Originally Posted by newsnerd99

I remember all the "gold" 1:400 models but I wasn't aware of any of those ugly models being made in 1:500. While I've been catching up I've seen several of them now - classic airliners, modern ones, etc. One question: WHY?

I'm sorry if there are collectors on the market who love that stuff...but it ain't me. I'm looking to replicate reality on a small scale and the ideal of a gold-plated 757 is as terrible as doing it to the real thing.

Any idea on how popular they are? Even when I devoted a huge amount of money to collecting, I'd reserve it for models of actual planes, not disco-inspired replicas.

Meanwhile...the other advances in 1:500 are awesome! Open doors, odd moulds (classics and one-offs) and the sheer diversity are great to see.