Revell Airbus A320neo - 1:144 Revell (03942)

[Viking]

Airbus A320neo Lufthansa new livery

1:144 Revell (03942)

 

 

 

The A320 neo is the most recent development of the highly successful Airbus range of narrow bodied airliners. Available as the A319, A320, and A321,'neo' stands for new engine option' as the aircraft can be fitted with the very fuel efficient Pratt & Whitney PW1000G or the CFM International LEAP (Leading Edge Aviation Propulsion) engines. The other noticeable change is the wingtip 'sharklets', similar in appearance to those used on Boeing aircraft, which replace the smaller winglets previously used. With 95% commonality with the earlier A319-A321 range (now known as the 'eco',engine current option), it is an obvious choice for airlines operating the older machine. Entering service in 2016, the A319-321 neo family has become the worlds fastest selling airliner, although production delays with engines initially slowed down deliveries.
For many years to come, they will be seen at airports all around the world, probably in a vast number of different liveries.

 

The Kit.
This is an all new tooling from Revell that has no commonality with it previous range of the A320 family. Moulded in Revells standard white plastic, everything is crisply moulded and flash free with no sign of sink marks or other flaws. The fuselage has a large cut out where a clear cockpit glazing section is fitted. This far better then the old kit which had a 'letterbox' slot into which the clear part had to be inserted, not an easy job. Cabin windows are moulded open, with clear plastic window strips to fitted from the inside.

 

 

All the blade aerials are moulded along one fuselage half, but personally I cut these off for later re-attachment as they make cleaning up the fuselage seam very awkward. Rather than alignment holes and pins, Revell have gone for interlocking tabs along the fuselage halves. A neat little cockpit is provided, complete with separate instrument panel. I often scratch build my own airliner cockpit interiors, so here is one job saved. I normally put a flight crew in though, using 'N' gauge figures, and will do so on this kit as it can only be built 'in flight'. It will therefore need at least a captain and co-pilot in attendance.

 

 

 

The wings are very nicely moulded with inbuilt dihederal and broad, thin sprue attachment point which make removal from the sprue much easier. On the old A320 kit you had to remove a number of flap track fairings and fill panel lines, as the kit shared the same wing mouldings as Revell's A321. No such problem here, this is a dedicated A320 wing ready to use 'as is'.

 

 

 

The wingtip Sharklets are on their own sprue along with the nose cap. Also nice to see is the SAT antenna that fits on top of the fuselage, possibly this is the first time one had been included in a mainstream kit.

 

 

Now, the big talking point about this kit. It does not come with any undercarriage, you can only build it 'in flight' and attach it to the included stand. I believe that the reasoning for this was to keep it as a simpler 'Level 3' kit for the inexperienced modeller. The similar A321 kit is Level 4' and does include the undercarriage, which apparently will fit this kit as it has the nose wheel bay and wing mountings for the main legs, notwithstanding the subtle differences in main wheel size.

 

 

The engines option used by Lufthansa is the Pratt & Whitney PW1000G, so this is what the kit provides. The fine detail is superb, particularly on the fan blades, which fit inside the nacelle to give a seamless intake. The intake ring are separate parts, which makes painting them silver much easier. (Tip - attach them after the nacelles are painted, using white glue so as not to risk messing up your nice finish).

 

 

 

Options.
Only one livery is supplied, the current Lufthansa scheme. The decal sheet has been designed by DACO, and is superb, covering all sorts of fine stencil detail and giving a choice of four differnt Lufthansa aircraft. Printing is faultless with minimal carrier film and in perfect registration. Personally I find the new Lufthansa livery to be rather bland, but I'm sure that it won't be long before there are plenty of aftermarket decal sheets if you would like to build this kit in a more colourful livery.

 

 

 

Conclusion.
New release of airliner kits are few and far between, even less so when a manufacturer decides to produce a new tool of a model they already have in their range. Revell are to be applauded for this, and have produced a very lovely model of the A320. The decision to leave the undercarriage out strikes me as odd, as although it may attract the inexperienced modeller, it also runs the risk of putting off the experienced modeller. It is possible that Revell may re-issue this kit in other liveries in the future, and also include the undercarriage in those boxings. You could also use the parts from the A321 kit, if you plan to build one of those in flight. That said, the rest of this kit is a high quality product, the mouldings are superb, and it is far superior to the old A320 eco kit. It's simpler colour scheme will also probably appeal to the inexperienced builder, and construction also looks to be very straightforward. If, as it should, it encourages more people into airliner modelling, then I'm all for it.

 

Recommended.

 

 

Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit

 

 

 

[PhantomBigStu]

Hopefully some after market decals come out for this to give a bit more colour than the new lufthansa ones, looks a great kit 

Edited January 1, 2020 by PhantomBigStu

[Adam Poultney]

I always intend to buy more airliners bit I never end up finishing them...  I have a ~95% done Tu144, abandoned old tool A320, stalled Concorde and stalled ERJ195 build