Given what NG is doing these days, OZ seems more likely. NG has been releasing models with the same livery but different registration numbers. KE’s 777-200ER and 777F have different logo placements, and the 777F features the “KOREAN AIR CARGO” logo.
NG Model 1:400 June 2025 Release Hints
- Thread starter BA117
- Start date
pons399
Well-known member
They’ve been pretty inconsistent with how that’s written in the hints; May’s had both OZ 321s separately, but the two KE 359s written as one
Both will be EVA, with the 787-9 probably one of the newly delivered standard livery reg's.
This does look like a disappointing set from a diversity perspective, but it's hard for me to get too upset when it contains 2 MD-80s and 2 Tristars - assuming the subject matter is decent that is. That makes this much better than say the entirety of Gemini's output this calendar year.
I 100% get the frustration - NG aimed so high and now produces these very middle of the road sets. However I still think some of the moaning is wide of the mark. 'The Year of Classics' was always a Chinese translation of a Chinese slogan for the Chinese market and they did produce a year of 'Chinese classics'. As for people getting scammed on the QF Lite 787. Although disappointing they made a Lite version it was 1 point of a programme that is free to collectors. They gave you something for free - and you used a tiny portion of it.
As for the dearth of N regs this is almost certainly tariff related. This hasn't gone away - it is just as bad as ever unless your retailer is getting small deliveries, cheating through 3rd party countries or someone has cut out a distributor to keep prices low and still suck up the 30% extra.
They clearly don't think European models sell and since I have heard exactly that from Phoenix and JC Wings they are probably right. I don't see why they couldn't theoretically keep on making these Asia focused sets forever. It is exactly what Phoenix used to do.
I 100% get the frustration - NG aimed so high and now produces these very middle of the road sets. However I still think some of the moaning is wide of the mark. 'The Year of Classics' was always a Chinese translation of a Chinese slogan for the Chinese market and they did produce a year of 'Chinese classics'. As for people getting scammed on the QF Lite 787. Although disappointing they made a Lite version it was 1 point of a programme that is free to collectors. They gave you something for free - and you used a tiny portion of it.
As for the dearth of N regs this is almost certainly tariff related. This hasn't gone away - it is just as bad as ever unless your retailer is getting small deliveries, cheating through 3rd party countries or someone has cut out a distributor to keep prices low and still suck up the 30% extra.
They clearly don't think European models sell and since I have heard exactly that from Phoenix and JC Wings they are probably right. I don't see why they couldn't theoretically keep on making these Asia focused sets forever. It is exactly what Phoenix used to do.
This comment on their Instagram made me laugh though:
JJ Skippy
Well-known member
How can four retro planes in this release make up for what Gemini has been producing for half of this year? I understand the frustration some people have with them making the same airlines over and over, but they have made some awesome MD-80s like the Delta Ron Allen and Frontier this year — clearly subjects NG aren’t interested in doing. Factoring in NG’s wishlist with multiple subjects having double digit votes, it baffles me they haven’t made more by now. Therefore, GJ has been able to hold an advantage despite them having an inferior product. It’s not worth it to wait for NG to do these Mad Dogs anymore because of their unreliability, so I’m glad I’ve stuck with buying the models hitting the market first and holding off an NG acquisition until they make something GJ hasn’t and/or I don’t have yet. I don’t like to wait for models if I know I have other options when a likelihood exists that the best hard product won’t get used for said model.
I would also like to clarify that I’m not trying to defend Gemini here. While tariffs may be a contributing factor to the lack of US aircraft in recent months, there’s no denying that the China market has been a long-term target for NG, and I think the tariffs are giving them the perfect reason to fully jump into that market now. That’s fine for them, since that will be where most of their money comes from, but as we’ve seen already western collectors are upset about the change. Having the best hard product in this scale in many faucets is what brought many people over to them in favor of the competition, so having their release strategy change to what we have now is horrible for these collectors.
I have a hard time believing European models wouldn’t sell. Clearly there is a market — it’s just Herpa dominates that market in 1:500, and since they are the only manufacturer in that scale they have become complacent and quality issues are rampant. It makes you feel blessed we have as many options in this scale as we do, despite the issues some manufacturers tend to have. I’ve heard some are trying to jump ship to 1:400 as a result, so I think doing one or two a release wouldn’t hurt for those folks.
100% agree on the frustration with NG's Super 80 usage whence my thread a week or two ago on that subject: https://modelairlinerforum.com/threads/ng-models-md-80s.2564/
I guess I haven't given up on NG coming to its senses for this pair. I've been tempted by the Frontier but Geminis are surprisingly difficult to buy in the UK. The main GJ retailer still hasn't received them and may never do it seems. I don't trust them enough to preorder.
Possibly true although you'll note the NG releases have near halved in size and the half that is missing are mostly Ns. I think the impact of tariffs will bcome clearer in the next 2-3 months.
Agreed - I'm not loving it myself
100% agree but unfortunately I don't get to decide what the big boys make. As I say I have heard from multiple manufacturers that EU models don't sell. That's what they say. I recently created a retailer list. In Europe I could only count 7 retailers total and of those only ACB and Aviation Megastore do a lot of 400 scale. There are 6 stores in the UK alone and 21 in the USA.
Ultimately, while I agree with most of the criticism of NG, to varying degrees, this year including preorders I've purchased 74 new models. 22 of those have been NGs and 1 has been Gemini Jets. And I collect a massively wide criteria of 400 scale models.
bakejobb_23
Well-known member
My thoughts are that i’m kinda giving all manufacturers, especially NG, till about august or so to see where things balance out. I think it’s a combination of what everyone here is saying.
A: The Asian/Chinese market is strong for NG and i’m sure they make a good chunk of change making those, so I see why they continue
B: they clearly are being affected by the tarrifs and I think we can all assume some N regs and even European regs have been postponed to hopefully make sure they sell well once things have settled (if they do that is)
I can’t imagine ever seeing european/N regs making 50% or more of these releases, it probably just doesn’t make sense to do so at least at the moment for them, otherwise they’d be doing it lol. I’m sure they may want to bring us some of these sought after planes but they also don’t want to announce something only for it to be blocked by a tarrif issue or something along those lines. I’d imagine we keep seeing 2-6 releases on a good month for the next few until hopefully tarrifs get figured out and there may be more stability for them to do bigger chunk batches. If tarrifs get worse we may be waiting a lot longer…
Show your voices as most people have, if we give up we will never get “what we want” but also don’t give up on them either. I do think more communication on their end would be great as they seemed to have had in the past. A quick “these moulds needed some tweaks and that’s why we haven’t released anything”, “xyz has been put off for tarrif reasons”, “we would love to make xyz, but xyz doesn’t sell well from our end so it’s not profitable for us to make them” would be appreciated to have back.
A: The Asian/Chinese market is strong for NG and i’m sure they make a good chunk of change making those, so I see why they continue
B: they clearly are being affected by the tarrifs and I think we can all assume some N regs and even European regs have been postponed to hopefully make sure they sell well once things have settled (if they do that is)
I can’t imagine ever seeing european/N regs making 50% or more of these releases, it probably just doesn’t make sense to do so at least at the moment for them, otherwise they’d be doing it lol. I’m sure they may want to bring us some of these sought after planes but they also don’t want to announce something only for it to be blocked by a tarrif issue or something along those lines. I’d imagine we keep seeing 2-6 releases on a good month for the next few until hopefully tarrifs get figured out and there may be more stability for them to do bigger chunk batches. If tarrifs get worse we may be waiting a lot longer…
Show your voices as most people have, if we give up we will never get “what we want” but also don’t give up on them either. I do think more communication on their end would be great as they seemed to have had in the past. A quick “these moulds needed some tweaks and that’s why we haven’t released anything”, “xyz has been put off for tarrif reasons”, “we would love to make xyz, but xyz doesn’t sell well from our end so it’s not profitable for us to make them” would be appreciated to have back.
NG's comms has dramatically tailed off in recent times. They barely respond to me, let alone communicate with the wider collectorate. Most of their posting on FB and Insta is done by surrogates not them directly.
Someone said on here that they thought there may have been a leadership change and I think they could well be right. And / Or it could be that collectors somewhat helped kill the golden goose. So many requests, so much nitpicking, some times when they did what was requested and it didn't work for them. They were overwhelmed and then people got upset when 'they' weren't being listened to specifically. I get the feeling they have purposefully backed away and aren't too interested in listening to hardcore collectors on forums like they used too. They have started the wish centre partly as a way to hear a wider audience.
These are my thoughts - I don't have anything but conjecture to back them up but they make sense to me given what I have seen and heard.
Someone said on here that they thought there may have been a leadership change and I think they could well be right. And / Or it could be that collectors somewhat helped kill the golden goose. So many requests, so much nitpicking, some times when they did what was requested and it didn't work for them. They were overwhelmed and then people got upset when 'they' weren't being listened to specifically. I get the feeling they have purposefully backed away and aren't too interested in listening to hardcore collectors on forums like they used too. They have started the wish centre partly as a way to hear a wider audience.
These are my thoughts - I don't have anything but conjecture to back them up but they make sense to me given what I have seen and heard.
miaoyimiaozhongl
Member
The reason actually has nothing to do with focusing on the Chinese market. NG has produced consistently poor content about Chinese airlines for a long time, and Chinese consumers are deeply dissatisfied with their choices. Moreover, their interaction with consumers is extremely poor. Wishlists are treated as a joke and left unattended, and last year, even disrespectful statements and behavior toward Chinese consumers surfaced within Chinese-speaking communities.
I hear this sort of thing from time to time and the Chinese market seems impossible to please. Can you explain what you mean by 'NG has produced consistently poor content about Chinese airlines for a long time'?
From where I stand they have produced the best Chinese airliner models and 322 releases! What is poor about it? That is only 40 models less than Phoenix have ever made (a brand that has been around for 20 years not 8) and anyone who is buying Phoenix A320s, 737s, 777s, 787s or A350s over NGs needs their head read. It's not like JC is pumping out great Chinese material either. Panda is about the only competition in China.
There are definitely Chinese models I want made that haven't been (Kunming Airlines etc) but nobody else is making them either.
miaoyimiaozhongl
Member
I did not mention mold issues, but only addressed the problem of model subject matter selection regarding Chinese airlines.
What models are missing that anyone else has made? A lot of smaller airlines I agree but nobody else is making them either.
There's so much CA, MU and CZ - I mean Geministar literally just made every CA A350 in the fleet! At least NG has been making CUA
This to me is the same sort of problem NG have in the West. Everyone only wants the models from NG and not anyone else then they get upset when NG can't or won't make everything for everyone. This is what I mean by collectors themselves being part of the problem.
miaoyimiaozhongl
Member
It seems you may lack understanding of what the Chinese community truly needs, as well as the reasons behind NG's increasingly poor reputation within this community.
abdulmohiuddin
Well-known member
May we ask for your analysis of what the Chinese collectorate wants, and how thats impacted NG Models and their releases please?
Yep I definitely do. What do they want that NG isn't doing and who is doing it better in your opinion?
miaoyimiaozhongl
Member
Let's start with the subject matter issue—focusing solely on their 2025 releases. If you search their database or review their new product announcements, you'll find Asian airline themes are confined to standard liveries and repetitive recolors. Truly captivating subjects are few and far between, almost countable on one hand.
As for why NG's reputation in Chinese communities keeps deteriorating—I don't presume to speak for everyone—but based on my observations over the past six months alone:
NG has repeatedly faltered in model quality control and after-sales service. Missing parts are a common occurrence, and quality assurance feels like playing the lottery. Is this what respect looks like for consumers who've spent significant sums of money?
miaoyimiaozhongl
Member
I have no desire to clash with you over these matters—everyone holds different perspectives. Since you staunchly support NG and its future endeavors, I can only say: best of luck to them.
I don't necessarily disagree with you here but they have made the 2 CAAC MD-80s, CZ A318, CZ MD-80, MU Winter Games A320, West Air A319s and Sonongol A318s. All unique and not made before well. These are certainly better than what JC Wings, Phoenix and Panda have announced this year for China.
I am honestly interested in your perspective and the perspective of Chinese customers and have no wish to clash at all. I appreciate you answering me. I staunchly support any brand that does well or produces good products. NG are nothing special to me but they do get a lot of criticism and yet still seem to be better than most of the rest.
I guess for me the question remains who is doing it better in 400 scale in your opinion and which other brand is producing more and more varied Chinese models?
The responses you've given so far are the same issues non-Chinese collectors have, but as I always say is anyone doing it better and if not does it make sense to get angry with NG rather than angry with everyone in 400 scale?
