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~~Nearly a year ago I wrote a thread about my attempts to like the old Gemini 747 mould. Of course it is not Gemini's only classic 747 mould and since 2006 (I was surprised it was so long ago) they have been using a new mould albeit rather sparingly. Judging by the DB they have made:
UTA F-BTDG
KLM PH-BUN
Air New Zealand ZK-NTX
SR Demonstrator JA8114
Virgin G-VIRG
Northwest N624US 2000s Clrs
Northwest N641NW Bowling Shoe
America West N531AW
Air Force One
American N9674
Flying Tigers N800FT
So only 11 models in about 9 years - not a great return. I had never got any of these as they also sell for a RRP of $39.95 which is right at the top of my limit for model purchases and call me a snob but well over what I'd usually pay for a Gemini.
Recently however good deals have allowed me to pickup 2 of the 11 - the Flying Tigers and the America West. So I thought I'd take a quick look at how the old moulds compares to the new and see if Gemini has made a major improvement.
Here's my old mould PA 747:
Pan Am Gemini Jets 747-100 by rstretton, on Flickr
and the new mould FT 747:
Flying Tigers Boeing 747-123SF by rstretton, on Flickr
The nose shape of both moulds is good but Gemini has fixed their cockpit printing issue which afflicted a lot of their original 747s (i.e. the windows are much to large). The rest of the fuselage and wing joint appears largely the same except that the rear seam is gone. Looking at the wings they appear effectively the same except for the addition of slightly chunky HF aerials at the wingtips. What hasn't been fixed is junction of the engine pylon and wing which in the previous thread caused much displeasure.
The other major change is the undercarriage which has been totally replaced with rather nice new rolling gears. The gear is actually rather chunky but that's not necessarily a bad thing (see later).
Here are the same moulds from the back:
Old:
Pan Am Gemini Jets 747-100 by rstretton, on Flickr
New:
Flying Tigers Boeing 747-123SF by rstretton, on Flickr
So in many ways the 'New' mould is really a warmed up version of the old mould however that isn't a bad thing since in general the old mould had good bones. In fact if it weren't for the pylon/engine issue I'd say the new mould is a complete success. As it is I really like it and aside from price haven't any issues getting it.
Good job Gemini - though to be honest you still have a little way to go to match the AC / Big Bird Mk1 / Witty mould shown here:
Trans World Big Bird 747-100 by rstretton, on Flickr
UTA F-BTDG
KLM PH-BUN
Air New Zealand ZK-NTX
SR Demonstrator JA8114
Virgin G-VIRG
Northwest N624US 2000s Clrs
Northwest N641NW Bowling Shoe
America West N531AW
Air Force One
American N9674
Flying Tigers N800FT
So only 11 models in about 9 years - not a great return. I had never got any of these as they also sell for a RRP of $39.95 which is right at the top of my limit for model purchases and call me a snob but well over what I'd usually pay for a Gemini.
Recently however good deals have allowed me to pickup 2 of the 11 - the Flying Tigers and the America West. So I thought I'd take a quick look at how the old moulds compares to the new and see if Gemini has made a major improvement.
Here's my old mould PA 747:
Pan Am Gemini Jets 747-100 by rstretton, on Flickr
and the new mould FT 747:
Flying Tigers Boeing 747-123SF by rstretton, on Flickr
The nose shape of both moulds is good but Gemini has fixed their cockpit printing issue which afflicted a lot of their original 747s (i.e. the windows are much to large). The rest of the fuselage and wing joint appears largely the same except that the rear seam is gone. Looking at the wings they appear effectively the same except for the addition of slightly chunky HF aerials at the wingtips. What hasn't been fixed is junction of the engine pylon and wing which in the previous thread caused much displeasure.
The other major change is the undercarriage which has been totally replaced with rather nice new rolling gears. The gear is actually rather chunky but that's not necessarily a bad thing (see later).
Here are the same moulds from the back:
Old:
Pan Am Gemini Jets 747-100 by rstretton, on Flickr
New:
Flying Tigers Boeing 747-123SF by rstretton, on Flickr
So in many ways the 'New' mould is really a warmed up version of the old mould however that isn't a bad thing since in general the old mould had good bones. In fact if it weren't for the pylon/engine issue I'd say the new mould is a complete success. As it is I really like it and aside from price haven't any issues getting it.
Good job Gemini - though to be honest you still have a little way to go to match the AC / Big Bird Mk1 / Witty mould shown here:
Trans World Big Bird 747-100 by rstretton, on Flickr
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