 NG Models have always shown a strong tendency to tinker with their moulds to improve them (something that has also been shown recently by Aviation400 and Phoenix). Often this has involved marketing and sending me samples, but smaller changes sometimes go unheralded. Of the 24 A350s I own 17 are from Aviation400, mainly because they got their before NG did, and so I haven't paid close attention to the NG mould that much. Time to change that and ilustrate how it has changed. FORMAT Each review is to split into three key areas:
MOULD  The NG Models A350 has been around for nearly 4 years now. It was always very good as my original sample reviews illustrated but has been incrementally improved. The main competition for it comes from the Aviation400 mould. They have also been modifying their own version incrementally but I have to say with less success. In fact, arguably the changes AV400 have made, combined with some overpolishing issues they have had, now means that the NG version is further ahead than it was before.  AV400 do have detachable landing gear coming on their next A350s, so keep an eye out for that. Personally, as nice as it may be it is unlikely to be a major factor in my purchases. The other two main A350 moulds, by JC Wings / Gemini and Phoenix, are some way behind the NG and AV400 versions. For more on how they compare see the recently updated detailed comparison here:  The NG Models A350 has my favourite, and the most accurate, nose form of all the A350 moulds available. It is also the only mould that gets all the nosegear aspects correct too - so the leg is nicely detailed but not too long, the tyrehubs look great and the gear doors well sized.  The engines, and pylons for them, are another area of excellence. This mould is one of the last where NG went with see-through engine cores and they have done it very well. They are the only brand to have the correct 22 blades and have easily the best spacing too.  The area that I was recently informed by a collector that NG has modified with their A350 is the wing. I can confirm that indeed the shape and size of the winglets has now been modified to match the taller winglets introduced around late 2017. The difference is most notable when compared to an early production NG A350 such as this Malaysia Airlines example:   On the underside one of the few areas where the NG lacks some detailing are the NACA intakes, which are printed on, not moulded in. The model features four aerials but does lack some of the extra detailing present on the Aviation400 mould, such as beacon lights and ADF fairings on the roofline. AV400 tend to go for features and NG for realism but it gives the collector a real choice.  Another area where this different design philosophy shows up is the maingear. The NG version has maingear trucks that are static (they don't pivot). The gear still roll and the NG maingear leg is slightly more detailed because it doesn't have to accomodate the interactive feature.  As a whole this is a near perfect package. It is currently the best A350 on the market and it'll be interesting to see how it compares to the new Panda Models A350 coming soon. SCORE - 10 PAINT & LIVERY  Sichuan Airlines have a different schemes for all 6 of their A350s with two carrying Chengdu 2021 FISU Universiade Games liveries and the other four 'Panda Route' schemes. The latter are all similar but have different Panda poses. B-32AG is the latest and has a jumping Superman-esque Panda on the front.  Placement of the livery elements is superb. Obviously, there are a lot of parts that go into this scheme but the overall presentation here is excellent. I can't see any faults with that aspect.  Colourwise things aren't quite as good. NG does tend to darken the colours somewhat with the Sichuan scheme. It isn't a big issue on this model, although the shade of light blue used for example is a bit dark. What is more wrong is that there should be 5 different colours used for the petals - dark blue, light blue, light green, yellow and pink.    On the model I would argue that NG only use four colours with the yellowy/golden petals way too green. None of those petals are very large but there are four of them and the colour is incorrect. SCORE - 8 PRINTING & QUALITY CONTROL  There's a lot of exceptional printwork on this model and NG have been paying attention in terms of their A350 template. The A350 has been modified since mid-2019 (with cn 316, 9V-SHH) to remove the three Side Slip Angle (SSA) that were present on the centreline just under the cockpit windows. NG has now modified their template to remove them.   A lot of the print detailing is very fine, such as the radome ring and maingear doors. The engines are an exceptional area of detail and precision. There is a lot of print detailing plus excellent rims and fans. The quality of the product is as good as I've seen.  That quality transfers across to the QC as well. There are zero issues to report here. SCORE - 10 SUMMARY  This model was released as a standard release and has since been rereleased as part of the Ultimate Collection (with upgraded packaging and a stand). I own the standard version but either way what you are getting is a top class 400 scale model, demonstrating a company on the top of their game. NG do make mistakes but when they get it right they are more than a match for anyone in the scale. This is a fabulous release. FINAL SCORE - 28/30 
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AuthorI'm Richard Stretton an aviation enthusiast and major collector of 400 scale models. On this page I take a detailed look at new releases. This site is free. Please donate to keep it going.
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