We thought it would be a good idea to compare Gemini's new US Airways Airbus A320-200 "Hudson Special" with the original US Airways Airbus A320-200. The original version was Gemini's second 1:200 scale model, and has long been sold out. The more recent "Hudson Special" version can still be easily found at most retailers.
To start I'll review each model individually, and give them both a overall rating as how they overall match the aircraft they were modeled after. Then I'll review the changes from the first version to the second version.
First the review for the first release.
About the model:
Manufacturer - GeminiJets
Airline - US Airways
Aircraft - Airbus A320-214
Scale - 1:200
Part Number - G2USA002
Review:
Mould - Gemini A320 mould has some flaws. The nose of the aircraft just seems awkward. It's too fat and stubby. The winglet are far to large for the scale. The nose landing gear needs a lot of work, and finally the whole back of the aircraft seems to bow outwards. When the real aircraft's back is completely strait until right before the tail. The wings are also placed to far forward. On the other hand the engines, engine pylons, tail, main landing gear, and rear section of the model all appear to be very accurate. Overall the mould represents an A320 very well. When any aircraft enthusiast looks at it, they will be able to tell you it's an A320. The flaws are minor, and with some retooling can easily be fixed, but they are noticeable with the naked eye when put side by side with a picture of the real aircraft. Gemini has just over half of this mould very accurate to the real aircraft, but the other half needs some work.
Overall I give the mould a 6.5 out of 10.
Livery - The colors on this release are mostly correct. The gray color of the flag moving towards the tail is slightly too dark, and the lighter blue strips on the tail are also slightly off. Overall the colors are pretty good. The red, white, and dark blue colors are all spot on. There are some placement issues though with the livery. Like most US Airways releases, from all manufacturers the gray flag lines moving towards the tail don't connect in the right places on the tail. They connect in the correct place below the tail, just not on the tail.
Overall I give the livery a 7.5 out of 10.
Details - This model is very detailed. Unlike some newer Gemini A320 releases the cockpit windows appear to be correctly placed, but it is somewhat difficult to judge because of the short stubby nose. The passenger windows are correctly placed on both sides. All antennas, lights, static ports, pitot tubes, and exhaust vents are correctly marked or placed. The APU is marked, all Star Alliance and Heritage badges are correctly placed, and the engines are very detailed. There are two big flaws though. The first is the over wing emergency exits which don't line up because the mould is off, making the exit path on the wing not line up correctly. The second is that the wing is completely wrong. Many of US Airway's A320s wings look like what the model represents, but... not N109UWs. N109UW does not have the silver part on the wings. It is all gray. N109UW should have the same wing as the newer release. This is a big mistake, but I can see how it was made. Most of US Airway's A320s have the silver outlined part, just not N109UW.
Overall I give the details a 8.2 out of 10.
Value for money - This model is long sold out, and now can be very hard to find. So you should be ready to pay a pretty penny for one if you have to have it. I wouldn't be surprised if you pay over $85.00 for one now if you can find it. When it came out it was priced closely to what the new release is now, but we rate the value for money on what you would have to pay for one now.
Overall I give the value for money a 5.0 out of 10.
Overview - Overall the mould is average. It needs some work especially around the front of the model. The livery is pretty well captured, and the details are like most Gemini's very good. However, their seemed to be at least one thing in each category that brought its overall rating down. The mould flaws, incorrect colors and livery placement, wing mistakes, and the fact that it's now sold out. However remember that this score was brought down a lot by the value for money. If the model was still available from retailers at the normal pice the total would have been 7.7 out of 10. Overall a pretty good model.
Overall the model receives a 6.8 out of 10.
Photos:
Now for the review of the second "Hudson Special" release.
About the model:
Manufacturer - GeminiJets
Airline - US Airways
Aircraft - Airbus A320-214
Scale - 1:200
Part Number - G2USA183
Review:
Mould - Now being so far apart in releases I thought maybe Gemini would have retooled the mould to fix the errors, but the only thing they've done is fix the wing placement. The Gemini A320 mould has some flaws. The nose of the aircraft just seems awkward. It's too fat and stubby. The winglet are far to large for the scale. The nose landing gear needs a lot of work, and finally the whole back of the aircraft seems to bow outwards. When the real aircraft's back is completely strait until right before the tail. On the other hand the engines, engine pylons, tail, wings and wing roots, main landing gear, and rear section of the model all appear to be very accurate. Overall the mould represents an A320 very well. When any aircraft enthusiast looks at it, they will be able to tell you it's an A320. The flaws are minor, and with some retooling can easily be fixed, but they are noticeable with the naked eye when put side by side with a picture of the real aircraft. Gemini has just over half of this mould very accurate to the real aircraft, but the other half needs some work.
Overall I give the mould a 7.0 out of 10.
Livery - The livery on this release actually has more flaws than the other release when it comes to placement of the different pieces. The gray flag moving towards the tail is still wrong in the same places it was wrong on the last release, and even more than the first release the blue lines on the tail are wrong. Gemini seems to have just used the first releases tail, but every plane is painted somewhat differently, and N106US was painted a long time after N109UW. N109UW was the first aircraft painted in the new livery, and N106US had some differences. The blue lines simply don't match what they are like on the real aircraft. However all the colors are correct on this model.
Overall I give the livery a 7.5 out of 10.
Details - The details on this model are very good! Everything is correctly placed. Pitot tubes, static ports, instructions, exits, wings markings. I could go on and on, but there simply isn't anything out of place. The undercarriage is nicely detailed, and everything lines up. The Star Alliance logo is slightly high, but that's minor.
Overall I give the details a 9.8 out of 10.
Value for money - At just below $60.00 at most retailers the model is pretty good value for money. It is slightly higher than some Gemini's, but it is still a fairly new release. There are plastic versions of the US Airways A320 that can be picked up for around $20.00, but they don't match the quality of this model, and they aren't the Hudson Special. This release is a piece of history that will be collectible for years to come, and for only $60.00.
Overall I give the value for money a 8.7 out of 10.
Overview - The only big flaws with this model is the mould, and it's problems. The livery has some issues, but nothing major. The value for money, and details are great! You also can't forget that history behind this aircraft. This model has something that others don't because of it's history. I'd buy this model before it's gone. I can't imagine it will be here for much longer.
Overall the model receives a 8.3 out of 10.
Photos:
Now a side by side shot of both models so that differences can be better seen. The top photo is of the first release. The bottom photo is of the second release.
Mould differences - The mould only change at the wings. Between the two releases they are almost identical. Therefor they both received almost the same score a 6.5 for the first, and a 7.0 for the second since the wings were fixed.
Livery differences - The first release had problems with colors, and the placement of the gray flag lines. The second release has no color problems, but has placement problems with the gray flag lines, and the blue lines on the tail. The paint schemes on the two aircraft just aren't the same since they were painted so far apart, and Gemini just used the same blue line placement on the second release which made it off. So the differences evened out. Both models received a 7.5 out of 10 for different reasons.
Detail differences - The first release was detailed almost exactly the same as the second, except for the wings. The wing exits, and wings are completely wrong on the first release. They are right on the second release. If the first release had had the same wings and wing exits as the second release they would have been identical scores again, but they didn't. Because of the wings the first release received a 8.2 and the second release received a 9.8. Making the second release more accurately detailed.
Value for money differences - The first model is sold out. Making it expensive if you want one, and can find one. The second release is still available in most retailers at a much cheaper price. Because of the scarcity of the first release it received a 5.0 and the second release received a 8.7.
Overview - Overall the first release received a 6.8 (7.7 if it was still available at retailers) the main thing besides value for money that brought it down farther than the new release was the wing problems. The wrong wings, and incorrectly placed exits because of the wings are a big mistake. The second release didn't have the wing problems, and can be found at retailers still. Since the mould and livery scored the same as the first release it scored an overall better score of 8.3. Given the history of the second release too, the fact that it landed safely on the Hudson river with no fatalities, and the fact that Gemini has embraced that with the release I have to recommend buying the new release. It better captures the real aircraft. It's cheaper, and it has a fantastic history. If you want a Gemini US Airways Airbus A320-200, buy the new release.
Thanks for reading!
Posted and reviewed by: Bryce Rea
