1/400 Dragon Wings diecast models

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Dragon Wings

DW item no. 55542
Photograph Copyright © Collin Riley 2005

B747-200 Alitalia Baci
Colorful paint job, and quality workmanship all-'round.

DW item no. 55694
Photograph Copyright © Collin Riley 2005

B747-400 United Airlines
Excellent standard paint job. An attractive quality model.

DW item no. 55493
Photograph Copyright © Collin Riley 2005

A340-300 Air Canada Nagano 98

Very nice looking model, with a good paint job and colorful livery. However, in turns it was an oddity, an eye opener, and a learning experience.

"At this point in the book the wings came off..."

In an old Air Enthusiast magazine there was a cartoon showing airline passengers watching a picture show in which the terrified pilot and copilot of an airliner are fighting the controls of their plane, while on the actual plane one passenger is saying to another, "At this point in the book the wings came off..."

Oddity. Well, something like this happened to me, as described in my email to the vendor, after the fact:

Email to the vendor. "In the subject order I received item XXXXXXX, Air Canada A340-300 “Nagano 98” ($28.99). Before opening the plastic bubble-wrap I noticed that the plastic cover over the wing joint was sticking out (not fitted snuggly). After taking the airplane out of the wrap, I tried pushing the plastic cover down, but it would not fit snuggly. I removed the cover and noticed that it seemed that there should have been pegs holding the cover on but they were apparently broken off. I also noticed a gaping hole through the center of the wing and fuselage, and can only assume some type of rivet fits in the hole to hold the wing on the fuselage. On the wing I tried smoothing the ends of the (broken?) pegs with an X-acto knife, and trimming the flash off the edges of the cover, but the cover still wouldn’t fit tightly. I then tried re-attaching the wing-mounted landing gear, and when I pushed down on the gear the wing came off. I’m new at collecting these types of models, but that still seems kind of strange. Nothing on the model is exactly broken, but it seems to be assembled more like a Lego than a diecast model."

Eye opener. The vendor never replied to the email (they probably posted it on the bulletin board so everyone could have a good laugh). That was my first indication that vendors might find defects somewhat less than interesting.

Learning experience. I discovered that diecast airplanes aren't entirely diecast. The wings and tails are sometimes plastic, as are the engines and landing gear. Once you get used to the idea, it makes sense that these parts are made of a more flexible material that can be closer to scale in thickness. Also, I learned the planes can be fixed if sufficient care is taken not to scratch the paint on either the metal or plastic parts.

However, having said this, I would prefer that the wings didn't come off!

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