Ocke's collection

[OckeSWE]

Unfortunately there aren't any models of those aircraft readily available in 1:500, which is what I primarily collect. There are a few 3D printed options available on Shapways, and I do in fact have a few of those in my collection, including a Tu-104, Yak-40, An-26, etc. But they are not yet painted, and that's why I haven't shown them.

Actually, there was a small scale attempt at making a Yak-42 available to the market by a company called Seagull a few years ago, but that didn't go very far. The person behind it couldn't take criticism it seems and chose to cease production rather than improve the model.
Still, they did release three versions, one of which I have, and it will be shown in an upcoming post.

 

[прокуратор понтий пилат]

Next Saturday I'm flying to Sochi from Domodedovo by Yak-42 Izhavia. One of the last possibility for flying by this type, it's crime to miss it!

 

[OckeSWE]

Lucky!

 

[OckeSWE]

Alright, so, I've done some thinking and come up with a decision concerning my upcoming "iron curtain" posts, and how to split them up. Germany will get its own post as it's the largest country, pre- and post-reunification combined. The smaller countries will be combined into one. So, here we go.

Bulgaria
Representing Bulgaria, in the 1970's livery, is Tu-134 LZ-TUN. So far the only Balkan Bulgarian model available on the market, but Herpa has announced a 1990's livery Tu-154M which should be in stores soon.

Balkan Holidays sure had an interesting livery, back in the day, shown here by LZ-HMW.

Czechoslovakia and successor states
OK-CHF displaying the 1970's OKJet livery is, for the time being, the only Czechoslovakian model in my collection. I'm looking to add a few more in the future.

In 1992 Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. While I do have a Slovak Airlines Fokker 100 on the way, the only representative I have so far from the Czechs is an air force A319.

(Speak of the devil, according to PostNord the package containing the Fokker arrived at my pickup location earlier today, but for some reason I didn't receive any notification. Oh well, I'll pick it up and show it tomorrow.)

Hungary
Ah, Hungary... A country I fell in love with on my first visit. Took me a few visits, however, before I actually went to the Aeropark out by Budapest Airport, but it did give me my first chance of boarding some Soviet era aircraft.
Anyway, the country is represtented by two airlines in 1:500 scale, Malév and Wizzair. The one available Wizzair A320, however, is pretty hard to find for a reasonable price. So, for now, I'm sticking with Malév. A company which, sadly, ceased operations in 2012.

Poland
A country that I have a personal connection to as my great-great-grandfather was Polish. So far I only have a single LOT model, C-47 SP-LCD, though there are a few more on my wishlist.
I've only been to Poland once, so far, and... I didn't even fly with LOT to get there. I actually flew with Wizzair.

Yugoslavia and successor states
So far there are only three Yugoslavian models in 1:500. A Caravelle, a 707, and a DC-9. While I would like to add the Caravelle to my collection, I don't think Herpa did a very good job of the 707's nose, so I'm skipping that. The DC-9 they released, on the other hand, is absolutely gorgeous.

While Aviogenex was around even during Yugoslavias existence, the (custom) model that I have shows its last remaining aircraft as it appeared for a number of years before the airline ceased operations in 2015. The last 737-200 flying in Europe, YU-ANP, affectionately known as Squawkie.
I was fortunate enough to see this aircraft twice at Arlanda, operating flights for JAT Airways, a partnership that sadly didn't continue after the formation of Air Serbia. As far as I'm aware, Squawkie is still sitting stored in Belgrade, its future uncertain.

The requested Yak-42, representing Avioimpex from Macedonia. This model is actually kind of a sad story. Produced in 2014 by a company called Seagull, they wanted to release requested models in 1:400 and 1:500 that other manufacturers had avoided. Their first models were the B-2 Spirit and the F-117 Nighthawk. Then came the highly anticipated Yak-42D. And, well... The paint is rough, the printing is a bit poor in some places, the landing gears are fragile, and the engines aren't properly aligned. Instead of taking the feedback and improving on it, production ceased, and that was it. Seagull was gone... They released two liveries on the Yak-42, Avioimpex and Cubana, the latter only available in 1:500.

That's all for this post. Next up, Germany.

 

[OckeSWE]

As promised, I picked up the Slovakian Fokker earlier today. Well, yesterday actually, as it's passed midnight. It arrived together with another model, which will be shown later. Anyway, here it is:

And now, on the next promised country: Germany.
As I mentioned last time, I chose to include all my German models in the same post. So, first up, Interflug. Interestingly I just learned that some of the Interflug Il-62's were actually VIP aircraft operated by the East German air force. And, of course, two of the three Il-62's released by Herpa are VIP configured.

Lufthansa
That's right, I don't have any models in their later liveries. But, then again, this is also my favorite Lufthansa livery. Ok, second place. But still.

Aero Lloyd
So far only one model in my collection, but I'm looking to add at least one more.

Deutsche BA
Now, this is a funny one. A German airline, owned by British Airways, and wearing a very cool version of the classic Landor livery.

TUIfly
And ATC controllers complained that BA's Worldtails were too confusing. I do like many of the liveries TUI has painted on their aircraft over the years, as you can see. There have been plenty more, and quite a few of them are on my wishlist. They certainly are colourful.

That's all I have from Germany, so what's up next? Well... I think I'll keep going with Europe. Not sure in what order, but I'll think of something.

 

[OckeSWE]

I thought I was done with the former USSR after page 1, but it looks like one country slipped by me: Azerbaijan. Don't know how that happened though.

But, getting on with the thread, I said I would stick to Europe, and so I shall. The UK and Scandinavia will have their own posts though.

First up, Austria.

Belgium is up next, represented by two airlines, and three aircraft types, registered in two different countries.

France and Air France coming up. I was lucky enough to catch F-GFKJ on Arlanda a few years ago. Not the best picture in the world, but still.

Next, Greece, represented not by Olympic, but by Aegean.

Time for the Emerald Isle, Ireland, and Aer Lingus with its iconic livery and shamrock logo. Another retrojet I've been fortunate enough to catch.

Italy and Alitalia, an airline which might not be around for much longer. But with the goverment seemingly pumping more and more money into it, who knows?
(Btw, can you tell yet that I'm a fan of retrojets? )

Next in the alphabetical order is Luxembourg and, well... A NATO 707.
The aircraft is in fact registered in Luxembourg, and it is actually the only model I have from the country.

The Netherlands and KLM. An airline I was supposed to have flown for the first time last year, but, well... That didn't happen.

That's all I could fit into this post. Don't know when the next one will be up. Maybe tomorrow, maybe sometime next week. We'll see. Either way, thanks for watching.

 

[Away]

Fantastic tread, buddy!
What about the Kuban airlines and its beautiful sunflowers? They had Tu-154s, Yak-42s, spectacular Boeings and all the Sky Express legacy.

 

[OckeSWE]

Kuban Airlines are on my wishlist, but unfortunately there are no models available in 1:500. I do plan on ordering or making some custom models in the future, when I have the time and money to do so.

 

[OckeSWE]

Continuing where we left off, this will be just a short post to round up mainland Europe.

Spain
Represented by national carrier Iberia and their lovely retro A319. Another carrier I was supposed to have flown in early 2020.

Switzerland
Represented by two airlines that, sadly, are no longer in operation. The lovely Swissair MD-11 and the cool SkyWork Q400.

This was only a short little post, done this way so I wouldn't have to split up the upcoming Scandinavian and UK pics into more than one post each.

 

[OckeSWE]

In this post, Scandinavia. I was originally going to post SAS under Denmark, but the majority of the company is Swedish, and as some of their aircraft are registered in Norway, I thought I'd give the whole region a separate post. My SAS collection may be small, but it does represent two of my favorite things about the company: the classic Mad Dog, and their lovely viking longship livery. Their MD-80's were some of my favorites out at Arlanda, so much so that I've even got one on my left arm. I do miss them, but we do still see the occasional MD-80 flight, some even under the Scandinavian callsign. But more on that in a bit.

Sweden
A country with quite a large ego, to be honest. We like to see ourselves as the best of the bunch. Stockholm even uses the slogan "The capital of Scandinavia."
Oh well... Our aviation scene has at least been pretty interesting, though it's a bit under-represented in 1:500 scale. Apart from SAS and subsidiary Scanair, there are only 5 other companies available. 5 out of 96. Sure, some of them only operate helicopters, and some only operate smaller aircraft like Beechcrafts and Cessna's, but still. Plenty of them operated planes Herpa have in their range, like 737's, MD-80's, DC-8's, Fokker 50's, Viscounts, etc. But! All is not lost. Some airlines have been produced, such as...

Novair

and Nordic European.

I'd love to get my hands on the Malmö Aviation Avro RJ100 Herpa released years ago, and I'd love to see them release some BRA and Linjeflyg models. Air Sweden. Maybe some Blue Scandinavia. Air Trader perhaps, though that would mean having to create a Vickers Vanguard mould.
So there are plenty of models they could produce. But I guess the demand might not be high enough to support it.

Anyway, next country, Denmark, represented by another gorgeous MD-80. This time, OY-RUE of Danish Air Transport, sporting a special livery for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. As far as I'm aware, it's still in these colours, minus FIFA and Coca-Cola titles. And it can sometimes be seen operating flights on behalf of SAS, as can their other MD-80's, as can their A320's.

This model was actually a bit controversial when it was released. Remember when I said Sky500 wasn't known for their licensing? Well... FIFA didn't like this one bit, and tried to prevent the sale of it, after it had already hit store shelves. Quite a few models, however, had already been shipped out to customers, including mine. So when preventing sales didn't work, they tried to go after the manufacturer, which as far as I'm aware turned out to be a dead-end.

Unfortunately, I don't have any Norwegian models at the moment. Well, apart from my SAS MD-90 shown above. But that may change in the future. Don't know when, don't know how. But it might.

Next time, the United Kingdom.

 

[OckeSWE]

Rule Britannia, Britannia rule the... Skies? While I don't know about that, the United Kingdom is the final European country in the list. I think. Considering I failed to include Azerbaijan in my ex USSR list I could very well be wrong. But, for now, let's get on with it.

British Airways
Can't have a UK collection without the flag carrier, can I?

I was fortunate enough to fly on this very 767, G-BZHC, from Stockholm to London back in 2018, just weeks before it was retired. I had originally booked an earlier flight on an A319 or A320, can't remember, but a friend of mine reminded me that this might be my last chance to fly on a BA 767. So, of course, I changed my ticket, and I'm glad I did. Even though the flight was delayed due to a technical issue, packed, and there were quite a few crying children. So not the quiet flight my friend had promised, but still.

AirUK
Wearing their final livery before rebranding as KLM uk in 1998, the company is represented by one of their eleven Fokker 100's.

Buzz
A subsidiary of a subsidiary. Founded by KLM uk in 2000, and purchased by Ryanair in 2003, Buzz was a low-cost operation which lasted until 2004.
The name was actually revived by Ryanair in 2019 for its Polish subsidiary, previously known as Ryanair Sun. The logo and livery are however totally different.

British World Airlines
Originally founded as British United Air Ferries in 1963, the British World name was only introduced in 1993 and lasted until the company ceased trading in 2001. Although Herpa did produce a 757 sample in this livery, nothing ever came of that, and their first BWA release was this beautiful BAC 1-11. They've got a few more they could release if the wanted to. So let's see if they do.

So, there we go. That's my UK collection, and my European collection for that matter, wrapped up. Where do we go next? Not quite sure, but stay tuned to find out.

 

[OckeSWE]

Decided for a short post today as there are two geographical areas in my collection represented by only a single model or two. Africa and the Middle East.

Africa is represented by Angola and the gorgeous TAAG Il-62. This was the model that arrived alongside the previously shown Slovak Fokker 100. A model I'd wanted to add for some time. A beautiful aircraft, a good looking livery, and a one-of-a-kind combination.

Next up, Syria, represented by a lone Tu-134. I've thought about adding an Il-76 as well, or maybe two. Maybe get some custom models. Not sure. They did, after all, have a pretty good looking livery in the past.

Now, some people would say that Turkey is a European country, some would say it's a Middle Eastern country. I let Google decide, and it states that it is "A country in the Middle East." So, here we go. No Turkish Airlines models yet. I've thought about adding some, but so far nothing has come of it. I mainly purchased this one as my grandfather used to work for Danzas.

I could, techincally, have included the TNT Tu-204 in this post as it is actually owned by Cairo Aviation and registered in Egypt. Hm...
Oh well, what's done is done.

Next up, I think we'll go to Asia and see what kind of fun stuff they have to offer.

 

[OckeSWE]

Next up Asia was it, right? Well, a quick little interlude for two new arrivals first.

Czech Republic
Right? Well, I didn't actually realize, until after I had placed my order, that this model represents the aircraft as it looked just before Czechoslovakia split, and is therefore still marked CSA Czechoslovak Airlines. But, still, it's a nice model, and one I've wanted to add since it was released.

Russia
This is actually a model that I originally wasn't very interested in as I first thought it was a prototype aircraft, but then I went and bought the Il-76 prototype, and then discovered that this is actually belonged to an airline: Center-South. It only flew with them for a year and a half, but it got a cool livery.

Next time, I promise, we're going to Asia.

 

[OckeSWE]

So, as promised, it's time for Asia. And first up is the largest country of them all, China. And it's represented by not just one airline, but three.

Air China
No regular livery models, as of yet, but two specials. Both of them produced by the hilariously named manufacturer Potato Wings. A short lived manufacturer who popped into existence from nowhere, released two or three (plastic) 777-200's, and then *poof* vanished. Which is a shame, as they are pretty good models, despite being plastic.

China Xinjang Airlines
I seem to recall this being the only actual export customer of the Il-86, correct? All other airlines I can think of that operated them are from ex Soviet states, who inherited them. Either way, they were the only Chinese carrier operating the type, as far as I've been able to find. So it's an interesting release as Herpa haven't released any of their Tu-154's. Netmodels, however, have released one of their 757's, which is on my wishlist.

Civil Aviation Administration of China
Or CAAC for short. Represented, so far, by only a 757. Unfortunately a very short lived aircraft, B-2812. Having been delivered on the 26th of April, 1990, it was in service for just a little more than 5 months before being destroyed on the 2nd of October, 1990, when a hijacked 737 crashed into it on the ground. 46 out of 122 people onboard B-2812 were sadly killed...

Moving on, sort of. Hong Kong is next, and they are represented by two airlines.
First up is the most famous of them, Cathay Pacific, represented by four models. Three Airbuses and a single Boeing, two regular livery models, and two special liveries.

I was originally going to put this model first as it is first in an alphabetical sense, but meh. Air Hong Kong, represented by a single A300.

Japan is next. And you'd think JAL would be here, but nope. They are on my wishlist though.

All Nippon Airways
I do love their liveries, especially on the L-1011. But why Hogan chose to use the same registration for both models, I have no idea. But I am hoping these will be rereleased as New Generation models.

Jetstar
"Now, hang on" I hear you say. "Jetstar is Australian." And you'd be correct, but! This is a Jetstar Japan aircraft.

Southwest Air Lines
Founded in 1967, and renamed Japan Transocean Air in 1993, this is one of three models available in 1:500, the other being a 737-200 and a YS-11.

World Air Network
This is a weird one. World Air Network, founded in 1990, operated charter flights on behalf of ANA until 1995. But the brand remained, somehow, until 2000 when it was renamed to Air Japan and relaunched in 2001. Pictures of WAC aircraft are however somewhat difficult to find, and for a very long time, I thought this was a fantasy model.

 

[OckeSWE]

Malaysia
Another country not represented by its flag carrier, but rather a low-cost operator. Air Asia X.

North Korea
Also known as the hermit kingdom, it's another one of those countries I'd very much like to visit some day, both for its aviation and railways, both of which I find fascinating. So far this Il-62 is the only model I have of their well-known flag carrier, but as many other times before, more of them are on my wishlist.

Singapore
Singapore Airlines, an airline who most people seem to forget used to operate narrowbodies. I say "used to" but they have recently added 737's to their fleet, again.
The 757 shown here is actually a sample model which I managed to get a hold of through another forum, for a surprisingly low price. As beautiful as their livery is, seeing as their models often go for hundreds of pounds, Euros, dollars, etc... I don't think I'll add any more in the near future.

Taiwan
Also known as the Republic of China, much to the dislike of mainland China, they are yet again represented by an airline which isn't the flag carrier. EVA Air, with a beautiful special livery. Hoping to get a hold of a standard livery example as well, some day, but it's a similar situation to SQ.

Thailand
Thailand are represented, not only by their flag carrier, but also by one of my favorite modern liveries. It's a bit dark on the picture, but the metalic purple really is stunning in real life. Their 747's were regular visitors to Stockholm before being replaced by 777's, but I've got an A300 model as that's what was available at the time. Not complaining though.

Now... The next country isn't Asian, but... I thought I'd include it in this post as I don't have any other models from this country, yet, and I've already shown a model from one of this operators subsidiaries. Australia and Jetstar.

So, that's Asia and Oceania over with. What's left to show then? Well, the Americas. North, Central, South. And this time I'll go north to south.

 

[прокуратор понтий пилат]

this being the only actual export customer of the Il-86, correct? All other airlines I can think of that operated them are from ex Soviet states

As I'm aware you are quite right.
OckeSWE, I need your advice. I'm not a big fun of collecting but I'd like to buy a couple or a bit more planes models. 1:500, in metal and as much as possible closed to its original. I would like 1-2 Soviet/Russian ones and 1-2 foreign. Which a manufacturer could you recommend?

 

[OckeSWE]

OckeSWE, I need your advice. I'm not a big fun of collecting but I'd like to buy a couple or a bit more planes models. 1:500, in metal and as much as possible closed to its original. I would like 1-2 Soviet/Russian ones and 1-2 foreign. Which a manufacturer could you recommend?

Well, my friend, the options in 1:500 scale are a bit limited. The biggest manufacturer, by far, is Herpa. And they do, pretty much, have a monopoly on aircraft built in the former USSR. The only exception I can think of is the Il-76 which has also been released by Big Bird, Inflight500, Sky500, and 5 Stars, but they all seem to have used the same mould, judging by the pictures I've seen. I don't know which is best, though, as both of mine are Inflight500 models. They are however beautiful.

Unfortunately, there are quite a few Soviet, Russian, and Ukrainian aircraft missing in 1:500. There are no Antonovs smaller than the 22. There are no Ilyushins smaller than the 18. There are no Tu-104's, 124's, or 204-300's. There are also no Yakovlevs, apart from the previously mentioned Seagull models, which are pretty rare nowadays.

But the ones Herpa have produced are, mostly, pretty good. Their moulds are almost perfect. Some people have complained about the nose of the Tu-154, which I don't agree with. My only complaint, really, when it comes to the moulds is that the main gear bogies on the Tu-204 is a bit inaccurate. The tires are way too small. One could also call them lazy for using the exact same mould for all of their Tu-134's, regardless of what type of nose the real aircraft had.
Their printing quality does vary sometimes though. And, for some reason, they've started changing the size of the cockpit windows on their "Soviet" models.

There are a few other manufacturers as well, however only two others are active as far as I'm aware: Sky500 and AeroClassics (also sometimes called Aero500). They don't release models as frequently as Herpa does, nor are their product ranges as wide. Sky500 release mostly A330's and A340's, with the occasional MD-80 and A320. AeroClassics meanwhile release mostly DC-10's and 777's.
The quality of their models is usually very good, and the printing is often superior to that of Herpa. Though that may change soon as Herpa have announced that their level of detail will increase with future releases.

The issue of moulds is a bit complicated as some moulds have been used by more than one manufacturer, such as the Il-76 mentioned earlier. But also Airbuses, Boeings, and MD's, meaning the printing is sometimes the only difference. Some moulds have minor differences between them. I will say this though: the best MD-11 mould I've encountered is the one from StarJets, later taken over by Schuco. Don't know what happened to it after that though.

My suggestion would be to visit this database and have a little look for yourself:

https://database.diecastmodelaircraft.com/

 

[Siledka]

Добавим сюда, что человек, загимающийся на Херпе всей русской темой, живёт в Москве и вполне доступен со складом этого добра. Редкие херповские вещи недёшевы, но во всяком случае как правило вполне доступны

 

[прокуратор понтий пилат]

OckeSWE, thank you very much for so detailed answer! Actually, I would like to get some planes which I had flown on before and, surprisingly, I found some of them at Herpa' site - Tu-154M Belavia and B787 Uzbekistan airlines. Maybe also B762 UTair but I couldn't make its number out at the picture.

 

[OckeSWE]

The model is registered VP-BAL, and the product ID is 530057.