NG Models has a history of tinkering with its moulds, despite them usually being the best anyway. There are almost no moulds in their catalogue that haven’t had some form of modification – from 757 to L-1011 to A350 to 787. They’ve all had changes and still come out as impressive castings. However, with change there also comes risk and recently NG Models has taken a major one by basically creating an entirely new fuselage barrel for its 777-300 mould. Not only that but they have also been playing with the printing as well. Here I’ll take a look at the new casting on a February release.
Each review is to split into three key areas:
- The model mould
- The paint and livery reproduction
- Printing and quality control
Each section can get a maximum score of 10 for a maximum combined score of 30
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MOULD
The original NG Models Boeing 777-200/300 samples were reviewed here at the site in February 2022. There were a series of improvements that needed to be made and NG made many of them prior to the first releases (such as rudder forms).
Remaining issues focused on the sharpness of the roofline and its angle down to the cockpit from the roof. The tailcone was also an area that wasn’t inline with competitor moulds. These are both areas the new fuselage barrel has focused on fixing.
I am pleased to say that I think the changes to the fuselage have been successful. Comparing this model to the Cathay Pacific fantasy release from May 2022 there are significant differences. The forward cockpit, nose (section 41) is slightly wider and rounder from above and the previous sharp rooftop down to the cockpit has been removed. I think it looks good.
At the tailcone NG have followed the lead of JC Wings and Aviation400 by replicating the two small protrusions above and below the wedge tailcone. Undoubtedly, these are slightly too large, but not overly so and as this is such a noticeable aspect of the aircraft I think it is worth modelling in. In my opinion they are not massively out of scale, but it isn’t quite as good as the JC Wings / Gemini Jets effort.
The other big change with this fuselage barrel is the lack of a standhole on the underside. This is all part of NG’s move away from stands that connect in this way. The new stands cradle the model and connect at the wings. More on that later.
I reviewed the Cathay version back in 2022 and reviewed a Continental series 200 back in August 2023. The rest of the mould is very good with only minor criticisms reserved for the inner flaptrack fairing shape and depth of nosegear door. Particularly impressive are the engines. The whole shape of the different engine and pylon options across NG 777s is excellent.
NG’s choice to go with more realistic solid core engine fans is also one I applaud. The shape and number of fans is far more realistic than the majority of hollow core fans.
I originally scored this 777 mould an 8 with the Cathay and a 9 with the Continental (that had several fixes applied). I think I’ll keep the score for this mould as a 9. It isn’t perfect, but I appreciate the changes and I think the mould looks fine.
SCORE – 9
PAINT & LIVERY
Air China has a series of very attractive special liveries. This 777 first arrived in China on September 28, 2014 wearing a new special scheme. The livery celebrates the 65th anniversary of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China.
THE “AIR CHINA LOVES CHINA” design is on the rear fuselage. The forward fuselage is adorned with patterns of red silk, a Chinese cultural element, symbolizing the bond between Air China and China and highlighting the joyous celebration of China’s National Day. The letter “C” in the word “CHINA” is designed in such an artistic way as to wrap the character “love”, conveying to people of Chinese descent around the world the key message that Air China loves China.
In general this livery has been replicated beautifully. The colours and placement of the elements is excellent, but there is one thing I’m seeing that I don’t think is accurate. This is the shape of the end of the ribbon as it meets the wingroot. The upper portion of the ribbon clearly isn’t long and pointy enough.
SCORE – 9
PRINTING & QUALITY CONTROL
NG Models printing is topnotch but when it comes to 777s the big topic is the cockpit printing. NG’s 777s originally had too small cockpit windows. This model has updated cockpit windows and I have to say I really like the print on this model. Unfortunately, I have seen that NG hasn’t stuck with this cockpit printing for the latest March versions. I have seen several of those in closeup and the cockpits aren’t as good. They seem to have narrowed the height of the windows and modified the outermost window as well. I’ll take a look at that outside this review.
One thing I particularly like about these 777s is the fanblade colour. It isn’t pure black, just monotone grey and certainly not silver. The dark titanium shines and shows off the exceptional detailing of the fans – wonderful.
There are no QC issues here so it gives me a chance to look at the new stand, since this was an Ultimate Collection release and the new stand type is included with the model. The new stand is quite impressive. It is solid and metal, with a plastic cradle clipping over the rear wing edge.
I admit I am not 100% sold on the removal of the standhole and the impact that has on using third party stands with NG models, but the new stand certainly holds the model very well and the stand itself is attractive. One minor detraction is that the plastic cradle is more noticeable around the model. It works fine on the 777, but I’m not sure how well it’ll work on smaller aircraft like 737s.
SCORE – 10
CONCLUSION
NG Models releases always get a lot more scrutiny than other brands and the expectation on them seems a lot higher. Personally, I think this upgraded 777 is a triumph, but as I said I am liking the cockpit print on the very latest models that come after this a lot less. NG is a brand that is always trying to do things better and that is highly commendable, because they already had a great 777 that was competitive with other brands. Nonetheless, NG are far from immune to issues and mistakes, but for this model I am a happy man.
FINAL SCORE – 28/30
