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!