Singapore Airlines | Airbus A340-541 | 9V-SQE | HX Models

There's something special about four engine airliners that twinjets just can't replicate, and although it lost the sales race to the 777 I think there's little doubt that the A340-500 won in the looks department. Although only 34 were built, the combination of the beefed up undercarriage and new engines, but with a shorter fuselage than the series 600, gives it great proportions. I've talked before about the renewed competition in 400 scale in the A340 space and now HX Models have debuted their own series 500, putting the pressure on the Phoenix mould.

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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

There have now been 68 A340-500s made in 400 scale, but 10 of those are using this new HX Models A340-500 all of which are similar Singapore Airlines flaps up and down versions. Of the other 58, 23 are using the Phoenix mould, which debuted in 2011, and 14 use the seamed Gemini Jets / JC Wings mould that debuted in 2005

There are also a couple of older moulds, with 18 models made by Dragon Wings and 3 from Herpa, however both those moulds are very obsolete. The ancient Gemini mould is still in use, updated with aerials and rolling gear, but it is really only the Phoenix that has a competitive A340-500 in 2025. There are rumours of NG making a new mould, but I wouldn't worry too much about that given NG's recent failure to deliver new castings and releases on them in a timely fashion.

Unsurprisingly, this new HX casting shares a huge amount of commonality with their A340-600, which gained a review at the site here in August - see Etihad Airways | Airbus A340-642 | A6-EHJ | Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2017 | HX Models.

As with the series 600 this mould is definitely better than the Phoenix edition. From the side the nose is one place where the Phoenix may have a slight edge, but the HX looks great too - helped by better cockpit printing than the Etihad 600 I reviewed had.

This example also has a much taller nosegear, although that is due to it not being properly fitted. It is a little too long but considering it is a QC error it ironically makes the model look better to me. Gearleg detailing and the smaller size of the nosegear doors make this well ahead of the Phoenix in this area. 

The central fuselage area is really impressive and is enhanced on this model by it having the flaps down configured wings. The wingjoin is full width, unlike the half width join of the Phoenix. 

The flaps down A340 wing is a thing of beauty. The large single slotted flaps are a separate element to the wing, with a clear gap between the two. The flap track fairings are beautifully shaped too, with one having the fuel dump pipe moulded into it. On the underside the astonishing level of wing detail continues, especially on the leading edge.

The tailcone is another area of unrivalled good design. It incorporates the angle cut-off as well as the three small protuberances. ​The vertical stabiliser is well shaped and shows the cut-in at the lower margin of the rudder.

The form of the maingear is excellent and all three gear units pivot up and down nicely, without impacting the form of the gear itself. I'd say the shape of the geardoors and gearleg detail here also pip the Phoenix.

The engines and pylons have no obvious problems, although the former do use the nowadays commonplace hollow-core fans. The blade count is high, but of course they are something of a compromise and can't match the detailing of the solid-core Phoenix fans.

There's a huge amount to like on this mould, which shows true craftmanship. The only area I'm not 100% convinced with is the nosegear (but as i said on this example the imperfect fit actually makes me like it more) , but in almost all other areas this mould is an upgrade on the Phoenix, which itself is no slouch.

SCORE - 9

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PAINT & LIVERY

It is a slight disappointment to me that this, and all the released SQ A340-500s, wear the later large title version of the Singapore scheme, without the logo on the engines. Singapore inaugurated all business-class ultra-long haul flights with their series 500s in 2004, but ultimately only took delivery of 5 aircraft, registered from 9V-SGA-GE. All had been stored after only a decade of service or less.

I really like the livery replication on this model. The gold shimmers in a way that is much superior to the metallic effect they tried on the new Korean livery. The dark blue could possibly be slightly darker, but it still looks great.

All the livery components are present and correct, and printed to a very high standard.

SCORE - 9

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PRINTING & QUALITY CONTROL

HX go all out on print detailing, as is always evident when you investigate the belly region. There's also a lot of line and panel detailing on the engine nacelles. Could that be slightly less obvious? Yeah probably it could as photos don't show it standing out as prominently as on the model.

I am pleased with this model that the cockpit print is improved from the Etihad 600 I reviewed. It looks really good. Build quality is excellent across the board, aside from at the aforementioned nosegear. It doesn't look like it was pushed in far enough and can be wiggled back and forth a bit (but not pushed in further). You can see in the official shots, with the black background, how it is supposed to look. As I said, I actually don't think it detracts as the standard nosegear fit is a little short.

The overall package with HX Models is unbeaten in the scale, especially considering this is a standard rather than special release. The box is colourful and very sturdy. The model comes with the standard high-quality collector's card and the model comes with the HX standard higher quality all metal two-piece stand.

SCORE - 9

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CONCLUSION

There's almost always something to nitpick with every model release and this one is no different, however these HX Models widebodies are very nice packages. They offer some unrivalled detailing, with excellent packaging, a great stand and collectors card. Despite retailing for often substantially less than the competition the quality of the model is excellent. With the advent of these A340-500/600s from HX I fear this is another model type of Phoenixes that I no longer will be acquiring when there is a competitor available.

FINAL SCORE - 27/30