Review and Screenshots by Jon Murchison
 

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Background
 
This review is a bit of a first for ARNZX in that it doesn't relate to an add-on for Flight Simulator. The Boeing 757-2K2 is an aircraft most if not all simmers will be familiar with. Captainsim have an outstanding rendition of this aircraft for FSX for those who want to fly virtually and is highly recommended for its accuracy and detail. In this case we are taking a look at the Royal New Zealand Air Force 757 in the form of a 1:200 plastic scale model available from Model planes.co.nz. Yes folks, there is nothing virtual about this aircraft, its a solid rendering of the Rolls Royce equipped aircraft flown by the RNZAF.
 
First lets look at the supplier of the aircraft, that being Model planes.co.nz themselves. Model planes is a new start-up in the surprisingly competitive online market of scale model display aircraft. A quick check of their website reveals a wide variety of aircraft from Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier and ATR to name a few in both New Zealand and international airline liveries. Organized neatly into either airline or aircraft type categories the site is pleasant to look at and more importantly easy enough to navigate through. Along with the plastic models they also have a page dedicated to custom made wooden aircraft. Here I noted ZK-NSA, a Cessna 152 from North Shore Aeroclub in 1/25 scale and the Great Barrier Airlines Islander ZK-REA in 1/35 scale.
 

 
Price wise the site appears to be more than competitive with other sites of a similar nature both in New Zealand and internationally, with well recognized brands such as Skymarks and Hogan forming the bulk of the types available. The ability to 'follow' Model planes.co.nz on popular sites such as twitter and facebook is an added bonus for those who are interested. Now, lets look at the model in question.
 
Boeing 757-2K2
 
The 1:2-- RNZAF Boeing 757 is from a 'new' manufacturer called Russell Models. These guys seem to be a bit of an enigma as they have no website and very little is known about them other than they are based in Europe, and the mould used to manufacture the 757 model is one used by a crowd called Star Models who went out of business some time ago. Regardless the 'run' of these models is limited making it a fairly exclusive jet for those interested. The model itself comes in a sturdy cardboard box and is fully enclosed internally in a purpose built plastic sheath that the aircraft fits snuggly into to ensure it doesn't move around. This is good because some of the parts are delicate and could easily break.
 

 
Upon extraction from its packaging what immediately surprised me about the model was its weight. This is no light weight plastic plane. Made of solid resin you can feel you have a quality product in your hand. A quick inspection revealed a model that is very well made with excellent detail in the engines, gear and wings in particular, primarily because they have a number of components that make them up. After spending a few minutes making vroom noises and running around 'flying' my 757 I thought I better settle down a bit and take a closer look at the model because this is one of those times when the devil certainly is in the detail.
 
'Look closely' are the two words that best describe what you need to do with this model, because in this case the closer you are the more you see and the the depth of detail actually becomes apparent. Lets look at a few photos that explain this better than words.
 

 
As you can see from these initial photos of the nose section of the aircraft the closer you get the more you seem, and to my eye captures the nose shape of the 757 perfectly which is something some larger scale models struggle to do. Things such as the word EXIT on the doors, windscreen wipers and even the pitot tubes are not actually that obvious just holding the model in your hand, but get in close and suddenly 'holy sh*t look at the detail on the fwd cargo door'. In fact the detail levels across the entire model are quite extraordinary, particularly given the size of the model. What impressed me was that its not just the transfers used that add this detail, its also the mould itself that has clearly been created with loving attention to detail across the entire aircraft. This is particularly apparent around the tail as can be seen in these photos.
 

 
This same attention to detail is apparent in the wings and engines, whether its paint applied to represent ducts or down to the detail of individual fan blades inside the cowling itself, this type of detail is actually very easy to overlook without the aid of a camera. Here are some shots of the tail and engines.
 

 
The clever use of both mould detail and transfers/paint is most apparent in the wing and fuselage areas. In the set of photos below you can clearly see the detail involved in the doors and windows and also underneath the fuselage that even includes the RAM turbine (red triangle). So too we can see the bottom of the wings with the access doors moulded into the resin itself.
 

 
The only moving parts included are the landing gear wheels. These are attached to well detailed fixed gear and freely move by using metal pins that run through them  with a metal 'hub'. This is really intricate work and from my point of view reflects the attention to detail I have already mentioned.
 

 
With a list price of $125 on the Model planes.co.nz website the price for the RNZAF 757 is comparable to what you would pay from overseas online stores and may be slightly cheaper when you factor in postage. In this case postage is free within New Zealand because the aircraft is over $100. For your money you are getting a unique and highly detailed 1:200 scale model. These are very much limited edition which I'm sure will add appeal to collectors and potentially $$ value over time, but average plane enthusiasts will also appreciate the level of detail this aircraft will bring to their collection. Get it while/if you can!