Aeroclassics 1/400 Boeing 720B in Avianca Colombia's Delivery Colors

So I've had a huge love affair with Avianca and the country it's from, Colombia, since I was just a kid.  Morbidly enough, it was the crash of an Avianca 707 in New York in 1990 that sparked my interest in the airline.  The very first model airplane I ever bought was a 1/600 scale Avianca 747 by Schabak.  I still have that model, and over the years I've grown my collection, and I'm always looking for a way to get on Avianca flights just for a day or two to try them out.  Or maybe a full fledged vacation to Colombia is what the doctor ordered.  We shall see here in 2017, as my 2016 travels are booked up.

Which leads me to this new arrival.  I love Aeroclassics offerings.  They have the absolute best selection of vintage and classic liveries around in the 1/400 scale.  Airlines like TWA, Western, the original Frontier Airlines and international bygones like BOAC, Olympic, old school Alitalia, MEA, BWIA, Lanica, Avianca, and Varig are all beautifully covered.

This model, in particular is an absolutely beautiful mold, and the livery on it is phenomenal.  The detail in the mold in regard to the engines, major antennae, etc. is superb and nicely done.  The only thing missing was the Avianca logo on the number 4 engine, as the real aircraft had.  Other than that, this bird is absolutely flawless, as the majority of the Aeroclassics in my collection are.  The landing gear, surprisingly are just as chunky and proportionate as the real thing is on the 720/707 family.

The history behind this particular model, HK-725, shows this aircraft being one of the workhorses of Avianca's 707/720 fleet, first taking to the skies from Renton, Washington on July 11, 1961, and delivery to Avianca happening on November 16 of the same year.  After flying for 19 years, she overran the runway in Quito, Ecuador, at the end of a revenue passenger flight, and was reduced to being scrapped for spare parts to keep the rest of Avianca's 4-hole Boeings flying.  Luckily, no one was injured in the accident, a testament to how well Boeing built these early jets.

InFlight200 1/200 Boeing 737-200 in Western Airlines "Flying W" livery

I have to admit.  I procrastinated on getting this one.  I've wanted it for so long, but I could never find it for a decent price.  Well, the wait is over, she is MINE!!

As most of my friends and family know, I'm a HUGE fan of Western Airlines.  They were the spark to my interest in commercial aviation.  I was about 3 years old when I was taken to the airport by my parents to see a cousin during her layover in Salt Lake City.  That beautiful 727 pulled into the gate with that big, red, beautiful "W" on the side and I was enthralled.  The aviation bug bit me HARD that day.  From that moment on, that I never forgot, I knew I was bound to be in aviation somehow, someway.

Anyways, back to the model!

I have only recently begun to collect offerings from InFlight200 and its sister company Aviation200.  The biggest detractor for me was the price, but lately, with this new position of mine, I've been able to splurge on these models.  This 737 is a heavy model, for it being 1:200 scale, but the heft is good and acts as a great balancing weight on the shelf it is on.  The box it cam in is great.  First you have the outer cardboard sleeve, with the branding and model info on it.  The the outer cardboard box that holds the Styrofoam protective box with the model and Limited Edition Certificate inside.  My bird is number 54 out of 168.

The livery is phenomenal and completely accurate right down to the wingtop surfaces.  Even the cockpit windshield and passenger windows are accurate and fully detailed.  One of my biggest pet peeves with models is the cockpit windshield.  I hate models like the old school Woosters and Flight Miniatures, heck even the Daron distributed Executive Models in 1:100 scale that sometimes have horrid and wrong cockpit windshields!

The landing gear on this bird, as with most Inflight200's, is precise and pointing the right direction.  Thank heavens!  As far as smaller minutiae, like antenna and tubes and whatnot, this model cant be beat and everything is in the right place.  Same with engine placement, and the correct engine to boot!  There have been several 737-200 models that I've had where the engines were the JT8D's with the DC-9 attachments and cowlings vs. the correct 737-200 cowling, which is close to the ground and snug against the underside of the wing.
 The registration on this plane is N4518W, the 125th 737-200 off the line, first delivered to Western Air Lines on January 28, 1969.  She served with Western until the merger with Delta in 1987, and continued flying the Widget until leased to Braniff mk. 2 in 1988 and Alaskan startup MarkAir in 1991.  She is currently stored in Lima, Peru, withdrawn from use by Aero Continente in 2001.


I wouldn't hesitate recommending the InFlight or Aviation200 models, and there are some very incredible classic liveries available.  Next on my list is tied between the 2 747's from Airport 1975 and Airport '77, and the newly released Avianca 747-200 and 727-200, not to mention the bare metal Western DC-10-10!

Herpa Wings 1/200 Boeing 747-8i Lufthansa "Fanhansa" Special Livery

I've never been much of a Lufthansa fan.  Even as a Travel Agent, my clients are more geared towards SkyTeam or Oneworld.  I am a fan of the World Cup though.  I wasn't rooting for Germany when they won, but, man, did Lufthansa fly the team home in style.  It wasn't just any 747 or A340, oh no, it was the Queen, the Boeing 747-8i, the Intercontinental, and the A340-600, the long one.  Oh, and the models that were produced depicting these special liveries are nothing short of spectacular, the one I'm reviewing is the 1/200 scale 747-8i made by Herpa Wings.

I have quite the collection of 1/200 models from all sorts of model makers from the old school Wooster models from Scotland, to the used to be everywhere Flight Miniatures/Long Prosper models, the hard to find PPC/CMD models of Holland (still looking for the Thai MD-11 PPC released in the 90's), to the now popular Hogan Wings and Skymarks series, and the more exclusive and premier Herpa Wings, Inflight and Gemini Jets diecasts.  This particular 747-8i stands out for me though.

First, the packaging.  It's not the normal boxing that Herpa Wings does for its 1/200 releases.  You open the top flap and, in German of course, is the story of the plane, with some amazing photos from the initial flights to and from Brazil.  The presentation of the model in the box is also nice, and I questioned myself if I should take it out and display it or keep it in the box as a special one-off display in-box.

 Once out of the box, I was surprised at how light the model is for its size, and just how much detail there is on it.  All the antennae and pitot tubes and other instrumentation is featured and accurate to scale.  The engines are accurately spaced and sized, as well, and if blown into, the fans spin.  The landing gear is stiff and does not bend to landing configuration, but that's no big deal for me.  The topside of the wings are incredibly detailed, down to the "Do Not Walk Outside This Line" warnings.

The stand is a two-piece collapsible affair, and easily attaches to the model's underside with little effort.  The paint job is incredibly accurate and realistic, even if the windows are painted on. Definitely a model worth having, even if you're not a Football fan, or even if you're not an avgeek and are a diehard punter, this model would look great in ANY man cave.

Pacmin 1/100 Airbus A321NEO in new American Airlines livery

As per the norm with Pacmin models, as long as I've collected them, pictures do no justice and the model is truly exquisite in every detail.  I will however, attempt to describe it here.

For starters, the detail on the artwork is sensational, especially on the tail graphics. Pacmin got the artwork right on this, as they usually do, and the effect is noticeable.  Most collectors groan when the model manufacturer gets the engine type wrong or the winglet mold is off, but Pacmin has done good in these areas, considering the plane isn't flying yet!  The engines are definitely what is proposed for the AA A321NEO, and the winglets are actually blended sharklets much like what is in use on the A321T now doing the transcons for AA out of New York's JFK to Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The registration of the plane (again, considering this is a model of a plane that hasn't been built yet) is N321AA, which is not real anymore (it was last used on a Boeing 767-200),  but who cares, its a nod to the type.  The cockpit windows are exact and in the right place (you wouldn't believe how many 1/100 models Ive had from lesser manufacturers where the windows were not only in the right place, but they were the wrong windows for the type!)

Last but not least is the stand, customary Pacmin wood stand with the one screw/one peg combination and the trademark metal imprint underneath the base.  The Pacmin ink logo is on the belly of the plane as well.


All in all, in my collection anyways, this is my 2nd pride and joy (my first being the MEA A330-200 in 1/50, also by Pacmin) and it has a special place in my American Airlines display.  As most collectors will attest, Pacmin gets it right, most every time, and the money spent for one of these models is worth it.

Velocity Models 1/400 Airbus A320 with Sharklets in Frontier Airlines new livery

OK, I heard y'all, here's my first review of a model airplane, my very first Velocity Model, their mold of the Airbus A320 with Sharklets in newly revitalized Frontier Airlines updated livery.  I gotta admit, no matter how much I like this new livery, there is a LOT going on.  Not just with Griswald the Bear being stretched down around the rear of the fuselage, but you've got the new typeface, with a nod to the original Frontier's stylized "F" designed by the iconic Saul Bass back in the late 1970's.  Oh, you also have the arrow from the lower section of the fuselage from behind the nose to the end of the window line (also a nod to the original Frontier's DC-3 era livery).  Oh, and the engine cowlings, with a seemingly misplaced blue line up and down on the reverser cowling.  This is seemingly a nod to this carrier's early days when the flew 737's in and out of Denver in the mid-1990's.

The mold itself is not bad, and very detailed for the 1:400 scale. As with most narrowbody aircraft in this scale you'll see engines that to the naked eye might look a tad large, but thats to be expected.  Same with the horizontal stablilizers, looking from the front of the model, look to be upturned a bit much.  But thats to be expected from all 1:400 makers, from Velocity, to Gemini, to Jet-X and Dragon and the others.



One thing that IS visible though, is the paleness of the tail graphic.  To me, if you hold it up to a photo of the real N227FR, the model will look a tad paler.  Don't know if there's anything Velocity can do about it, but all in all, I'm happy with this model, and I think the only other model of this plane is in 1/100 and 1/150 scales from Skymarks in their regular and SkyMarks Supreme lines.

As far as Velocity Models go, I was impressed with how fast my order was processed, shipped and delivered.  I am excited to see what they come out with in the future, and hope they go with some vintage liveries and models too (an original Frontier MD-80, Morris Air or Western 737-300's perhaps?).