Diecast Airplane Store: Latest News

21 New GeminiJets May 2026 Releases: First-Ever Delta 767-400ER in 1:200 Scale

Tue, 12 May 2026 22:27:56 +0000

GeminiJets has announced its May 2026 lineup, and this drop carries one of the most anticipated tooling debuts in recent memory: the first-ever Boeing 767-400ER in 1:200 scale. Across 21 new pre-orders spanning four scales, this release brings a mix of all-new moulds, special liveries, and classic registrations that should land firmly on most collectors' want lists. All 21 models are expected to ship in June 2026.

Below is a complete breakdown of what's coming, organized by scale and with notes on the standouts within each.

The Headliner: Delta Air Lines Boeing 767-400ER (G2DAL1444)

The Boeing 767-400ER has been a notable gap in the 1:200 diecast world for years. Despite being one of Delta Air Lines' workhorse widebodies and an enduring favorite among aviation enthusiasts, no manufacturer had produced this specific variant in 1:200 scale until now. Gemini200's G2DAL1444 changes that, featuring Delta's modern livery on registration N842MH.

For collectors who appreciate the 767-400ER's distinctive stretched fuselage, raked wingtips, and aerodynamic refinements over earlier 767 variants, this is a long-overdue addition. A flaps-down version (G2DAL1444F) is also available for collectors who prefer the dynamic, in-flight configuration. Both versions include a display stand and are expected to ship in June 2026.

Why this matters: First-tooling releases like this typically sell through quickly in the secondary market once initial production runs are sold out. Collectors who want a 767-400ER in 1:200 scale should expect significant interest at launch.

Gemini200 — 1:200 Scale Releases

Beyond the headliner, the 1:200 lineup includes several other significant additions.

Qantas Boeing 787-9 "Yam Dreaming" (G2QFA1480)

Qantas's striking First Nations art livery applied to VH-ZND, one of the most visually distinctive special schemes flying today. The Yam Dreaming livery celebrates Indigenous Australian heritage with vibrant imagery covering the entire fuselage.

American Airlines Boeing 777-200ER (G2AAL1414)

Registration N788AN in current AA livery. A flaps-down variant (G2AAL1414F) is also available for in-flight display configurations.

Philippine Airlines Airbus A350-1000 (G2PAL1498)

RP-C3510 in PAL's flagship widebody scheme. Available with flaps down (G2PAL1498F) as well.

Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330-200 (G2HAL1504)

N360HA in Hawaiian's iconic Pualani livery, a fan favorite among Pacific carrier collectors.

Delta Air Lines Airbus A321neo (G2DAL1495)

Delta's newest narrowbody workhorse on N502DX, joining the Delta 767-400ER in this release.

JSX ATR 42-600 (G2JSX1506)

The semi-private carrier in 1:200 scale on registration N400JX.

UAE Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III (G2UAF1471)

Registration 1228, a less common military release for 1:200 collectors and a strong addition for those building international military fleets.

GeminiJets — 1:400 Scale Releases

The 1:400 lineup brings several models that are likely to appeal to both regional collectors and classic-era enthusiasts.

BWIA British West Indies Boeing 727-100 (GJBWA2376)

9Y-TCO in delivery livery with polished belly. A nostalgic release for Caribbean aviation fans and classic Boeing collectors.

Mexicana Boeing 727-100 (GJMXA2351)

XA-SEJ in classic Mexicana colors, another welcome addition to the 727 collection.

Lufthansa Airbus A340-600 (GJDLH2398)

D-AIHF, one of the longest passenger aircraft ever built and a Lufthansa classic.

United Airlines Boeing 767-300ER (GJUAL2227)

N670UA in United's current livery.

Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A321neo (GJHAL2415)

N209HA, a 1:400 companion to the larger 1:200 A330-200 release.

JSX ATR 42-600 (GJJSX2404)

Registration N400JX, the 1:400 counterpart to the Gemini200 release.

Air North Boeing 737-800 (GJANT2394)

C-FNYA, a less commonly modeled Canadian regional carrier.

GeminiMACS — 1:400 Scale Military

Two Boeing KC-135R tanker variants round out the military lineup.

U.S. Air Force KC-135R (GMUSA153)

Registration 61-0275.

U.S. Air Force KC-135R Ohio Air National Guard (GMUSA161)

Registration 63-8013 in the Ohio ANG scheme, an attractive option for state-specific military collectors.

Gemini General Aviation — 1:72 Scale

KLM Aeroclub Cessna 172P (GGCES019)

Registration PH-WVO, a charming addition to the Gemini GA 1:72 scale Cessna 172 lineup.

Quick Reference: All 21 Models in the May 2026 Release

For collectors building checklists or wishlists:

Gemini200 1:200 (11 models): G2AAL1414, G2AAL1414F, G2DAL1444, G2DAL1444F, G2DAL1495, G2HAL1504, G2JSX1506, G2PAL1498, G2PAL1498F, G2QFA1480, G2UAF1471
GeminiJets 1:400 (7 models): GJANT2394, GJBWA2376, GJDLH2398, GJHAL2415, GJJSX2404, GJMXA2351, GJUAL2227
GeminiMACS 1:400 Military (2 models): GMUSA153, GMUSA161
Gemini General Aviation 1:72 (1 model): GGCES019

When Will the May 2026 GeminiJets Releases Ship?

All 21 models from the May 2026 GeminiJets release are expected to ship in June 2026. As with most GeminiJets and Gemini200 production runs, allocations are limited, and first-tooling releases like the Delta 767-400ER tend to sell through fastest. Pre-ordering through an authorized retailer is the most reliable way to secure your allocation before initial inventory is depleted.

About GeminiJets, Gemini200, and GeminiMACS

GeminiJets has been producing detailed diecast scale model aircraft since 1998 and is widely regarded as a benchmark for commercial aviation collectibles. The brand operates across multiple scales:

GeminiJets 1:400 — The flagship line, focused on commercial airliners and corporate liveries.
Gemini200 1:200 — Larger scale with display stands included, offering more visible detail and shelf presence.
GeminiMACS — The military aviation line, covering tankers, transports, and other military airframes.
Gemini General Aviation 1:72 — Smaller general aviation aircraft including the Cessna 172 and Cirrus SR22T.
Gemini100 1:100 — The newest and largest scale in the family, launched in 2026.

Pre-Order the May 2026 GeminiJets Releases

All 21 May 2026 GeminiJets models are now open for pre-order at Diecast Airplane Store. Each listing includes detailed product specifications, registration information, and high-resolution photography. Browse the full lineup on our GeminiJets New Releases page or use the individual product links above to go directly to each model.

For questions about specific models, expected arrival dates, or pre-order details, our customer service team is available to help.

Executive Series Scale Models: Space & Military Collector's Guide

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 16:33:17 +0000

— Collector's Guide —

The Executive Series Collection: Space, Steel & Sky

A collector's guide to twenty premium resin models — from the Apollo capsules that carried Armstrong home to the Raptor that redefined air dominance.

Published April 2026 · 12 min read

There's a particular kind of satisfaction that comes from holding a scale model of an aircraft you've studied, read about, or watched climb into a museum sky on some long-ago family trip. It's not the plastic toy of childhood. It's closer to sculpture — a deliberate, hand-finished object that lets you own a piece of a machine you could never realistically own in full.

That's the promise of Executive Series models: pressurized resin collectibles rendered at scales between 1:24 and 1:200, finished with hand-painted detail and mounted on wooden or metal display bases. They're sized for the boardroom, the home library, the shelf behind the desk where the ordinary collector wouldn't look twice but the visitor who knows aircraft will.

This guide walks through the full current Executive Series lineup at Diecast Airplane Store — twenty models across three broad categories: the American space program (twelve pieces), military and strategic aircraft (seven pieces), and one business jet. We've organized it roughly by historical era within each category, with context on what each model represents and why it matters to collectors of aerospace history.

1. The Space Program: Mercury to Artemis

The American crewed space program runs in a clear lineage. Mercury proved a human could survive in orbit. Gemini proved two could rendezvous, dock, and walk in space. Apollo proved we could reach the Moon. The Shuttle proved we could build infrastructure in low Earth orbit. And SLS — flying today under the Artemis program — is proving we can return.

Executive Series covers the full arc. If you're building a display that tells that story in sequence, the twelve space models in the current lineup will do it front to back.

Mercury & Gemini: The Dawn of American Spaceflight

Between 1961 and 1963, Project Mercury completed six crewed flights with a single goal: prove that humans could function in Earth orbit. The capsule was barely larger than a phone booth. Alan Shepard rode one on a 15-minute suborbital hop that made him the first American in space. John Glenn rode another into three full orbits aboard Friendship 7. The Original Seven — the Mercury astronauts — became the template for every public understanding of what an astronaut was.

The Mercury Capsule at 1:24 scale captures the craft at genuine collector quality: hand-painted pressurized resin, a removable hatch that reveals the authentic interior layout, and a wooden display base. At roughly $250 it's one of the more accessible entry points into the Executive Series space lineup — though "accessible" is relative when the model itself is a serious museum-quality sculpture.

Gemini followed. Where Mercury was one person, Gemini was two — and where Mercury proved survival, Gemini proved capability. The program ran ten crewed missions between 1965 and 1966, teaching NASA how to rendezvous, how to dock, how to spacewalk, and how to keep astronauts alive on missions that lasted days rather than hours. Everything Apollo later did in lunar orbit was rehearsed first in Gemini.

Gemini IV is the specific mission that gets the Executive Series treatment — and it's the right choice. On June 3, 1965, Ed White opened the hatch of Gemini IV and floated out on a 23-foot gold-plated umbilical. It was the first American spacewalk, and the photograph — White suspended against the curve of the Earth, visor reflecting the Pacific — is one of the defining images of the 20th century. The model preserves the capsule's distinctive black-and-silver configuration at 1:24 scale with a wooden base.

Apollo 11: The Crown Jewel of Any Space Collection

No mission in human history has generated more collectibles than Apollo 11, and for good reason. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed the Lunar Module Eagle on the Sea of Tranquility while Michael Collins orbited above in the Command Module Columbia. Four days later, Columbia splashed down in the Pacific with all three men and the lunar samples aboard. It remains the only portion of the Apollo 11 stack that returned to Earth, and it's now the centerpiece of the Smithsonian's "Milestones of Flight" gallery.

Executive Series offers three distinct ways to own Apollo 11:

The 1:25 scale Command Module is the detailed static replica — a cast-resin model of Columbia as it appears today, with heat-shield scorching, recovery hook points, and hatch detail faithfully reproduced. At just over $250 on sale it's the entry-level Apollo piece, and only five remain in stock at the time of writing.

The 1:30 Apollo 11 Floating Model is the showstopper — and this is where the Executive Series line gets genuinely surprising. Using magnetic levitation technology, the capsule hovers and rotates in mid-air above its base, mimicking the weightlessness of its actual lunar environment. The hatch is still removable; the interior detail is still there. It's $325 on sale, it ships in June 2026, and it's the most striking single piece in the current lineup.

For the collector who wants the full lunar-landing hardware together, the Apollo 11 Command & Lunar Modules Set pairs the CSM with the LEM at 1:48 scale — the two spacecraft that separated in lunar orbit, with the Eagle descending to Tranquility Base while Columbia orbited above. Having them side-by-side on a display shelf recreates the geometry of the actual mission. At $426 for the set, with only five in stock, it's the definitive Apollo 11 display piece.

The Rockets: From Redstone to SLS

Spacecraft are only half the story. None of these capsules, none of these orbiters, would ever have left the pad without the launch vehicles beneath them — and the Executive Series rocket lineup runs the full developmental arc from Mercury's Redstone to the current-day SLS.

The Mercury-Redstone Rocket at 1:72 scale is the starting point: a tall, slender rocket that launched Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom on their suborbital flights in 1961. The Redstone was derivative of the Army's Jupiter ballistic missile program — a reminder of how closely the early space race paralleled Cold War missile development. Only five are in stock.

Then there's the Saturn V — and we should talk about this one carefully, because it's the signature piece of any Apollo-focused display.

Standing 363 feet tall in real life, the Saturn V is the most powerful launch vehicle ever flown to operational status. From 1967 to 1973 it launched thirteen times, carrying every Apollo mission to lunar orbit as well as the Skylab space station. Not a single one failed to deliver its payload. The Executive Series 1:200 model stands 23 inches tall — nearly two feet — which means this isn't a shelf piece so much as a vertical architectural element for whatever room it goes in. The five F-1 engines at the base and the escape tower at the tip are both rendered in precise scale, and the whole thing sits on an integrated base.

At $325 on sale and in stock, it's arguably the single most important piece in the entire Executive Series catalog.

Fast-forward half a century and NASA's current heavy-lift vehicle is the Space Launch System (SLS), flying under the Artemis program. The SLS debuted on November 16, 2022 with the uncrewed Artemis I mission, sending an Orion capsule on a 25-day flight around the Moon. Its configuration — orange core stage flanked by twin five-segment solid rocket boosters — is directly derivative of the Space Shuttle stack, which makes it a visual successor to the shuttles in a way no other modern rocket is.

The 1:200 SLS model stands 22 inches tall with its base. It's in pre-order for June 2026 delivery at $325. For collectors building a display that spans the full American spaceflight era, putting the Saturn V and SLS side-by-side — the rocket that took us to the Moon and the rocket that's taking us back — is a genuinely satisfying geometric statement.

The Space Shuttle Era

Between the Apollo era and the Artemis era came the Space Shuttle — 135 missions over 30 years, built and lost five orbiters, carried every component of the International Space Station into orbit. The shuttle program is the longest-running and most operationally complex American crewed program to date, and it arguably did more to establish routine human presence in space than anything before or since.

Executive Series offers the three surviving flight-capable orbiters — Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour — in two forms: individual "full stack" models showing each orbiter mated to its external tank and solid rocket boosters in launch configuration, or the trio together in a collector's set.

Discovery was the fleet leader. Thirty-nine missions — more than any other spacecraft in history. It deployed the Hubble Space Telescope in 1990, carried John Glenn back to space at age 77, and flew the "Return to Flight" missions after both the Challenger and Columbia losses. It's now on permanent display at the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles.

Atlantis flew the final Space Shuttle mission, STS-135, in July 2011. It was the primary workhorse for International Space Station assembly and flew the final Hubble servicing mission (SM4) in 2009. It's now at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.

Endeavour was the youngest of the fleet — built from structural spares to replace Challenger after the 1986 loss. It performed the first Hubble servicing mission in 1993, which corrected the telescope's famously flawed primary mirror. Endeavour is now at the California Science Center in Los Angeles.

All three full-stack models are 1:200 scale, $280 on sale, and in pre-order for near-term delivery. Each captures the orbiter mated to the external tank and twin SRBs in launch-ready configuration — the geometry that defined 30 years of American spaceflight.

For collectors who want all three orbiters together, the Space Shuttle Collection packages Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour as a matched trio — each on its own polished wooden base, rendered at 1:200 scale in their on-orbit configurations (without the launch stack). At $360 on sale for the set, with only two sets remaining in stock, it's the most efficient way to own all three orbiters simultaneously.

2. Military & Strategic Aircraft

The military portion of the Executive Series lineup runs across three generations of American airpower: the variable-sweep Cold War icons, the stealth revolution of the 1980s and 90s, and the fifth-generation fighters currently defining modern air combat. Seven aircraft, each of which represents a distinct moment in the evolution of combat aviation.

Fifth-Generation Stealth: F-22 Raptor & F-35 Lightning II

Fifth-generation fighters are defined by four traits: all-aspect stealth, integrated avionics, supercruise capability, and networked sensor fusion. Only a handful of aircraft worldwide meet that definition, and two of them are American: the F-22 Raptor and the F-35 Lightning II.

The F-22 Raptor at 1:48 scale is the apex air-superiority fighter — designed from the ground up to be invisible on radar until it's already too late. Its twin thrust-vectoring nozzles give it post-stall maneuverability no other operational fighter can match, and its supercruise capability lets it sustain supersonic flight without afterburner. The Air Force built only 187 of them before production ended in 2011, which makes the Raptor one of the rarest combat aircraft in active service.

The Executive Series model measures over 15 inches long in pressurized resin, with the faceted stealth geometry and distinctive canted twin tails fully rendered. It ships in June 2026 at $280 on sale.

Where the Raptor is specialized for air dominance, the F-35A Lightning II is multi-role — a strike fighter designed to be procured and operated in massive numbers across the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and a dozen allied nations. The F-35 program is the most expensive weapons program in history, and the aircraft itself is arguably the most consequential Western combat platform of the 21st century.

Executive Series offers the F-35A in two different squadron liveries, letting collectors display them in formation:

Both are 1:48 scale, $180 on sale, and ship in June 2026. At that price point — dramatically lower than the other stealth aircraft in the lineup — the F-35 is the most accessible entry into Executive Series military modeling.

Cold War Legends: F-14, SR-71, B-2

Three aircraft from the Cold War era anchor the strategic end of the lineup, and each one represents a different answer to a different question about how to project American airpower.

Start with the F-14D Tomcat in the famous VF-84 'Jolly Rogers' livery. The F-14 was the Navy's answer to the question of fleet air defense: a two-crew, variable-sweep-wing interceptor capable of engaging Soviet bombers at long range before they could launch anti-ship missiles. It carried the AIM-54 Phoenix missile — at the time, the longest-range air-to-air weapon in the world — and its variable-geometry wings allowed it to land on carrier decks at low speed and dash at supersonic speeds in the same mission.

The VF-84 "Jolly Rogers" livery — high-visibility yellow-and-black skull-and-crossbones on a gloss dark-blue airframe — is arguably the most recognizable squadron paint scheme in naval aviation history. It's the livery that appeared in The Final Countdown (1980), and it's been worn by different squadrons (VF-61, VF-84, VF-103, now VFA-103) since the Second World War. The Executive Series 1:48 model captures the "D" variant — the final and most capable Tomcat configuration — with the iconic livery fully rendered. June 2026 delivery at $326.

Then there's the aircraft that arguably has no peer in aviation history: the SR-71 Blackbird. Built by Lockheed's Skunk Works under Kelly Johnson in the early 1960s, the Blackbird was designed to do one thing — fly faster and higher than anything that could shoot it down. It achieved that so completely that in 32 years of operational service, not a single SR-71 was ever lost to enemy action. Its standard tactic when detected was simply to accelerate. Over Mach 3, at 85,000 feet, there was nothing the Soviet Union or anyone else could put in the air to catch it.

The titanium airframe heated to over 600°F in flight. The fuel expanded so much at cruise that the aircraft literally leaked on the ground — the panels were designed to seal only once the metal expanded at temperature. Every aspect of the SR-71 was an engineering compromise pushed to an extreme that no other aircraft has matched before or since. It remains the benchmark for speed in the air-breathing manned-aircraft category.

The Executive Series Blackbird is 18 inches long in pressurized resin, with the long needle fuselage and the massive J58 engine nacelles rendered to scale. It's in pre-order for April 2026 delivery at $280.

Rounding out the strategic trio is the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber. Developed by Northrop Grumman in the 1980s and deployed in 1997, the B-2 remains the only operational flying-wing bomber in the world. Its 172-foot wingspan and radar-absorbent composite skin give it the ability to penetrate sophisticated air-defense networks and deliver payloads anywhere on Earth with minimal refueling. The Air Force operates only 20 of them — each valued at over two billion dollars, which makes the B-2 the most expensive aircraft per unit ever produced.

The 1:100 Executive Series model has a 20.5-inch wingspan — it's the widest aircraft in the lineup by a significant margin, and it requires real shelf real estate to display properly. May 2026 delivery at $280 on sale.

The Heavy Lifter: C-17 Globemaster III

If fighters are the glamorous end of military aviation, airlifters are the unglamorous workhorses that actually win wars. The C-17 Globemaster III is the standard strategic airlifter of the U.S. Air Force and about a dozen allied air arms — and it's arguably the most operationally important aircraft on that entire list.

A single C-17 can carry a 70-ton M1 Abrams tank, or 102 combat-loaded paratroopers, or an entire medical evacuation hospital. It can take off from a 3,500-foot unpaved runway and land with the same load on the same surface. It has carried every president's limousine and security detail since its introduction, and it's been the primary vehicle for American humanitarian response from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami to the 2021 Afghanistan evacuation.

The Executive Series C-17 at 1:100 scale is substantial: 21 inches long with a 20-inch wingspan, cast in pressurized resin with a polished wooden base. At $320 on sale — reduced from $400 — it represents one of the larger single markdowns in the current lineup. Only one remains in stock at the time of writing.

3. Business Aviation: The Bombardier Global 6000

The final category in the Executive Series lineup contains a single model, but it's a significant one. The Bombardier Global 6000 is one of the definitive long-range business jets of the 21st century — a large-cabin, ultra-long-range platform with a 6,000-nautical-mile range and enough cabin volume to operate as a genuine mobile office.

The Global 6000 is the platform of choice for Fortune 500 fleet operators, heads of state, and high-net-worth individuals requiring truly intercontinental reach. Its closest competitors are the Gulfstream G550/G650 family and the Dassault Falcon 7X — which puts it in rarefied company.

The Executive Series 1:55 scale model is 21 inches long — deliberately sized for boardroom or executive-office display. Cast in pressurized resin with a polished base, it's the kind of object that belongs on the credenza behind the desk of someone who actually operates aircraft in that class. At $400 on sale, with five in stock, it's the natural centerpiece for any business-aviation-themed display.

What to Look For When Buying Executive Series Models

A few notes for collectors new to the Executive Series line, or deciding between pieces:

Material matters. Executive Series uses cast-molded pressurized resin, not plastic or diecast metal. The trade-off is weight and finish: resin holds fine detail better than injection-molded plastic and produces a substantial, hand-finished feel that's closer to sculpture than toy. It's also more fragile — these are display pieces, not play pieces.

Scale determines display footprint. The smallest models in this lineup (the 1:200 space vehicles) still measure 7 to 23 inches in their longest dimension. The largest (the 1:48 fighters and 1:55 business jet, the 1:100 C-17) require real shelf space — measure before you buy. The C-17 and B-2 both need at least 22 inches of clear horizontal display area.

Pre-order vs. in-stock matters for timing. Roughly half the current lineup is in pre-order status with June 2026 delivery windows. That's normal for Executive Series — the manufacturer produces in small batches and ships on published schedules. Locking in a pre-order secures your unit before the batch allocation closes.

Scarcity is real. Several pieces in the current lineup are down to single-digit stock counts — the C-17 is at one unit, the Shuttle Collection at two, and multiple others at five. When Executive Series models sell through, they don't always return; production decisions are made batch-by-batch.

Bases are included. Every model in this guide ships with its display base — wooden for most of the space program pieces and the C-17, metal display stands for the military fighters, and an integrated base for the Saturn V. There are no additional purchases required to display a model properly.

Browse the Complete Collection

The twenty pieces covered in this guide represent the current Executive Series lineup at Diecast Airplane Store. Stock is live on the website; pricing reflects current promotional markdowns from MSRP. If you're building a themed display — a full-spectrum space program shelf, a stealth-aircraft formation, a business aviation desk piece — the category page is the most efficient way to see everything at once.

Shop the Executive Series →

For questions about sizing, pre-order timing, or piece-specific details, the product pages linked throughout this guide include full specifications, dimensions, and stock counts. Our team is also available by phone at 888-475-1533.

Hobby Master October 2026: A Closer Look at All 21 New Releases

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 16:28:03 +0000

From the return of the VF-143 Tomcat to a brand-new A-6E Intruder mould and an ultra-limited run of 1:32 Hellcats, Hobby Master’s October releases are one of the most ambitious in recent memory.

Published April 20, 2026•By Diecast Airplane Store•12 min read

The F-14A Tomcat of VF-143 “Punkin Dogs,” NAS Oceana, 1976 — one of the marquee releases in this batch.

Hobby Master has released its October 2026 releases (No. 843069), and it represents one of the most ambitious and diverse batches we’ve seen from the brand in recent years. The lineup spans 21 new models across four different scales — from the flagship 1:72 Air Power Series to a rare 1:8 scale polyresin figure — and touches nearly every era of military aviation history.

What makes this release particularly notable isn’t just the quantity, but the deliberate curatorial strategy behind it. Hobby Master is launching an entirely new tooling family, honoring a current operation with a coordinated trilogy, re-issuing one of its rarest 1:32 subjects at a production run of just 80 units, and quietly expanding into less-covered corners of aviation history like the Pakistani Air Force J-10CE and the Argentine F-16AM.

For collectors trying to decide which models to prioritize, here’s a detailed breakdown of the release, organized by scale, with historical context on the most significant subjects.

“Production runs as low as 80 units make these among the most sought-after collectibles in the hobby — and this October batch has more than one release in that tier.”

The Operation Epic Fury Trilogy

Three aircraft from Hobby Master’s October release commemorate Operation Epic Fury of March 2026: the A-10C Thunderbolt II (HA1344), the F/A-18E Super Hornet from VFA-37 “Ragin’ Bulls” (HA5146), and the F-16C Fighting Falcon of the 79th FS (HA38082). Together they represent three different services — Air Force, Navy, and Marine-adjacent tactical aviation — all participating in the same operation.

This kind of coordinated trilogy is rare in diecast releases. Collectors who follow current operations will want all three to complete a thematic display, and Hobby Master almost certainly knows this. Expect the set to drive strong pre-order demand.

A Brand-New A-6E Intruder Mould

One of the more significant announcements in this release is the debut of a completely new A-6E Intruder tooling. The A-6E Intruder from VA-34 “Blue Blasters” (HC1001) and its companion KA-6D tanker variant from VA-35 “Black Panthers” aboard USS Nimitz (HC1002) carry the new HC-series SKU prefix — Hobby Master’s signal that this is a brand-new mould family.

For longtime Grumman collectors, the Intruder has been conspicuously absent from Hobby Master’s catalog. A-6E fans have largely had to rely on older Witty Wings or Hogan pieces. That changes now. With production runs of 700 each, these should be more accessible than some of the smaller runs in this batch, but new moulds consistently sell through faster than expected as collectors rush to own the first releases from a new tooling.

The HeadlinerF-14A Tomcat of VF-143 “Punkin Dogs”

The F-14A Tomcat BuNo 159434 of VF-143 “Punkin Dogs” (HA5263) is the kind of release that sells itself. VF-143 — nicknamed the “Punkin Dogs” (or “World Famous Pukin Dogs,” depending on which era’s patch you prefer) — flew from NAS Oceana beginning in the mid-1970s and later deployed on USS America. The 1976 livery captured here represents some of the earliest operational F-14s in a pre-TPS low-visibility scheme, complete with colorful squadron markings that collectors associate with the golden age of naval aviation.

Limited to 360 units worldwide, this one will move quickly. The F-14 remains one of the single most collected subjects in diecast aviation, and this particular unit and scheme hasn’t been produced by Hobby Master in over a decade.

• • •

1:72 ScaleThe Core of the Release

The Air Power Series in 1:72 is Hobby Master’s bread and butter, and this batch of sixteen models reflects the breadth of the brand’s global appeal. The selection covers American naval aviation, Cold War Soviet aircraft, modern international fighters, WWII workhorses, and specialized aircraft from current operations. All 1:72 models include a display stand.

HA1344

Hobby Master A-10C Thunderbolt II

"Operation Epic Fury" 78-0614, 23 OSS, March 2026

$134.99 View details →

HA2318 Limited to 300

Hobby Master Beaufighter VIF

No. 405 (Lynx) Sqn., RCAF, England 1943

$129.99 View details →

HA2319 Limited to 300

Hobby Master Beaufighter TF MK. X

RD448, 103 Tajeset, IAF, 1948

$129.99 View details →

HA2724

Hobby Master F-2A

"ADTW" 13-8514, JASDF, 2017 (w/ASM-3 x 2)

$134.99 View details →

HA2922

Hobby Master Douglas A-1H Skyraider

"The Proud American" 52-139738, 1st SOS, NKP Royal Thai AFB, June 1972

$129.99 View details →

HA5146

Hobby Master F/A-18E Super Hornet

"Operation Epic Fury" 166601, VFA-37 "Ragin' Bulls", March 2026

$139.99 View details →

HA5263 Limited to 360

Hobby Master F-14A Tomcat

159434, VF-143 "Punkin Dogs", NAS Oceana, Virginia, 1976

$154.99 View details →

HA5655

Hobby Master MiG-25BM

White 43, Ahtubinsk Airfield, 1987 (w/4 x KH-58 missiles)

$164.99 View details →

HA6907 Limited to 400

Hobby Master U-2S Dragon Lady

80-1077, 5th RS, Osan AB, 2025

$149.99 View details →

HA9402

Hobby Master J-10CE Vigorous Dragon

22-116, 15 Sqn "Cobras", Pakistan Air Force

$139.99 View details →

HA9561

Hobby Master Su-30MKK

66153, PLAAF

$159.99 View details →

HA38081 Only 200 worldwide

Hobby Master F-16AM MLU

M-1018, Argentine Air Force, 2025

$124.99 View details →

HA38082

Hobby Master F-16C Fighting Falcon

"Operation Epic Fury" 91-0348, 79 FS, USAF, March 2026

$124.99 View details →

HA38083 Limited to 400

Hobby Master F-16C Fighting Falcon

"Makos" 86-0334, 93rd FS, USAF, Iniochos 2025

$124.99 View details →

HC1001

Hobby Master A-6E Intruder

160428, VA-34 "Blue Blasters", US Navy, late 1970s

$139.99 View details →

HC1002

Hobby Master KA-6D Intruder

149951, VA-35 "Black Panthers", USS Nimitz, 1975

$134.99 View details →

Among the 1:72 standouts not already covered: the MiG-25BM “White 43” with four KH-58 missiles (HA5655), a specialized defense-suppression variant rarely covered at this scale; the U-2S Dragon Lady from Osan AB, 2025 (HA6907), representing one of the last operational Dragon Lady units still flying; and the F-16AM MLU from the Argentine Air Force (HA38081), a subject that appeals to both South American aviation collectors and F-16 completists. The Argentine F-16 is particularly noteworthy for its small production run of just 200 units.

1:48 ScaleTwo Battle of Britain Aces

The 1:48 scale releases honor two of the RAF’s top-scoring aces during the summer of 1941. The Spitfire Mk.Vb of Flight Lieutenant Eric Lock (HA7865), flying with No. 611 Squadron out of RAF Hornchurch, and the Spitfire Mk.Vb of Pilot Officer Donald E. Kingaby (HA7866) with No. 92 Squadron at RAF Biggin Hill are both significant historical subjects in their own right.

Eric Lock was one of the highest-scoring British aces of the Battle of Britain before his death in combat in August 1941. Donald Kingaby, often called “the 109 specialist” for his proficiency against the Bf 109, survived the war and continued flying into the 1950s. The 1:48 scale treatment does justice to the elliptical wing and lets the pad-printed markings and panel lines really shine.

HA7865 Limited to 400

Hobby Master Spitfire Mk.Vb

"F/Lt. Eric Lock" W3257, No.611 Sqn., RAF Hornchurch, July-August 1941

$109.99 View details →

HA7866 Limited to 400

Hobby Master Spitfire Mk.Vb

"P/O Donald E. Kingaby" W3320, No.92 Sqn., RAF Biggin Hill, July-August 1941

$109.99 View details →

1:32 ScaleThe Crown Jewels

At 1:32 scale, Hobby Master moves into genuinely museum-quality territory. These aren’t desk models — they’re display pieces with opening canopies, detailed cockpit interiors, interchangeable landing gear, and authentic ordnance loads. Both of the October 1:32 releases are WWII Grumman F6F Hellcats, and both are significant for different reasons.

F6F-5 “Death & Destruction” of VF-83 — HA0306

This is a re-issue limited to just 80 units worldwide. Let that number sink in. Eighty units for the entire global market, split across retailers in dozens of countries. At that production level, the model will almost certainly be sold out at the factory before it even ships. The original release of this scheme is a regular feature in collector forum “grail” discussions, and the re-issue has been anticipated for years.

F6F-5P Photo-Reconnaissance Hellcat — HA0310

The F6F-5P photo-reconnaissance variant (135P of VF-84 “Wolf Gang” aboard USS Bunker Hill, August 1945) is the rarer airframe of the two — photo-recon Hellcats were produced in smaller numbers during the war and saw limited combat service in the Pacific. At 200 units, it’s not quite as constrained as the “Death & Destruction” re-issue, but it’s still firmly in “pre-order or miss out” territory.

HA0306 Only 80 worldwide

Hobby Master F6F-5 Hellcat

"Death & Destruction" BuNo 72534, VF-83, USS Essex, May 1945

$279.99 View details →

HA0310 Only 200 worldwide

Hobby Master F6F-5P Hellcat

135P, VF-84 "Wolf Gang", USS Bunker Hill, August 1945

$279.99 View details →

1:8 ScaleA Departure: The Chinese Astronaut Figure

The one non-aircraft item in the release is genuinely unusual for Hobby Master: a 1:8 scale polyresin figure of a Chinese astronaut in the next-generation spacesuit (HF8003) being developed for China’s planned 2030 lunar landing mission. This is the first space-related release in the HF-series and signals Hobby Master’s continued expansion beyond military aviation into broader aerospace subjects.

For collectors who curate broader aerospace collections — or who simply want something unusual among a shelf full of warbirds — this figure will be a conversation piece.

HF8003

Hobby Master China Astronauts Spacesuit

High-tech Spacesuit for 2030 Moon Landing

$149.99 View details →

• • •

The Lesser-Known Gems

A few releases in this batch deserve special attention because they cover subjects that rarely appear in diecast form:

The Beaufighter VIF of No. 405 (Lynx) Squadron, RCAF (HA2318) and Beaufighter TF Mk. X of 103 Tajeset, Israeli Air Force (HA2319) together tell two fascinating stories. The RCAF Lynx Squadron flew night-fighter Beaufighters over the UK in 1943, while the Israeli Beaufighter served in the 1948 War of Independence. Both are limited to just 300 units.

The Douglas A-1H Skyraider “The Proud American” (HA2922) represents one of the most storied individual Skyraider airframes of the Vietnam War — flown by the 1st Special Operations Squadron out of NKP Royal Thai Air Force Base in June 1972. The A-1H is a foundational subject for Vietnam-era collectors, and Hobby Master’s treatment at 500 units means it should be available, but not indefinitely.

The J-10CE Vigorous Dragon of the Pakistani Air Force “Cobras” squadron (HA9402) is particularly timely given recent interest in Chinese-exported fighter platforms. This is one of the first J-10CE models produced in the PAF livery, and Pakistani aviation collectors have been waiting for it.

A Note on Pre-Ordering

Hobby Master models are produced in strictly limited quantities. Unlike mass-produced toys, when the factory run is gone, it’s gone — the only option afterward is the secondary market, often at significant premiums. Given that several releases in this batch have production runs of 300 units or fewer (and one at just 80 units), pre-ordering is the most reliable way to guarantee your allocation.

The entire October 2026 release is now available for pre-order. Expected arrival is October 2026, with fulfillment on a first-come, first-served basis.

Browse the Full October Release

All 21 new models are available for pre-order now.

Shop All Hobby Master → View All Pre-Orders →

InFlight200 Braniff 727 "End of the Plain Plane" 60th Anniversary Collection: Only 120 of Each Produced

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 16:27:32 +0000

Five iconic jellybean colors. Five Boeing 727s. 120 of each — worldwide, ever. The third installment in InFlight200's End of the Plain Plane anniversary series is here, and it may be the most collectible InFlight200 release in years.

The Campaign That Changed Aviation Forever

In 1965, Braniff International Airways did something no airline had ever attempted. Under the creative direction of advertising legend Mary Wells Lawrence, Braniff launched "The End of the Plain Plane" — a radical rebranding that painted its entire fleet in seven bold, solid colors. Orange. Turquoise. Blue. Lime green. Panagra green. Yellow. Beige. Overnight, the drab silver and white tubes of commercial aviation gave way to a fleet of flying jellybeans.

It was more than a marketing campaign — it was a cultural earthquake. Wells Lawrence didn't stop at the paint. She commissioned Alexander Girard to redesign the interiors, hired Emilio Pucci to create the flight attendant uniforms, and introduced the "air strip" — a theatrical boarding process where attendants would progressively remove layers of a Pucci-designed outfit during the flight. The whole program was so ahead of its time that it still influences airline branding six decades later.

The 60th Anniversary Series: End of the Plain Plane by InFlight200

To mark the 60th anniversary of this landmark moment in aviation history, InFlight200 partnered with Braniff International to produce the End of the Plain Plane (EOTPP) anniversary series. This third installment brings five Boeing 727 models in authentic jellybean liveries, each limited to an extremely small production run of just 120 units worldwide.

To put that number in perspective: a typical InFlight200 release might produce several hundred to over a thousand units. At 120 per model, these Braniff 727s represent one of the most limited InFlight200 production runs available to collectors today.

The Five Models

Braniff Boeing 727-162 N7282 — Orange (IF721BN0426)

The orange 727-162 is arguably the single most recognizable aircraft in the jellybean fleet. It's the color that appeared in almost every Braniff advertisement, the one that stopped people on the tarmac, and the one that collectors have been asking InFlight200 to produce for years. Registration N7282, this is the 727-100 series variant — the shorter-fuselage original that Braniff operated on its domestic trunk routes.