The Rise of Gemini Jets (2020-2025)

[keji833]

As far as I enjoy Connor's video a lot and will continue to do so, as soon as I hear GJ 767-400 as "game-changing" (at the time long has rumor circled that NG and Panda are both making one) and "high quality" (given it's a clone version of Herpa it's really not) I think this video lost a lot of credibilities and seems more like a far-fetched promotion.

I acquired 8 GJ this year, the Dreamliner are good, but the E Jets and CRJs all come very various problems like rocket ship engine, unlevel wing, etc. Overall I agree with above comments and think only Phoenix did make a legit comeback.

Now all being said I do hope the best for GJ and hope they can truly improve their quality and stay in the game as it's a benefit to all collectors.

 

[pnagrows]

Can both be right? I bought more Gemini this year than I have in a few…

Delta MD90
RENO MD90
United Saul Bass 757
Cubana Antonov
Etc…

Buy the good stuff and leave the Spirit Airbii to the kiddos.

 

[acaymeth47]

Funny video, to be honest. In my opinion, pretty much all of GJ’s moulds have been inferior to the completion, particularly those which are made by NG, Panda and AV400. The various retro livery BA 747’s with utterly egregious quality control and moulds were the final straw for me. I haven’t purchased a single GJ since then, and just by glancing at pictures of certain release, you can see the lack of quality in their moulds compared to the competition. On top of this, their releases are so bland and predictable. A few U.S. releases, endless Emirates A380’s, a random retro model and some military stuff. Bleh. To be fair, NG has rlly been lacking lately, but at least their moulds are superior, and they still throw more curveballs each months given that their releases are usually 2-3x larger than GJ’s. I’m really not sure how there has been any ‘rise’ from Gemini Jets in the last half decade… they have been in a rather steady decline for almost a decade at this point, with no sign of turning it around, but that’s just my humble opinion…

 

[swagninja84]

Well if you're on the floor, any bit of improvement would be a rise.

 

[UALFan1994]

My take: Gemini remains dominant in the 1:200 market offering the most variety of molds and releases (though some molds and printing *namely cockpit* are questionable and seem to have devolved over the years). For 1:400, yes they cater more towards modern airliners, and do offer variety that NG neglects (echoing JJ Skippy’s regarding the Deltaflots, etc.), however their molds pale in comparison to NG still. NG has regressed in terms of QC and variety but when they release a sought after model, it’s usually a banger. JC is practically the non-USA release version of Gemini with bottom antennas. Phoenix wins the cake for variety but man do they have paint application QC issues. Panda makes the best models but have yet to expand their catalogue (nostalgic of NG’s early days when smaller releases had both variety AND dominant QC). AV400 wins for ingenuity (beacon lights, spinning fan blades, etc.) but only their 777 and 787 molds are worth buying. For me personally, I can tell that Gemini has improved, but until they upgrade their molds, they will only edge out NG with variety in their releases. For example, their Delta widget 757 was a welcomed addition, albeit on an inferior mold, given the rarity of NG’s version today. Of note, I think “retro” is subjective and largely depends when a collector was born. What’s modern today will be retro down the road, and what some coin to be retro today was modern during its time. My observation is most collectors here were born in the 60s-80s eras and thus will have a different memory of early planes and liveries than those born in the late 80s-90s or even 2000s.

 

[pons399]

My take: Gemini remains dominant in the 1:200 market offering the most variety of molds and releases (though some molds are questionable and seem to have devolved over the years).

Dude, a brand that ignores literally half the world has no claim to “variety.” Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada. GJ’s even worse than NG in that regard.

I’ll say it again, loads of US/European stuff doesn’t equate to variety. There’s a colossal market ouside of the West that many on these forums grossly underestimate.

 

[UALFan1994]

Also if Connor is indeed partnering with Gemini, even if it means a slightly biased review, I think it’s still incredible to see his enthusiasm in the model collecting hobby. This is a small hobby, not a lot of people can appreciate it, but he and many others have influenced newer collectors like myself to really get excited about collecting. All of us through the good and bad experiences have gained a lot of wisdom and insight about various brands and retailers alike and continue to learn from each other.

 

[UALFan1994]

Dude, a brand that ignores literally half the world has no claim to “variety.” Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada. GJ’s even worse than NG in that regard.

I’ll say it again, loads of US/European stuff doesn’t equate to variety. There’s a colossal market ouside of the West that many on these forums grossly underestimate.

That’s because JC Wings, Gemini’s twin, takes care of the rest of the world. Variety in the sense I am talking about as it relates to Gemini pertains to their US releases. Edit: Gemini has released more European models lately as well as a few from other continents

 

[swagninja84]

Panda makes the best models but have yet to expand their catalogue

???
from 2020-2025 during the "rise of GJ", Panda has created the following new moulds:

767-200 (Soon)
767-300
767-400
A350-900
C919
MD-11
Tu-134 (Only one in 1:400)
Tu-204 (First to market, one of two in 1:400)

 

[YesterAirlines]

???
from 2020-2025 during the "rise of GJ", Panda has created the following new moulds:

767-200 (Soon)
767-300
767-400
A350-900
C919
MD-11
Tu-134 (Only one in 1:400)
Tu-204 (First to market, one of two in 1:400)

Plus new 737-600/700/800s as well.

Of note, I think “retro” is subjective and largely depends when a collector was born. What’s modern today will be retro down the road, and what some coin to be retro today was modern during its time. My observation is most collectors here were born in the 60s-80s eras and thus will have a different memory of early planes and liveries than those born in the late 80s-90s or even 2000s.

I agree with this to a degree, but an older aircraft in a new paintjob that is still flying about today (or was 5 years ago) like the American Eagle DHC-8 or Everts MD-80 is not retro. That completely destroys the definition. Even worse suggesting that a 787-9 that no longer flies in a livery is retro is laughable.

Also if Connor is indeed partnering with Gemini, even if it means a slightly biased review, I think it’s still incredible to see his enthusiasm in the model collecting hobby. This is a small hobby, not a lot of people can appreciate it, but he and many others have influenced newer collectors like myself to really get excited about collecting. All of us through the good and bad experiences have gained a lot of wisdom and insight about various brands and retailers alike and continue to learn from each other.

I'm all for enthusiastic reviewers and no doubt Connor is a nice guy and I apologise if it seems I'm attacking him. I don't expect people to agree with me but if they don't and are putting themselves out there as a voice in the hobby surely they should be meeting some minimum standards? He doesn't even try to back up anything he says yet makes these rather outrageous statements as though they are gospel. It's not the first time either. How can you learn from something that is untrue?

If he is partnering with GJ then he really should be saying so in the video, especially when it is so one-sided.

When I questioned this on his YT channel he said: "respectfully, your standards are way too high for this discussion. The big picture is the point, not a 1cm nose proportion. This video is about the big picture, not 1cm proportions." That doesn't even mean anything, as his big picture is so blurry as to be impossible to define. I would suggest that he tries to at least do some research and present some facts and stats when saying things. He talks about the 767-400 for example without even mentioning the two competing moulds and that everything he says about GJ using it applies to them too.

 

[Mark22]

Lots of GJ's "innovative" and "exciting" releases are only done to be ahead of other brands with their superior moulds. With all the new moulds and brands we're seeing lately, it's no surprise that the well established brands (especially AC and GJ) are suddenly (re)releasing models we have been asking for for many years. The huge lack of variety and mediocre quality puts GJ on the bottom of my list.

 

[LeoMuse747]

On top of this, their releases are so bland and predictable. A few U.S. releases, endless Emirates A380’s, a random retro model and some military stuff. Bleh. To be fair, NG has rlly been lacking lately, but at least their moulds are superior, and they still throw more curveballs each months given that their releases are usually 2-3x larger than GJ’s. I’m really not sure how there has been any ‘rise’ from Gemini Jets in the last half decade… they have been in a rather steady decline for almost a decade at this point, with no sign of turning it around, but that’s just my humble opinion…

Spot on!

They seem to follow the same "formula" every month. It's very boring. I also hate the fact that two releases are always a duplicate because one is a Flaps Down version. I know the FD is cool but I'd rather see an additional release on the batch instead of seeing a FD model taking up the "slot" of another model. So, instead of 10 models (including the same model duplicated due to the FD version), we should get 11 models.

 

[Redrado]

I've never been a huge fan of GJ, but have to admit that they have gone less-worse quality-wise from what they were a few years back. Their European selection of regional aircraft has caught my eye during the last couple of years, which is what I love collecting the most (the sole reason I still consider buying from GJ), but it has been scarce anyways. Nevertheless, as a brand they are not exciting whatsoever, most of the releases are boring and none of their new moulds (most modifications of existing ones) can be considered unique or interesting besides the E2s in my opinion.

As some people point out, there have been other "returning" brands that have introduced unique releases or new moulds (cough cough Panda and Phoenix). I understand that there are many things that are debatable, like the release choice, but the moulds and QC are objectively poorer than those of the competition.

 

[Travertineeye]

GJs quality is trash. I had to buy three models of the same release trying to find one that none of them are better than the other. Seriously disappointing since GJs models were the catalyst for the collection I have now. However, those models I got are no good for the grinder, nor for my collection display.

 

[planes_on_a_shelf]

GJs relevance is really really diminished - as is their quality and execution, and of course, subject matter.
Lately there has been some renewed interest - with the E2 and the CRJ-1000, and the regionals - good crop of ATRs and Q400s (can be more of those though - tons of airlines and liveries yet to be made or remade) , but unfortunately the older moulds get questionable and in fact erroneous updates - the A220s, Saab 340, B727s - whilst obviously many models from their factory or warehouse, have only seen the light of day very recently, and thus are already obsolete - like those cradle 747s & 787s, or the aerial-less DL CRJ 900, for instance.

 

[777-300ER]

I have been requesting Air France 777-300ER SkyTeam F-GZNE for 3 years to GJ and all I got was "We will consider". 3 years later AF remove the SkyTeam paint from their 777s GJ is falling now that newer brands, who care about their collectors, bring better quality moulds. GJ was once was the only option when getting a 747-8, 757-300, 777 or MD80 for exemple, but now we have NG with much better detailed moulds and printing (even if sometime they still need improvement). Panda brought the 767 and soon NG will release their first 747-400 and the A340 might be their next mould. GJ will definitely disappear and NG, Panda, AV400 and Phoenix will release the aircraft we want, in better quality than GJ

 

[YesterAirlines]

Gemini do produce some good models and I haven't seen anything to suggest that they are not doing well and selling strongly. The reality is that in their core US market they have far and away the best brand recognition and a lot of 'collectors' still only buy GJ regardless of what others do. They simply don't know any better, or as JJ says want the model enough that they will buy anything. That incumbency benefit gives GJ little interest in changing their ways, but I don't see them disappearing anytime soon and in 200 scale as I understand it they are a lot better?

 

[swagninja84]

GJ was once was the only option when getting a 747-8, 757-300, 777 or MD80 for exemple,

Not even remotely correct.

 

[777-300ER]

Not even remotely correct.

You doubt "only" is compared to the newest mould option today. In this context: NG, AV400 and I forgot Panda 767