Aeroclassics December 2020

When Aeroclassics announced they were going to shake up their distribution model by leaving many widely known and followed traders, I was very doubtful that the venture would work out. I guessed that by selling via their own site, prices would have to go higher, and would in fact become too high for most people and that eventually, Aeroclassics would return to the aforementioned dealers. For the time being, it seems I was very wrong.

As the models went live at 7PM Eastern on Friday, December 11th, collectors moved quickly. I watched the new main hub of Aeroclassics, Aeroclassicsdirect.com every few hours and several of the twelve 1/400 scale offerings went from dwindling to gone before the day was done. 

It seems that Aeroclassics in a way has reinvented themselves. A year or so ago, rushed attempts at model airliners like the 737 MAX 8 (Like the one here) or the "Lochness" L-011 coupled with poor paint application and less than precise features made AC feel stale.

But recently Aeroclassics has gotten back to what they're really good at. Classic titles on classic moulds. No doubt people are loving it as month after month, great models sell out fast.

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​Top Choice:
Due to the holidays, and the fact that the Aeroclassics Black Friday sale which has cleaned me out, I chose not to chase any of this months releases. But if I were a more monied man, I would no doubt have picked up what I think are the most exciting offerings this month; a quartet of 727-200s. 

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A Full House:
Aeroclassics continues to crank out 727-1s on their reinvigorated mould. A nice assortment of shorter retrojects follow the previous bunch. The two United Airlines are sure to appease fleet-builders and are a good sequel to the 737s that were featured earlier in the year. The accompanying Icelandic featuring 80's titles is a standout to me, and I hope to be able to pick this one up in the future. With these three, Aeroclassics almost has at least one 727 per continent in this  month's releases!

ICELANDAIR B727-100 TF-FIE 1:400

UNITED AIRLINES B727-100 N7017U

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​DC-4s:
It has been quite a while since we've seen the DC-4 mould. Aeroclassics double up this month with a pair of legacy carriers. The South Africa DC-4 "Outeniqua" Looks especially nice and I plan on adding to my collection in time, but it seems they've missed the current South African flag this classic prop has next to the forward doors. This is the first South African DC-4 however and is a 'must have.' The Air France looks good. We've already had two Air France DC-4's, but neither has had the white tail.

Notice the SA flag, this should have been on the model.

AIR FRANCE DC4 F-BBDD

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​Classic Heavies:
Rounding out the true classics this month are an SAS 767-200 and an Air Siam DC-10. The SAS 767 has by far seemed to have been the more popular of the two, its original listing was one of the first to sell out on the main site, it was re-listed, and seems to be ready to sell out once more. The other is the historic "First DC-10 for Thailand." While this looks pretty good, and I do hope to add this to the collection, it's too bad it looks so different from the recently released A300.

AIR SIAM DC-10 HS-VGE

SAS B767-200 SE-DKP

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The Lone Modern:
Aeroclassics will only produce one "Aeromodern" this month. An Azul A320 Neo that looks pretty good, but this is a repeat, as we already have this aircraft with registration PR-YRA. This aircraft falls fairly far from my criteria and is probably the least interesting of the bunch although I'm sure many who missed out on the first one will be happy with the re-release.

AZUL A320Neo PR-YRH

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​Conclusion:
This month Aeroclassics reminds us of what they are capable of. It seems they are really hitting their stride in the middle of a global pandemic operating more independently than ever. Hopefully this means more great things to come for the 1/400 mainstay. There is something here for almost every collector this month, 'get-'em while they're hot!'