Show Your Latest 1:400 Purchase

[VDH.FliesOut]

So I splurged myself for this holiday~ And these just came in today!

Left: Aviation400

Right: Dragon Wings (These are my first Dragon Wings models I collected in a long time~)

Aviation400 | SWISS International | B777-300ER | HB-JNB


Aviation400 | Etihad Airways | B777-300ER | A6-ETH


Dragon Wings | Martinair | B767-300 | PH-MCL


Dragon Wings | All Nippon Airways (ANA) | B767-300 | JA8579

• It came with Engine 2 broken off, so I glued it back on

 

[Barison82]

Those are beautiful classics! The DC-9 looks a bit "Snoopy nosed" to me, but otherwise a very nice model. The 707 and L-1011, no comments, just gorgeous birds. The shiny fuselage of the Tristar is amazing.

Lol! Yes the old SMA DC-9 mould had that bulbous 'snoopy nose', which was later refined by AC on their revised version. Still a cute addition, perhaps we might see another pin-stripe THY from AC at some point. The Air America turned out really well with the all-metal finish, which is really promising for the future Eastern release

 

[pons399]

I recently got the Qatar 777 and thought the plastic was very rigid and firm, so I think this packing style will prevent the aircraft from moving.

Good point, I did notice the cradle fit was rock solid.

 

[Jazajia]

A few more recent arrivals, 2 golden oldies plus the latest ‘Buchannan Models’ release.

THY DC-9-32 TC-JAD in 1970s/1980s c/s, named “Anadolu”. Released in 2005 under the short-lived UK ‘Sovereign Models’ brand, using the old SMA/AC DC-9 mould. 2022 has been a bumper year for collecting DC-9s, both with new releases and finding some old ones. I’ve managed to collect all the key European operators I was after, Alitalia, Iberia, KLM, and now this version of THY.

Air Lanka B.707-312B 4R-ALA in 1970s/1980s c/s, released in 2011 by Aeroclassics. Another awesome 707.

Air America L-1011-385-1 N372EA in 1980s hybrid c/s, released by Buchannan (NG) Models 2022. Started life in 1973 as D-AERA with LTU, leased to Nigeria Airways for a short stint in 1979 before joining the Eastern fleet in 1981. Leased to Air America in 1988, then to Air Algerie in 1989 before rejoining Eastern in it’s final days of existence in 1989.

A stunning model - fantastic to see a fully electroplated example for the first time, it really looks good on this mould. It is not chrome, just the regular metal plating which has always been used before. The tail profile does not have the sharp definition of earlier castings which is a shame, looking a little on the curved side due to excess material but still glad to have this one in the collection. It comes packaged with the regular foam block as previously supplied, with a card. Well worth having and now eagerly anticipating an Eastern example to join it in 2023

Very nice Alex. Can someone explain to me what does electroplating mean? I keep hearing this term…

 

[LeoMuse747]

Very nice Alex. Can someone explain to me what does electroplating mean? I keep hearing this term…

I was wondering the same! I suppose it is some kind of technique to make perfectly polished-look models, judging by the whole context. But I wonder how this is made

 

[Jazajia]

I was wondering the same! I suppose it is some kind of technique to make perfectly polished-look models, judging by the whole context. But I wonder how this is made

How is it different from the old polished models? And what issues did NG have that now have been fixed?

 

[OscarBravo992]

I can appreciate NG’s efforts to switch to a more standard plastic cradle. I found that with the styrofoam it was a bit harder to remove a model without risking possible damage.

I second this… When I got my first Fiji A350, in the attempts to take it out of the tight packaging I tore off one of the h stabs. I imagine that it was already loose but still disappointing.

 

[pons399]

I second this… When I got my first Fiji A350, in the attempts to take it out of the tight packaging I tore off one of the h stabs. I imagine that it was already loose but still disappointing.

A good trick is to lightly press on the foam several times so that the model eases out in its own, rather than grabbing it and yanking it out.

 

[British Airways fan]

A good trick is to lightly press on the foam several times so that the model eases out in its own, rather than grabbing it and yanking it out.

I like to push on the bottom of the fuselage and push it out that way but that’s a good idea too

 

[Aviation Enjoyer]

I like to push on the bottom of the fuselage and push it out that way but that’s a good idea too

I did the same when I got the very tight packaging too. I much prefer if NG did switch to all plastic since it would be disappointing if a model travelled from China all the way to our houses undamaged then get destroyed by our fumbly hands trying to get it out from some rather nice packaging.

 

[OscarBravo992]

A good trick is to lightly press on the foam several times so that the model eases out in its own, rather than grabbing it and yanking it out.

I do use that method often, particularly on the L1011s. On this model the foam was just too tight. I tried pushing it out from underneath, I tried your method and nothing got it out. I wasn’t ‘yanking’ it per-say, rather pulling rather forcefully. No one to blame other than myself.

 

[Sithan400]

A few more recent arrivals, 2 golden oldies plus the latest ‘Buchannan Models’ release.

THY DC-9-32 TC-JAD in 1970s/1980s c/s, named “Anadolu”. Released in 2005 under the short-lived UK ‘Sovereign Models’ brand, using the old SMA/AC DC-9 mould. 2022 has been a bumper year for collecting DC-9s, both with new releases and finding some old ones. I’ve managed to collect all the key European operators I was after, Alitalia, Iberia, KLM, and now this version of THY.

Air Lanka B.707-312B 4R-ALA in 1970s/1980s c/s, released in 2011 by Aeroclassics. Another awesome 707.

Air America L-1011-385-1 N372EA in 1980s hybrid c/s, released by Buchannan (NG) Models 2022. Started life in 1973 as D-AERA with LTU, leased to Nigeria Airways for a short stint in 1979 before joining the Eastern fleet in 1981. Leased to Air America in 1988, then to Air Algerie in 1989 before rejoining Eastern in it’s final days of existence in 1989.

A stunning model - fantastic to see a fully electroplated example for the first time, it really looks good on this mould. It is not chrome, just the regular metal plating which has always been used before. The tail profile does not have the sharp definition of earlier castings which is a shame, looking a little on the curved side due to excess material but still glad to have this one in the collection. It comes packaged with the regular foam block as previously supplied, with a card. Well worth having and now eagerly anticipating an Eastern example to join it in 2023

That Air Lanka 707 looks awesome! Well done

 

[Barison82]

Very nice Alex. Can someone explain to me what does electroplating mean? I keep hearing this term…

I was wondering the same! I suppose it is some kind of technique to make perfectly polished-look models, judging by the whole context. But I wonder how this is made

How is it different from the old polished models? And what issues did NG have that now have been fixed?

Short definition:

Electroplating is a process whereby a metal object is placed into a solution with an electrical current passing through it. Metal ions migrate through the solution from a positive electrode to a negative one, and the current passing through causes objects at the cathode to be coated by the metal in the solution.

The plating metal is the anode (polarized electrode through which current enters)

The base metal to be plated is the cathode (polarized electrode through which current leaves)

So, the electrical current is used to create a thin layer of metal which will stick onto the outer surface of the base metal object. There are 4 methods of plating, but this is the most common.

It’s a fussy and hazardous process which requires strict safety controls and careful implementation.

https://www.rapiddirect.com/blog/electroplating-process/

I’ve seen examples of the outer skin of the electroplated metal surface stripped off models which had glue failure on the slotted wings in the past, revealing the dull base metal (zinc alloy) underneath. The wing separated but the glue was bonded so well to the outer layer it peeled it off together with the painted surface.

NG most likely encountered problems with the plating metal not ‘sticking’ to certain areas of their L-1011 moulds due to the complex shape around the tail/#2 intake area, which has surface contours and the tricky area between the #2 intake and fuselage. A high failure rate was probably encountered - hopefully they have successfully fine-tuned the process in order to mitigate this problem.

Metal polishing is a different process which has 3 methods which are summarised here:

https://www.fastradius.com/resources/comparing-different-types-polishing-surface-finishes/

The principal difference is that it does not employ the use of a separate plating metal as with electroplating. Depending on the method employed and how well it is executed, polished metals can dull and tarnish over time.

A bit dry and technical but hope this helps to illustrate!

 

[Barison82]

I do use that method often, particularly on the L1011s. On this model the foam was just too tight. I tried pushing it out from underneath, I tried your method and nothing got it out. I wasn’t ‘yanking’ it per-say, rather pulling rather forcefully. No one to blame other than myself.

Hopefully the plastic cradles don’t rub off printed details through contact rubbing during transport, causing ‘cradle rash’, an issue commonly encountered with BB400 747s. The advantage of the foam block is that it does not cause this issue and is much kinder to the model. With the NG TriStars, I push mine out carefully from the bottom, whilst gently prizing the the foam block back away from the tail area so it doesn’t catch on that part.

 

[Danio1988]

Gemini’s BA 787-8 G-ZBJG has finally arrived after shipping delays. Seems GJ have single handedly changed BA’s 787 engines, obviously don’t like those Trent 1000 powerplants

 

[Jazajia]

Short definition:

Electroplating is a process whereby a metal object is placed into a solution with an electrical current passing through it. Metal ions migrate through the solution from a positive electrode to a negative one, and the current passing through causes objects at the cathode to be coated by the metal in the solution.

The plating metal is the anode (polarized electrode through which current enters)

The base metal to be plated is the cathode (polarized electrode through which current leaves)

So, the electrical current is used to create a thin layer of metal which will stick onto the outer surface of the base metal object. There are 4 methods of plating, but this is the most common.

It’s a fussy and hazardous process which requires strict safety controls and careful implementation.

https://www.rapiddirect.com/blog/electroplating-process/

I’ve seen examples of the outer skin of the electroplated metal surface stripped off models which had glue failure on the slotted wings in the past, revealing the dull base metal (zinc alloy) underneath. The wing separated but the glue was bonded so well to the outer layer it peeled it off together with the painted surface.

NG most likely encountered problems with the plating metal not ‘sticking’ to certain areas of their L-1011 moulds due to the complex shape around the tail/#2 intake area, which has surface contours and the tricky area between the #2 intake and fuselage. A high failure rate was probably encountered - hopefully they have successfully fine-tuned the process in order to mitigate this problem.

Metal polishing is a different process which has 3 methods which are summarised here:

https://www.fastradius.com/resources/comparing-different-types-polishing-surface-finishes/

The principal difference is that it does not employ the use of a separate plating metal as with electroplating. Depending on the method employed and how well it is executed, polished metals can dull and tarnish over time.

A bit dry and technical but hope this helps to illustrate!

Thanks for the detailed explanation Alex. It makes sense, I honestly thought we just had started to use a fancy word for metal polishing . But your explanation clearly illustrates that that's not the case. It all makes sense now.

 

[Barison82]

Thanks for the detailed explanation Alex. It makes sense, I honestly thought we just had started to use a fancy word for metal polishing . But your explanation clearly illustrates that that's not the case. It all makes sense now.

Very welcome Yes, it is a real world term! Glad that you found the information useful. The processes involved in manufacturing can be fascinating and complex, and there are many factors involved in production that consumers are not aware of.

 

[JJ Skippy]

Merry Christmas! The first half of my holiday haul has landed; second half will arrive in the morning.

 

[Purpleplane]

Merry Christmas! The first half of my holiday haul has landed; second half will arrive in the morning.
View attachment 8622

Nice haul!!... Is that an Ozark DC-9 I see down on the lower left?

 

[JJ Skippy]

Nice haul!!... Is that an Ozark DC-9 I see down on the lower left?

Affirmative. Unboxing will occur tomorrow.