Air Senegal | Airbus A330-941 | 6V-ANB | Aviation400

Considering the relatively small order backlog for the A330neo family, competition in 400 scale for the type has been suprisingly strong. Perhaps this is just an example of 400 scale manufacturers thinking that only modern airliners sell. With only 134 A330-900s delivered there have nonetheless been 77 models from 5 different brands on 4 different moulds. Even so, there is still new ground to find and Air Senegal represents another colourful and interesting African airline that hasn't been produced by anyone else. It also gives me the chance to take another look at the Aviation400 mould, which has been modified since the first releases.

---

---

Each review is to split into three key areas:

• The model mould
• The paint and livery reproduction
• Printing and quality control

Each section can get a maximum score of 10 for a maximum combined score of 30

---

---

MOULD

I reviewed an early Aviation400 A330-900 back in October 2023 and in all honesty it didn't do that well. See that review here:

Virgin Atlantic | Airbus A330-941 | G-VTOM | Aviation400

Aviation400 have now released 12 A330-900s and it is almost as though there have been two different moulds. The first 5 from 2023 included the Virgin example I reviewed and the subsequent 7 includes this Senegalese example. Fortunately, the changes made to the mould significantly improve the end result and this is a much improved A330.

The most obvious change is the shape of the nosecone radome, which now looks much better, and a lot more convincing. The feelings I had about the nosegear position also have subsided, partly because the fit is better. In fact, I now really like the forward part of the aircraft. It is comparable to the JC and Phoenix versions, possibly not as sharp as the NG.

As before, the rest of the mould is good. The wing join to fuselage is excellent and the engine nacelles and pylons similarly top quality. The engine fans spin and are see through, but as is the case with this kind of feature the blades are too thin to enable that. There is a good number of blades but they can't match the realism the solid core engines of the NG mould allow.

​The wing form is good with a much better dihedral than on the JC Wings mould, and well shaped squared off flap track fairings, unlike the Phoenix where they are too pointed. 

The winglets are an area that could be improved. They are a little to tall and they don't kink back from the leading edge as they should. They look quite similar to the JC Wings winglets whereas the NG Models and Phoenix versions (the latter of which have been modified) look more accurate.

At the rear of the fuselage everything looks good. The odd tailfin top of the Virgin example I reviewed is not present here, so whether that is a mould improvement or a QC win, it is certainly a lot better.

As you tend to expect with Aviation400 the fuselage detailing is strong. The underside intakes are well moulded and the usual jewel light beacons are present. The model has four aerials (it misses the two smallest under the rear fuselage) and the Wi-fi dome atop the fuselage. The teardrop form of the dome isn't as strong as I'd like.

These newer A330-900s also come with both gear up and down undercarriage elements (the earlier versions only had gear down). The gear down elements are good and the maingear has an impressively strong pivot capability. The gear up elements are very thin and struggle a litle to fit in to the very thin space for them. On the provided stand the model looks excellent.

The last version of this mould I scored received a 6, but mods to the nosecone and tail, plus addition of gear down elements, elevates the mould considerably. There are several areas that could be tweaked (engine fans, winglets, dome), but overall this is now a much more competitive A330neo that can easily go head to head with the JC Wings / Gemini and Phoenix editions. Against the NG mould it is probably still slightly behind and I hope to update my A330-900 detailed mould comparison in the future to test this.

SCORE - 8

---

---

PAINT & LIVERY

Air Senegal started operations only in 2018, so is a young airline with a modern fleet of which this single A330-900 is the flagship (other long-haul equipment is leased through HiFly). The livery is simple, with a lot of white, but also has a delightful splash of colour on the tail and engines, using a logo based on Senegal's national flag.

The red, yellow and green colours stand out strongly and look good. The green is a little darker than I see in photos but not by a lot. Positionally, everything is in its place. The coloured arrow emblem ahead of the L1 door looks good and the aircraft name 'Sine-Saloum' is readable under magnification.

The huge but thin main titles look great and are repeated even larger on the aircraft's underside. One minor mistake is the red line on the underside of the winglets. In photos showing the underside it can be seen to be at an angle but on the model it is straight.

SCORE - 9

---

---

PRINTING & QUALITY CONTROL

Aviation400 has received some criticism for its printing not being as fine as some other brands. This may be true, but the printing is plentiful and accurate. It is nice to see, for example, that the maingear doors actually connect to the maingear units - something that brands like Phoenix never manage to get right.

Areas like the forward roofline, underbelly and engine nacelles show off a lot of panel lining and access hatches. Something that isn't printed is the fairing to fuselage join line, even though it is quite prominently lined on the real thing.

Build quality of the majority of the model is excellent. The only area where things aren't perfect is with the removable gear up elements. The starboard side element doesn't stay in place (possibly a magnet issue). These are very thin and a little fiddly. Arguably they don't matter much as they are barely visible when the aircraft is on a stand anyway.

SCORE - 9

---

---

SUMMARY

After my first experience with an Aviation400 A330neo I am much happier with the second batch. The A330-900 joins the rest of their mould catalogue in being highly competitive with other brands and a great option, especially if you like the extra features that AV400 provide (beacon lights, detachable gear, spinning fans, pivoting gear). The recent releases from AV400 also show a willingness to explore more exotic and compelling subject matter from geographic zones that even for modern types are under-represented.

FINAL SCORE - 26/30