China Southern Airlines | Airbus A350-941 | B-32FR | Panda Models

Panda Models announced an A350 back in November 2023, although the images at the time were of a series 1000, and it has taken almost a year for the first models to hit the shelves in the form of a pair of series 900s. Panda have been producing several new widebody moulds recently (767-400 and an announced MD-11),  but seem to struggle to release much on them. In fact, the majority of Panda's business model nowadays appears to be acting as an OEM for small brands like C models, or for individual retailer exclusives. In keeping with that only these two A350s have been announced so it will be interesting to see how much usage this mould gets in a market that is hardly short on A350s. In this review I'll take a first look at how it stacks up to the competition. 

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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

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MOULD

I've been in on/off communication with Panda for a while, but although they had several times suggested they might send me an A350 sample they never did so and therefore I've had to wait like everyone else to get a look at the real thing. A first glance suggests that it is a decent mould, but perhaps not the best of the bunch.

It is certainly entering a market with a lot of competition. There are currently 4 other A350 moulds available in 400 scale (from Aviation400, JC Wings/Gemini, NG Models and Phoenix) and all of them have been modified to some degree since their first release. In fact, it can be hard to keep up with the changes. My most recent attempt to do so was a detailed mould review I wrote in August 2023. Check that out here:

Detailed A350 Mould Comparison Scoring

I should also point out that there will be significant changes to the AV400 A350 coming soon too, with a version with magnetic detachable landing gear. But that's enough about the competition. You could certainly argue that a 5th active A350 mould in 400 scale is not really needed but here it is anyway. Sadly, we rarely get to influence the manufacturer's production.

From the side the nose and cockpit works well but I can't help thinking the shape of the nosecone is a little blunt and rounded with the tip slightly higher than it ought to be. The nosegear is very well detailed. There are some minor finishing issues (see QC section) but it and the rest of the forward fuselage is great.

At the mid-fuselage the most obvious issue is present - ground clearance for the engines. This has often been an issue with A350s in 400 scale and the engines here are slightly lower than on the NG version. On the portside the engine hangs a little lower than on the starboard, which is probably a QC issue but even on the right it is still a bit low. It's certainly better than the old Phoenix A350 engines, but even though it is by a tiny amount in real terms it is quite noticeable.

On the plus side the wings themselves are excellent. They fit tightly to the fuselage and have excellent dihedral. The outboard fuel dump pipe is present as are hinges on the outer flaps. They also feature the new form taller winglets that were introduced as part of the A350 performance improvement package (PIP) in mid-2018. They could perhaps be a bit pointier but that's probably a challenge at this small scale.

On the wing underside I notice that the flap track fairings are slightly thinner and longer than on other moulds. This doesn't look correct, but hardly stands out.

The maingear is very accurate with excellently shaped gear doors. The gear units also rotate slightly, something missing on the NG version. On the underside of the model the detailing is good and the NACA intakes are moulded in (something again missing on the NG).

The engine nacelles look good and from the front show off their see-through fanblades. The form of the individual fanblades and their number (22) are very accurate giving the engine a very realistic look.

At the rear of the fuselage the shape of the vertical stabiliser and rear fuselage looks good to me. The form of the rooftop dome is also nicely sculpted and the model comes with four well-sized aerials.

Overall, this is a strong A350 contender that once again is very close to the real thing. The differences compared to the best A350 in the scale are minimal and come down to small issues such as the nosecone, engine ground clearance and flap track shape. In other areas, wing detailing, engine fans and maingear it is maybe slightly better and in many places you'd really struggle to tell the difference. The differences will become more obvious when I update my detailed mould comparison, but for now I'm happy to report it is a fine mould.

SCORE - 9

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PAINT & LIVERY

China Southern is an airline that has featured in my reviews quite a bit as I've previously reviewed models in the standard scheme at least 3 times - an A319NEO, A380 and 747-400F. That's one of the pitfalls when I have to buy the models for review - if they don't fit in my collection criteria then I'm just paying for a model I don't need. Anyway, it at least makes it easy to compare the scheme when I own 63 models wearing it!

Panda have no problem with the colours here as you'd expect. The primary placement of all the major livery elements is also fine and detail placements of reg and aircraft title are not misplaced either.

There are two minor nitpicks. Firstly, the doors that cross the cheatline don't have a thick enough white outline so don't stand out enough. Secondly, the Chinese language titles are a little compacted vertically. If you check the 2nd to last character that sits above a 'cut here in emergency' panel line you can see its lower margin is too high above it.

SCORE - 9

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PRINTING & QUALITY CONTROL

There's a lot to like on the printing front, which showcases the best in the business. Comparing to an NG A350 and it is at least as good, and in one or two areas, like the pylon join to nacelle, the print is even slightly better. Cockpit placement is no problem either and that is something that has been a major issue at times for the competing JC Wings / Gemini product.

Build quality is near perfect. The more complex multi-piece elements such as the engine inners and maingear are beautifully made. The nosegear isn't quite as good but you have to really zoom in to notice that there is a minor nick at the bottom rear margin of the nosegear door and some unnecessary filler still present on the gearleg itself.

The packaging is fairly standard. It's a nice enough box that does the job, but it rather lacks the flair that you typically get with NG, or the uniformity of the new JC boxes. Then again I'm not reviewing the box!

SCORE - 9

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SUMMARY

When it comes down to these modern widebody moulds made within the last 5 or 6 years by brands such as NG Models, AV400, JC Wings or Panda then it is usually small margins that distinguish them from each other. They are often so close to the real aircraft that the moulds are hard to distinguish apart unless you buy as much as I do and spend/waste the amount of time I do looking at them. That is a good thing and shows the increasing maturity of the leaders in the scale (at least from a engineering perspective). This is another excellent A350. You could argue it isn't really needed, and I probably wouldn't disagree with you, but I do think it is better than at least half the existing moulds and close to vying for top spot. I'll try to get to an update of the detailed ranking sooner rather than later. Until then, buying this mould doesn't raise any red flags for me.

FINAL SCORE - 27/30