Introduction

Manufacturer: GeminiJets
Scale: 1/400
Airline: Martinair Cargo
Type: MD-11F
Registration: PH-MCP
Price: £48.00
Release Date:
Supplier: Private Sale

The MD-11 was an aircraft from another era, when the three engine giant arrived on the scene as the winds of change were starting to blow the classic airliners from the halycon days were becoming rarer. The MD-11 lasted until 2016 in passenger service and still flies to this day as a freighter.

As a passenger liner the MD-11 was not overly successful, however the aircraft found a niche and has performed admirably for many years operated by Lufthansa Cargo, Western Global, UPS and FedEX Cargo to name a few. There are still plenty of chances to see this elegant aircraft, but I wanted a pocket sized version to bring home.

I have a friend who worships the MD-11 with a kind of cultish obsession, for this reason I dedicate this review to the excellent videographer Rudi Van Goch.

I have been lucky enough to see a a fair number of these aircraft through the years. I have always admired them for something unique. I have a couple of MD-11F models in my collection and was pleased to add this model as I remember those last few flights into Stansted well.

The Package and First Impressions

Gemini have always been very consistent in their box style, a blue box with a lift up flap and a plastic blister cradle to protect the aircraft. I prefer the dense foam style of padding we have seen in recent NG models. This box features commemorative titles, showing the route and date of the last Martinair Cargo MD-11F rotation back in 2016. The flight from Bogota to Amsterdam via Miami and London Stansted was across the 26th and 27th June 2016. It is unusual for Geminijets to do a commemorative version of any model this is however the exception.

There is no stand included with this package, whilst I never dock points for 1/400 scale models without a stand it still bugs me.

The model looks about average for the time period, it does not scream refined and precise, but also does not appear to be poorly constructed. The colour scheme appears accurate and vibrant. Gemini have always made acceptable models but nothing special and this model would fit within that train of thought.

25/25

 

Mould

Starting at the front of the aircraft, the MD-11 has always had a short nose, however I think the spacing between the cockpit windows and the radome is a fraction too short. That could possible account the nose down pitch we see in this model, in the real world the MD-11 usually sits flat or slightly nose up on the ground. I think as the nose is slightly out of proportion that is why the aircraft appears nose down. For this I will be deducting 3 points.

The fuselage shape appears suitably rounded and wide, and beyond the rear horizontal stabiliser the taper has been nicely captured. The real aircraft has a pronounced slope starting about half way between the wing box and the rear engine, this gradual change in the roof line has been completely omitted from the model, I take 1 point.

This model has a traditional cradle fit mounting for the wings, this does make a rather ugly looking joint on the bottom of the aircraft for which I deduct 3 points. By 2016 most manufacturers had moved away from this antiquated system and were using put fit designs for the wings, tail and other parts of the aircraft. The wings shape looks accurate and ends in a winglet, the upper and lower winglet looks rather clumsy and thick, which takes away from the shape. I deduct 1 point. The flaps on the underside of the wings are reasonably shaped too.

At the rear of the aircraft is the iconic tail mounted engine. The edges of the tail and engine housing appear very soft, on the real aircraft they are straight. We see curved edges along the top of the tail fin, the trailing edge of the fin and the rear of the engine housing. It is simply not good enough to start adding random curves, for this I deduct 2 points.

The rear engine has no real detail, it is empty and does not have fan blades, the wing mounted engines look acceptable, they are suitably small and proportioned. The fan blades in the main engines are solid with ridges for the blades. I will deduct 1 point for the missing fan blade in the tail.

Gemini have been kind enough to attach aerials one on the top and one on the bottom, on the real aircraft, there is one smaller aerial missing on the model. I will not take points from this as you would probably not notice the difference at this scale.

The wheels and bogies look fine and the model rolls smoothly on her four sets of undercarriage.

The final issue I have is the nose gear doors which are just too big, they are too deep. I deduct 1 point.

13/25

 

 Detail and Paint

The striking red and blue of Martinair Cargo cuts through the white gloss base coat, Gemini have done well here and chose seemingly accurate colours for the scheme. There is also no paint bleed between the red, blue and white, this is good to see as well.

This aircraft used to fly passengers, that can be seen by the doors and windows still in tact. The main cabin doors appear to be placed correctly and sized realistically including the main deck cargo door. The blue titles are correctly positioned along with the logo that precedes them. The tail features a solid red background with two white lines which is again correctly applied.

I am concerned with the wings and horizontal stabiliser, they both appear to be coated in thick clumpy paint. The application of the paint has made the details in the flaps, spoilers, ailerons and elevator trim tabs very hard to see, the lines are almost invisible. I have always said I prefer more pronounced control surfaces, for this reason I deduct 5 points.

The tail and rear engine looks equally dense and clumpy, I previously mentioned about the mould having poor definition, I suspect this has also been made worse by the paint. I will be deducting another 2 points as the paintwork adds nothing to the model.

The MD11 has three roof mounted communication pods, these have been omitted from this model and painted on, as have the beacon, navigation and wing lights,  though this is nothing unusual in a 1/400 size model.

18/25

 

 Conclusion

When making this review, I have to consider weather to judge this model by modern standards of the standards of the day, Gemini have never been particularly innovative. That rings true in this model, it doesn’t really keep up to the standards we see in 2020. That being said, at the time it would have probably scraped by as an acceptable model.

The mould is ok, overlooking the strikingly big nose gear doors and the lack of a gradual slope in the roof line down the rear of the aircraft. The cradle fit wings are ugly no matter how you dress it up. The detail in the livery is probably the best bit of this model as it looks spot and true to life, however the thick paint on the wings, tail and rear mounted engine, do nothing for me and spoil what would otherwise be a very nice job.

It is great to see Gemini, creating commemorative models with bespoke branding, it makes the whole purchase feel much special. From about 4-6ft away this model looks fine, but get much closer and you cannot miss the glaringly obvious defects that this aircraft sadly has.

I will be keeping this model for the sentimental value, but it will never be one of my favourites.

Final Score – 56/75