Hi everyone, I am new to this hobby.  I purchased my first three planes today.  Gemini 400s

But in the back of my mind, I am still very interested in collecting Herpas 500s.  I am looking for some recommendations here.  My house is rather small and space is an issue to keep all these planes. 

Can we all tell me some positives and negatives about 400s and 500s?

Views: 444

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

I have mainly 400's, a few 500's and 3 200's. I definitely hear you. I still live with my parents so my collection is confined to my room. I would say that if space is an issue, 500's might be good. However as you get into smaller planes, the siE becomes very tiny. I have a 400 A321 which is about the same size as a 500 A340. If you are thinking of getting quite a collection maybe get 400's for smaller planes ie narrow body and 500's for bigger planes ie wide bodied

Hope this helps!
Sorry size not siE ;) the caps lock is right beside the z lol

Hi Sherman, welcome to the hobby!  1/400 continues to offer many great releases, the one that comes to mind is the new Air New Zealand 787-900 in the All Blacks livery, stunning aircraft, just like the 773. 

Whats most important is that you enjoy what you collect.  You will learn many things in these forums about your models, the moulds,  the shapes and features of the airplane, and so on and so forth, and the needs of your collecting criteria will probably lead to what scale you want to mainly collect. With regard to Herpa 500's, i personally felt ripped off considering the price and the lack of details both in mould and printed details, and those old generation gear! but 1/200 holds a special place in my collection, because its where I began collecting...   1/400 scale has many offerings from a number of manufacturers, its not too expensive, and doesn't take up too much space.  Since you've just started, i encourage you to check out (not necessarily buy) what 1/200 has to offer by looking at some Gemini Jets 1/200 unboxing videos on youtube. 

If you are interested, I posted a blog about my collecting story.  It might answer some of the recommendations you are seeking.

http://www.modelairplanecollectors.com/profiles/blogs/my-collecting...

 

I have two 500's and the detail is quite good. My eyes can barely read the print but it is totally clear. Maybe the quality has improved in the last little while? :)
Thank you so much, Mike for welcoming me into the community. This group is so welcoming and contains so many helpful individuals. I am shocked that Herpa is not high in quality. I thought all German products are well made. I have been purchasing Gemini since they are an American company. So far so good.
I have one 1:400 Herpa and the quality is good. With 1:500 it's just hard to get the details. I have a dash 8 Q300 and other than the propellers being a bit dinky even that is good quality. I don't have any experience with their larger models but I would imagine They're good.
There's only so much detail that can be captured at such a small scale. You get into larger scales, and you get some features like better propellers, or even spinning fan blades, or antennas. I don't know much about Herpa's Dash 8's, but Gemini has a nice dash 8 as well. You ought a check out some online retailers who at this time are selling some heavily discounted 1/200 models like a Dash 8 for about $26usd. I believe it's all metal also.. The quality and details will certainly put a test to your imagination.
Don't get me wrong, I may not favor 1/500's, but Herpa has some great releases such as the one and only AN-224 in 1/400, and the 1/200 viscount 800. Going back in to, 2003, there was also a company called Star Jets, which also made 1/500 die cast. In my opinion, they made better 1/500 models than Herpa because of the added details and they were completely made of die cast metal.. I learned that Star Jets were under a company we know as Gemini Jets. Other collectors encouraged me to try Gemini 1/400's, and true to their claims, they were just like Star Jets, but a little bigger, and more detailed.
You've got to thank Matt and Bryce for bringing us this wonderful website. There are too many others to mention, but this group of collectors are a class act.
Well, I certainly have to thank all of them! This site has been nothing but helpful!
I have a 1:500 Star Jets LH A340-300 and the detail is impeccable.

RSS

Recent Visitors to the site!

© 2024   Created by Matt Whisenant.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

hitcounter

 Avitop.com