Wings900 - Herpa Finnair Airbus Industrie A321-211 1:200

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Herpa Finnair Airbus Industrie A321-211 1:200

Herpa Finnair Airbus Industrie A321-211 1:200 Hot

Review Archive Wings900 Review Archive

Wednesday, 16 August 2006

Description

Herpa Finnair Airbus Industrie A321-211 1:200

Wings900 Model Review Reviewer: Michael Warfel Model Photographs © Todd McCartney Real Aircraft Photo Courtesy of JetPhotos.net
*Airline*	*Make/Model*	*Manufacturer*	*Scale*
	Airbus Industrie A321-211		1:200

Introduction

Finnair is still one of the best in many areas. The Finnish airline is the sixth-oldest in the world and has the densest domestic fleet, in relation to population, in all of Europe. Today’s flagships of the fleet, following on from the MD-11 era, are six Airbus A321-200s. The original to this model with the registration OH-LZC was the third A321 aircraft to become part of the fleet in March 2000.This model is limited to 1000 units.

The Model

Ah finally a shorthaul Finnair model that is not on Herpa's awful 1:500 NGI moulds. Herpa now brings us the A321 model in the 1:200 scale. The mould overall is well done and sits nicely with my other Herpa non-premium models and my StarJets 1:200 models. The mould correctly slopes up toward the rear of teh aircraft in the correct spot and has the correct A321 wings. The window line is printed at the correct heigh and the third door is smaller as it should be.

The CFM56 engines are well moulded and the pylon and engine are seperate pieces from the wing itself. The pylons are well moulded and have the additional details presented on the pylond. The exhaust on this model though was lack the two tone detail that is seen on the smaller 1:400 models. Hopefully this will be added on future 1:200 releases. The wings connect directly into the side of the fuselage which gives the model a nice clean look. The leading edge is correctly done and painted in silver.

As with all Herpa non-premium plastic models the engine blades spin freely without any hestiation which is a nice touch. The center hub of the engine is painted in black, one suggestion that would be a personal favorite would be if it included the white lines on the engine hub to give a more detailed effect. The gears are palced in the correct position and the model sits straight without wanting to sit on the rear of the fuselage. One hopeful update in the future would be for more detailed gears on these Herpa non-premium models, preferably with rubber tires.

The nose of the model is well done in my opinion and the cockpit windows are correctly placed. Herpa has included the tail number not only on the nose gear doors but also tilted correctly above the cockpit windows. This model carries the older "new" Finnair scheme without the new grey belly that is now on this aircraft. Personally I would have preferred the model coming with the grey belly as it adds a bit more life and color to the model even if it is grey. The nose gear is correctly placed and leans foward as it does on the actual aircraft.

The F on the tail is correctly placed however the lighter color on the bottom needs to be wider and is much too thin in comparison to the actual aircraft. The detailing around the vertical stabalizer is a nice added detail and the APU exhaust is insereted into the aircraft as a seperate piece. The registration is clearly pritned on the model with both the Finland and European Union flag on either side of it. The doors as you can see now have the door handle details printed along with it.

Final Thoughts

I've always been a fan of the Finnair livery, while it is not exciting it is classy and has enough color to it to make it stick out. This is on top of my fleet building of short haul European models in this 1:200 scale so this model fits perfectly in my collection. Hopefully we will see more Finnair short-haul models in multiple scales from Herpa.

Rating

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