Qatar, accusing Qatar of working against the interests of the other Gulf States. Qatar was shunned by the others, airspace was restricted, and the Saudi's threatened to turn Qatar into an island by digging up their land border with them. As Gulf Air was now the flag carrier of Bahrian, it had to follow its government in shunning Qatar. So when Gulf Air's 70th anniversary came along in 2019, they wanted to paint an aircraft in its iconic retro scheme. But political considerations meant they couldn't. Painting the violet on the aircraft would be a tacit recognition of Qatar, so it was replaced with gold, which made since since "Golden Falcon".

Long story short, the reason why the gold was used and not the historically accurate violet was because Bahrain didn't want to acknowledge the Qatari role in Gulf Air's history due to a silly political dispute.

whoa thanks for this insight.
given how things are playing out in West Asia right now - this just throws some more light and detail into their dynamics
hopefully by the time it's Gulf Air 100 - there'd be greater bonhomie.
Unless annihilation occurs prior
Cheers and Have a Great Day

 

[LeoMuse747]

That was a conscious choice made by Gulf Air. There's a good story behind it.

Gulf Air was founded from the remains of BOAC's operations in the former British colonies in the Gulf(namely Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, and Oman). These four states each purchased 25% of the company to create a flag carrier for the Gulf region. This meant a new brand identity was needed to represent each of the Gulf nations. They ended up settling on the lovely Golden Falcon scheme, characterized by its use of gold titling and three main colors; Violet, Green, and Red.
View attachment 72846
Close up shot of the tail, where all the colors of the Gulf Air scheme of the era is visible.
View attachment 72845
The original violet color was meant to represent the State of Qatar, while the Red and Green were representative of the UAE, Oman, and Bahrain. This scheme lasted until the early 2000's, when Bahrain took full control over Gulf Air as its flagship carrier while the other Gulf States withdrew and created their own Flag Carriers(Oman Air, Qatar Airways, Emirates, and Etihad).

Fast forward to 2017, the Gulf States have this massive falling out with Qatar, accusing Qatar of working against the interests of the other Gulf States. Qatar was shunned by the others, airspace was restricted, and the Saudi's threatened to turn Qatar into an island by digging up their land border with them. As Gulf Air was now the flag carrier of Bahrian, it had to follow its government in shunning Qatar. So when Gulf Air's 70th anniversary came along in 2019, they wanted to paint an aircraft in its iconic retro scheme. But political considerations meant they couldn't. Painting the violet on the aircraft would be a tacit recognition of Qatar, so it was replaced with gold, which made sense since "Golden Falcon".

Long story short, the reason why the gold was used and not the historically accurate violet was because Bahrain didn't want to acknowledge the Qatari role in Gulf Air's history due to a silly political dispute.

Super interesting story, thanks for sharing! While the original scheme had the violet color, I personally like the new retro version with the gold. I think the livery still looks very beautiful and it is one of the best looking retrojets around

 

[JJ Skippy]

Obligatory “any updates” reply…

 

[pons399]

Probably this weekend, if the past few months are any indication.

Depressed gifs locked and loaded as usual.

 

[nb.aviation]

Obligatory “any updates” reply…

Nothing yet

 

[planes_on_a_shelf]

Guessing they'll add stuff to this

 

[JJ Skippy]

Guessing they'll add stuff to this

Hopefully so — and it’s not just more models from their home country

 

[guanyi0724]

Hopefully so — and it’s not just more models from their home country

As far as this issue is concerned, aside from one unidentified A318, there were no mainland Chinese registrations in April release.

 

[MacSergey]

here is small exchange event tomorrow. it confirms 6 models in the next release

 

[JJ Skippy]

As far as this issue is concerned, aside from one unidentified A318, there were no mainland Chinese registrations in April release.

Beneficial from a global standpoint already.

 

[BubblesAviation]

here is small exchange event tomorrow. it confirms 6 models in the next release
View attachment 73414

What does PIP winglets mean? I think I have enough for the Delta A350 but I don’t need it.

 

[planes_on_a_shelf]

What does PIP winglets mean? I think I have enough for the Delta A350 but I don’t need it.

Taller updated winglets
Now standard.
PIP - Performance Improvement Package

 

[planes_on_a_shelf]

here is small exchange event tomorrow. it confirms 6 models in the next release
View attachment 73414

At least 3 here I'd like to pick up
Let's see how many points I got

 

[JJ Skippy]

here is small exchange event tomorrow. it confirms 6 models in the next release
View attachment 73414

I guess it’s a good thing we’re getting these planes now, but this strategy has been pretty consistent lately. Has it always guaranteed an early arrival before the normal shipment?

 

[Charter]

That was a conscious choice made by Gulf Air. There's a good story behind it.

Gulf Air was founded from the remains of BOAC's operations in the former British colonies in the Gulf(namely Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, and Oman). These four states each purchased 25% of the company to create a flag carrier for the Gulf region. This meant a new brand identity was needed to represent each of the Gulf nations. They ended up settling on the lovely Golden Falcon scheme, characterized by its use of gold titling and three main colors; Violet, Green, and Red.
View attachment 72846
Close up shot of the tail, where all the colors of the Gulf Air scheme of the era is visible.
View attachment 72845
The original violet color was meant to represent the State of Qatar, while the Red and Green were representative of the UAE, Oman, and Bahrain. This scheme lasted until the early 2000's, when Bahrain took full control over Gulf Air as its flagship carrier while the other Gulf States withdrew and created their own Flag Carriers(Oman Air, Qatar Airways, Emirates, and Etihad).

Fast forward to 2017, the Gulf States have this massive falling out with Qatar, accusing Qatar of working against the interests of the other Gulf States. Qatar was shunned by the others, airspace was restricted, and the Saudi's threatened to turn Qatar into an island by digging up their land border with them. As Gulf Air was now the flag carrier of Bahrian, it had to follow its government in shunning Qatar. So when Gulf Air's 70th anniversary came along in 2019, they wanted to paint an aircraft in its iconic retro scheme. But political considerations meant they couldn't. Painting the violet on the aircraft would be a tacit recognition of Qatar, so it was replaced with gold, which made sense since "Golden Falcon".

Long story short, the reason why the gold was used and not the historically accurate violet was because Bahrain didn't want to acknowledge the Qatari role in Gulf Air's history due to a silly political dispute.

Thanks for sharing this beauty my friend. The L-1011 is spectacular and sharing the history around it and around Gulf Air is realy interesting.

 

[MacSergey]

I guess it’s a good thing we’re getting these planes now, but this strategy has been pretty consistent lately. Has it always guaranteed an early arrival before the normal shipment?

it does not arrive earlier, it just allows you to exchange point on new models