PLAAF Aircraft
by Chris King

1/700 Modern PLAAF Command & Control and Transport Aircraft (Takara/Pitroad)

These are a variety of modern Chinese Air Force (PLAAF) aircraft used in command & control and transport roles. I modified the Takara - Pit-road AN-124 kit to make the AN-124-102, a proposed enlarged variant. China has expressed interest in ordering this version of the heavy-lift aircraft for oversize loads. It is 2.3 meters taller than the original AN-124.

The Air China Boeing 747-400 is also modified from a Takara - Pit-road kit. It represents the 747 in Air China's flleet that is pulled from airline service prior to formal State visits by China's President/Premier. This is done so that the interior can be reconfigured (several other modifications likely).

The KJ-2000 is China's homegrown airborne early warning AWACS and command & control aircraft, which externally resembles the USSR's Beriev A-50 Mainstay. The Chinese aircraft has a non-rotating phased-array radar on top of the fuselage. I made this kit by modifying the IL-76 Candid metal kit from Pit-road, based on pictures from the internet.

The other aircraft shown is the PLAAF 737 that was modified from a 737 airliner into an airborne command post. It is based at an airfield near Bejing. I made this from scratch using the airframe of a plastic toy airliner.