Mould Snapshot | Boeing 767-300 | De Agostini / JAL Collection

The 767-300 is a type that gets regular calls for a new mould to be produced and while I'm not expecting the JAL collection / Jet Hut mould to quell those calls it does at first glance look like one of the better moulds that they have produced. In fact, they have made two versions of the mould so far - one with blended winglets and one without. As with the other parts in this series here I will investigate the features of the new mould and see how it compares to the real thing.

The 767-300 has featured in 3 editions of the JAL Collection magazine so far - issues 10, 22 and 32. This JAL Cargo freighter was from edition 22.

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​DISCLAIMER: I don't know for certain if JetHut is going to turn into something and even if they do I don't know for certain they'll use the JAL Collection moulds, however there is a decent chance they will do both. 

As I have said many times these JetHut moulds are not supposed to compete with first-line 400 scale brands and will be priced much cheaper than ordinary 400 scale models. This will come at a cost to quality so it is wrong to necessarily compare them directly to existing brands. Nonetheless, I will do that just to illustrate how near or far they are from usual 400 scale models.

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767-300 IN 400 SCALE

The 767-300 has been heavily represented in 400 scale but the last all new mould was produced way back in 2008. Check out my mould review of the type for more details:

Boeing 767-300 Mould Review

Nowadays the only two 767-300 moulds in usage are the 2008 Phoenix mould and the much 2010 updated Gemini. Both of these moulds, and the older Gemini version, first Witty/Big Bird/Aeroclassics, the later Witty Wings and the Dragon mould are all ok. It is true a new mould would probably be an improvement but for me it isn't a priority since none of the existing moulds is dreadful.

Above: The Gemini / JC Wings mould's latest iteration
Below: The Phoenix mould

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JAL Collection 767-300

221.20, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The first thing to mention about this mould is that unlike many JAL Collection moulds the landing gear is really well proportioned and the tyres are the correct size. In other ways it shares characteristics of other JAL Collection moulds - no aerials, stubby pylon attachment on the upper side, a plastic tail and a wing seam.

The nose is a little too rounded and the transition from cockpit to nosecone not quite correct, however it isn't dreadful and the poor cockpit printing on this release doesn't help the look.

The nosegear is surprisingly well detailed for a JAL Collection mould with a good gear leg and well shaped nosegear doors. The rest of the fuselage is well shaped, including the tailcone.

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The wing seam is quite discrete and similar to that of the old Gemini mould. You only notice it ahead of the wing and the fit of the parts is good. As with other JAL Collection moulds the metal wings themselves are well shaped and have a lot of aileron and flap detailing.

The maingear is, like the nosegear, really well sized and has more detailing than I've seen on other JAL Collection moulds. The underside of the fuselage however is largely undetailed and there is no suggestion, or printing, of the maingear doors or NACA intakes.

The vertical stabiliser is plastic, but well shaped and sized. It is an older style tail without a free rudder margin on the lower side where it meets the fuselage.

The engine pylons are one of the weaker areas of the mould. Underwing they are well shaped and they do hold the engines at a good height. It is however the finishing above the engine which is a little generic. Like on the 777 moulds the front is too rounded and doesn't angle down to a point at the engine nacelle.

The shape of the engines is fine but like other JAL Collection moulds they do have some rather unattractive seam lines running around them. 

This is undoubtedly one of the best moulds from the JAL Collection I have seen so far and aside from the engine pylons nothing would betray this as a standard 400 scale model. Arguably it is not inferior to a lot of 767-300 releases from pre-2010 that don't feature rolling gear or aerials. It certainly isn't dramatically inferior to the old versions of the Gemini and Phoenix 767-300, and probably slightly better than the Dragon Wings mould.

In terms of a mould score I will dock points as follows:

• Nose shape -0.5
• Wing seam -0.5
• Engine pylons -1.0
• Engine seam -0.5
• Lack of free rudder -0.5
• Lack of underside detailing -0.5
• Lack of aerials -0.5

That gives a score of 6, which is one of the better scores. Pictures I've seen of the wingletted 767 suggest it is equally good and also that the cockpit printing is much better on that model. It looks very nice:

SCORE - 6