Captain Sim had shown us many moons past that they were working on the 737-100/200, commonly called the 'advanced' series, since the classic is the -300/400/500. It has finally been released in Captain Sim's style of exterior model only. This means that for €9.99 you get the exterior model of the 737-100 (which will be the base model) and when the full version, virtual cockpit and all, is released, you get a €9.99 discount from it. Now, they've released exterior models, the -100 and -200, because the 737-100 was made in very small numbers, thirty to be exact. The 737-200 was the more popular of the two, and has many operators.

What Exactly Is The Exterior Model?

Captain Sim has been doing what they've done for many releases, and they release an exterior model, which is the nearly complete exterior model, with no virtual cockpit (or 2D for that matter), and pairing it with a default VC. Now what you get here is the nearly complete exterior aspects of the product, and by 'nearly complete I mean it doesn't have 100% of the features that the finished product will give, plus full animations and the basic 737 performance, to give the plane's feel, before the full product comes out. It also helps them find all the bugs because you've got an immense team of paying customers that want something perfect.

                       

Quality

Now since we're dealing with only exterior, you have a default 737-800 cockpit to fly in, with basic autopilot and Garmin 500 GPS for navigation, nothing you'd expect for a granddaddy 737. Now the exterior is of great quality, equal that of all Captain Sim products, however doesn't have a 100% perfect appearance that the full product will offer. So if you're dying for a granddaddy 737, and the 737-800 default cockpit suits your needs, go for it! Also, unlike the 777 Captain (which is still exterior model as well) the default 737-800 cockpit works better, because it the right windows, number of throttles and height.

                       

What You Get

With this product, you get:

Key Features:

• 4X** high resolution textures of three popular liveries
• Hundreds of realistic animations
• Animation control panel
• 3D transparent windows
• Passengers
• Stewardess model (various airline uniforms)
• Wing flex
• Wing vortices
• Self-shade
• Pre-saved views

Liveries:

• 737-100:
• • Air Florida
  • Continental
  • Lufthansa
  
  
• 737-200:
• • Air France
  • American Airlines
  • British Airways
  • Canadian North
  • Lufthansa
  • United Airlines

Plus one free liveries and growing. Users who are repainters are currently working on making their own liveries. In some of my shots, you'll see Ansett New Zealand, which is a third-party livery.

Animations:

• Aft passenger door
• Aft service door
• Starboard aft cargo door
• Main passenger door
• Emergency exits (2)
• Engine cowlings (4)
• Ground power supply hatch
• Engine intake covers (2)
• Pilots' windows (2)
• Wheel chocks (6)
• Landing gear doors (4)
• Compressor fans (2)
• Plugs (5)
• Nose wheel steering
• Elevators (2)
• Rudder
• Engine reversers (2)
• Radome
• Radar antenna
• Spoilers (10 sections)
• Starboard fwd cargo door- Wing flaps (24 sections)
• Stewardess
• Ailerons (2)
• Landing gears (extension/retraction, wheel rotation, shocks animation etc)(3)
• Wing slats (4 sections)
• Stabilizer
• APU cowling
• Angle of attack sensors (2)
• Aft cooling doors (2)
• Aft equipment center hatch
• Aft lavatory valve hatch
• Ailerons trim
• Elevators trim tab
• Engines intake flaps (14)
• Engine exhaust covers (2)
• Escape slides (3)
• Fwd air stairs
• Fwd cooling door (2)
• Fwd equipment center
• Fwd lavatory valve

Now this is all great, plus Captain Sim gives you, if you buy the exterior model a €9.99 discount on the full product.

Video

I have created this video specifically for this review/feature and for your enjoyment, so please take the time to watch, and enjoy. Watch in HD too, it's the best way to show off the product. Note: There are six liveries that come with the product (737-200), and many more are available soon via third-party painters, but I chose Air France and Canadian North, because at the time of writing, they were the best in quality, and shows the plane the best. (I indeed prefer Delta, Western, or Pan Am, but at this time of writing, they were unavailable).

If you like this video and would like to see more, please stop by my YouTube channel and subscribe! I can't promise daily videos, but I can have anywhere from 1-4 weekly, so please check it out, comment, rate, and subscribe!

What Else Is There?

Well with this, you'll be getting a great product, discount on the full thing and many hours of happy flying. So, whether you're willing to 'rough' it through the default 737-800 cockpit, or wait it out until the full product is release is your choice, but free liveries are coming out almost daily and it will be a great product either way.

The Future Of The Product

Captain Sim has informed me that this model, the 737-100/200 will be released in the future with a fully modeled exterior and interior, passengers, fully functioning cockpit like on all other Captain Sim Boeing jets. In addition, more models to come including the: 737-200Adv; they also inform me that depending on popularity of the product, they made expand to more models, variants, as well as products featuring retrofits that have been added to these models.

I'm not giving any rating stars on this product, as it is not a complete product, and has its glitches that are, as stated by Captain Sim, temporary until a full product is released.

Peter Carlson
petersnoopy@sbcglobal.net