I am starting a 1:400 airliner collection! I am brand new to these forums (this is my first post). So far I have ordered two GeminiJets aircraft: a FedEx MD-11F and a British Airways A380. They should arrive sometime next week. Anyway, I am looking for more quality aircraft (2000s/2010s era, major worldwide or US regional airlines), any suggestions on good brands/molds? Also I eventually hope to build a small airport, so if anyone has suggestions on who makes the best mat/terminal set for a small table (possibly smaller than 3 by 5 feet) I would also appreciate it.
I hope to get more and more involved in this cool hobby, and have fun with it as well as HO model trains which I have been into for years.
Welcome aboard! That's great you are going to take on a project to create a small airport. You might look into Gemini jets 1/400 GSE and airport accessories, mat, terminals, etc.. As far as manufacturer's are concerned = Gemini, Phoenix, JC Wings, Dragon Wings, Aeroclassics, etc... Each company is known for producing specific exceptional air frames, and prices can range amongst them. You'll find the 1/400 DAC collectors very helpful to all your questions about particular models, etc.. Just start a thread with your inquiry, and they will reply to you with helpful info.
Welcome to the forums! I think that while there is generally consensus on what brands have the best moulds for each type, there's a lot of different opinions out there and you're better off searching to find threads that have comparison pictures of the type you want so you can make your own decision.
That said, my personal preferences for some types after lots of comparisons of models to photos of the real jets:
A380: Phoenix
A330/340: Aeroclassics
B777: Phoenix
B747: Phoenix or Dragon Wings (however, a lot of people don't like the PHX 747 mould)
707/727/737: Aeroclassics
DC-10/MD-11: AC/DW/Gemini are all pretty close (AC doesn't have MD-11's though)
I could go on, but really I think it is up to the individual collector to decide what flaws they can live with, because short of maybe one or two instances, few moulds are perfect.
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1:200 Wishlist
Sun Country 727-200 late 1990s colors
Yamal & Interjet SSJ
Kenya Airways 737-800 New colors
Alrosa Tu-134 old colors
you're better off searching to find threads that have comparison pictures of the type you want so you can make your own decision.
.. really I think it is up to the individual collector to decide what flaws they can live with, because short of maybe one or two instances, few moulds are perfect.
Yes, as dennypayne has suggested that doing some DAC homework/searches is also a good method to help you with your specific targets for a model.
Yeah, the "perfect" model has always been up for debate on the DAC!
Thanks! Yeah, I had a GeminiJets 1:400 737 a few years ago when I was less seriously trying out the hobby so I went first for the manufacturer I had some experience with. But good to know about the top companies! I will be sure to ask the community or if I have a question, and lurk around on the forums to see pictures and reviews of models I am looking for. For now, I have a couple of stupid questions about the forums since I am a noob here: How do you get your signature to display on your posts? And I have already completed registration and have a functional account but when I click on my name it says "This user has not registered and therefore does not have a profile to view" so what did I do wrong, lol?
as others have said, do some searches for topics like 'best mold' or 'best 777', stuff like that.
also, spend time looking through the 'airport creations' part of the forum. there you will get lots of inspiration and ideas for building an airport scene. sometimes people show photographs at different steps in the process, and explain what materials they used. While you can buy terminal buildings, they can be expensive or bland/boring. Look through this forum and maybe you'll be inspired to build your own personalized scene.
once you start by doing more reading and research by seeing past discussions and photos, people will be happy to answer more detailed questions.
I am definitely planning on doing research for my airport, but that will come a little later as my first planes haven't even arrived yet. And I think I figured out why my signature wasn't displaying but I still would like to fix my public profile thing if it doesn't fix itself.
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Thanks! Yeah, I had a GeminiJets 1:400 737 a few years ago when I was less seriously trying out the hobby so I went first for the manufacturer I had some experience with. But good to know about the top companies! I will be sure to ask the community or if I have a question, and lurk around on the forums to see pictures and reviews of models I am looking for. For now, I have a couple of stupid questions about the forums since I am a noob here: How do you get your signature to display on your posts? And I have already completed registration and have a functional account but when I click on my name it says "This user has not registered and therefore does not have a profile to view" so what did I do wrong, lol?
It's hit or miss w/ the signature, the quality of the forum has gone down & crippled for ~a yr. The missing logos were the most irritating & after many times being assured that problems would be address, nothing so far. They tried a new DB & it was a disaster. Wings900 is owned by the same, so no options there.
Welcome aboard! This is an awesome hobby - a bit addicting, but fun!!!
A good companion hobby to model railroading - I'm an n scaler!
Thanks, and good to know there are also some model railroaders on here
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fleetlordatvar
It's hit or miss w/ the signature, the quality of the forum has gone down & crippled for ~a yr. The missing logos were the most irritating & after many times being assured that problems would be address, nothing so far. They tried a new DB & it was a disaster. Wings900 is owned by the same, so no options there.
btw, welcome to the hobby!
Thanks! Yeah even after only a day or two on these forums I've seen that for myself, lol. It's not that big of a problem for me yet though.
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Starting a Collection!
since I am a noob here: How do you get your signature to display on your posts? And I have already completed registration and have a functional account but when I click on my name it says "This user has not registered and therefore does not have a profile to view" so what did I do wrong, lol?
Re: Starting a Collection!
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