Korean Air | Boeing 747SP-B5 | HL7456 | NG Models

Has NG Models lost its way in recent years? It obviously hasn't been helped by the threat of tariffs, but for me the most annoying thing has been the collapse in the usage of its more classic leaning moulds, to the extent that to see a Tristar, Tu-154 or 747SP is nowadays a rarity and cause for celebration. Usually the models are still produced to a very high standard, but given the lack of temporal diversity in the release sets it adds some extra importance to the few older models that do get released. A pair of KAL 747SPs in delivery colours had been advertised as a future release for a while, finally announced properly in December. Do they live up to my expectations for NG? Let's take a look.

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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

NG's Boeing 747SP is one of their oldest offerings, dating back to 2020. It has now been belatedly followed up with a 747-400, but the other family members remain in limbo following the effective failure of the initial 747-100/200 offering. NG just doesn't seem to care that much about the Jumbo, however maybe that is changing since this 747SP is an updated mould!

I reviewed a 747SP in February 2025 (see Boeing House | Boeing 747SP-21 | N40135 | NG Models) but that was one of only 3 made all year, with just 5 in 2024. That seeming diversity is even less when you look at the liveries, which covered only 5 airlines, with 3 of them having been made previously too. Perhaps the lack of SPs was due to the reformatting of the casting? I guess we'll see during 2026.

Old nose on the left, new on the right

The original SP mould was generally considered to be a good one, but it wasn't perfect despite being better than any other's available by a considerable distance. The big criticism was the angle of the curve up to the nosecone, which being too shallow left the tip of the nose too low relative to the windowline.

This was definitely an issue, but I admit one that hadn't bothered me a lot historically. It did however have the tendency to lead to compromises or accommodations with cheatline liveries especially. Comparing this 747SP release to the Boeing house colours version from Feb 2025 and it is apparent the nose has been reshaped and is now much more accurate. The difference can be quite subtle but it is definitely there.

That means the only major issue with the mould has been resolved. One of the other small issues with the mould has also been rectified. The NACA intakes under the fuselage are now moulded in whereas previously they were just printed on. 

The only other criticism that has been levelled at the NG 747SP relates to the engines. They are a little wide at the leading edge of the nacelle, while the exhaust portions are not wide enough. I still probably prefer them to the too small engines on the Gemini version, but this is the last area that I think still is incorrect.

The rest of the mould is superb and back in May 2021 when I undertook a detailed comparison of the 3 available SP moulds the NG outscored the Gemini and Herpa versions 40:25:29. Now, with the modifications made here, that gap has only widened further. For that full review see here:

Boeing 747SP Detailed Mould Comparison

SCORE - 9

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PAINT & LIVERY

I had never been a big fan of the Korean Air livery that preceded the Pepsi livery, but it has grown on me in recent years and I now have 7 KAL aircraft wearing it in the collection. Five of those are made by Aeroclassics and one by Gemini Jets. 

Left: the old Gemini release. Right: the NG

Placing those next to this one and the NG rather stands out due to the dark blue that has been used for the cheatline. It is a curious choice as even the photo on the model's box illustrates that it should be quite a bit lighter than this. Although some photos (like this one from AirTeamImages) do show a darker blue most of the photos from Airliners.net clearly show that a lighter blue is more accurate.

Another curiosity are the missing Taegeuk symbols on the left wingtop and right wing underside. All the KAL models I own have it and so do all the other models of KAL I can see in this scheme. Finding photos from the correct angle to see it on the real aircraft are difficult. The only clear one I can find of a KAL SP is this photo of sistership HL7457 on JetPhotos. The taegeuk is visible so this must be another error on the model. 

Other livery details are all present and correct, but not helped by some print errors, discussed in the next section.

SCORE - 7

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PRINTING & QUALITY CONTROL

Printing detail and fineness are one of NG's usual strongpoints. This model has all the usual quality and finesse, at least it does from the portside! From the starboard side something looks off and that is more apparent when you view the model from the front.

When you do that it is apparent that the starboard side cheatline is printed lower than the portside. It is only a small margin, but these margins matter in such small scales. From the sideview you can see that the cheatline angles downwards slightly towards the nose. This isn't the sort of mistake I expect from NG.

Equally, although the paintwork is good across the model there is one glaring error present. The colour of the engine pylons is wrong. They should be natural metal, not painted grey.

The Iran Air on the left shows the old nose profile but also the correct tyrehubs

From a quality control perspective the model is well built, but it seems NG will never resolve the issues around detailed tyrehubs. It is so hit and miss. Multiple of the tyres do not show the hub-detailing they should, including annoyingly both the nosegear tyres.

SCORE - 6

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SUMMARY

There is no denying this model is rather a disappointment. It is not up to the standard I expect from NG and all the more galling since they produce so few classics. Why couldn't they have messed up an A350 instead! The livery reproduction and pylon colour mistakes are lazy, while the portside print is something I would expect from an inferior brand. This is such a shame as the improvements made to the 747SP mould itself are excellent and continue to demonstrate that NG believes in continuously improving its moulds in a way many other large brands just can't be bothered to do. Hopefully the mould changes are at least a signal that NG isn't done with the short Jumbo, and hopefully future releases will be better researched.

FINAL SCORE - 22/30