Airbus A350-900/1000 Moulds in 1:400 Scale
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Updated: November 2024
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The Airbus A350 neatly fits in between the competing Boeing 787 and 777-X ranges as the primary widebody in the Airbus lineup. The type has come a long way since it was first mooted, around September 2004, as a warmed over A330 with a new wing, engines and composite materials. Although this version attracted orders from the likes of Qatar Airways (who signed for 60 in June 2005) other airlines like Emirates and Singapore were a lot less enthusiastic. Public criticism from the major lessors ILFC and GECAS further cast a pall over the initial A350 resulting in Airbus being forced back to the drawing board.
The result was a new fuselage allowing a ten abreast seating configuration (as with the 777) and this wider cross section enabled Airbus to christen the A350 as the A350 XWB (Xtra-Wide-Body).The new A350 was positioned between the 787 and 777 in size and available in three initial versions (800,900 and 1000). It was also a significant departure from the existing Airbus lineup with most obviously a very different front end and nosegear setup. In fact, rather than sharing an ancestry with the A330/340 it has more in common with the A380.
The mid-size variant, the A350-900, was first into production (the shorter series 800 was eventually cancelled) and the prototype F-WXWB first flew on June 14, 2013. The certification programme for the A350-900 ran smoothly and it gained its certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on September 30, 2014. Deliveries commenced to launch customer Qatar Airways in December. The A350XWB certainly seems to have ticked the boxes with the airlines; designed to compete against the 787-10 and 777-8, whilst replacing older 777-200ERs and A340s, the A350-900 has sold 759 units so far. The stretched series 1000 has 176 firm orders.
Airbus A350 in 1:400 Scale
In 1:400 scale the A350 has been one of the major battlegrounds between those manufacturers who specialise in modern widebodies, especially of Asian descent i.e. Phoenix and JC Wings. Gemini Jets of course have been able to utilise the JC Wings mould and the marketplace has been turned upside down by the arrival of Inflight into 1:400 scale with their Aviation400 brand. This was primarily focused on the A350. Then in 2020 NG Models also joined the fray and has been followed by Panda for 5 premium moulds for the type (plus the DeAgostini basic offering).
The result is that there has been a massive amount of A350s made in recent years. When I updated this review in October 2021 there had been 245 A350-900s and 44 A350-1000s produced or announced in 1:400 scale. Three years later and that is up to an amazing 458 A350-900s and 87 A350-1000s despite there not being a dramatically larger number of operators. This means there is usually a choice for the collector between at least three of the four manufacturer groupings for which A350 version you can purchase.
The Real Thing
Before we get to the moulds as usual we'll start with a look at the real thing:
Juke Schweizer / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)
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Anna Zvereva from Tallinn, Estonia / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)
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Juke Schweizer / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)
The Moulds
Opinions in this section are based on models in my collection and the detailed mould reviews I've undertaken. The A350 review has been rewritten now 3 times due to the changes and additional moulds. Here is the latest version:
The moulds below are looked at in order from eldest to newest.
PHOENIX MODELS (2014)
The Phoenix A350 has been one of Phoenixes most important moulds of the past five years and is a decent mould, albeit one which cannot compete on the same level as the best A350s being made in 2024. The initial mould suffered from floor dragging engines despite having quite tall landing gear. This has been improved in recent years although ground clearance still isn’t great. Overall the mould is decent but not outstanding.
PHOENIX MODELS (2014)
The Phoenix A350 has been one of Phoenixes most important moulds of the past five years and is a decent mould, albeit one which cannot compete on the same level as the best A350s being made in 2024. The initial mould suffered from floor dragging engines despite having quite tall landing gear. This has been improved in recent years although ground clearance still isn’t great. Overall the mould is decent but not outstanding.
JC WINGS / GEMINI JETS v1 (2014-2019)
This original JC Wings mould suffered from quite a lot of criticism in relation to its cockpit and nose form, but outside of these it compared well to the Phoenix. The thing that has always stood out for me in comparison is that the undercarriage is noticeably shorter, but even with this it hasn’t had the engine ground clearance issues that the Phoenix mould has had. I tended to prefer it over the Phoenix but overall it is of a broadly similar quality. It has been overtaken by the updated version of the mould (see below) and there isn't much on it that hasn't been remade on better moulds nowadays.
AVIATION400 (2017)
The Aviation400 mould was the brand's first new mould and has been well received by collectors. It is rightly considered, in general, to be a good mould, although the new competition from NG and Panda has perhaps pushed it into 3rd place. When it debuted its nig advantages were due to the shape of the nose and the addition of navigation beacons. It is also worth mentioning that as with all AV400 models it does come with a free stand. Some of the earliest examples had problems with the angle of the engines but this has been resolved, however there have been some wing-fit issues and at times over-polished noses too. Improvements have been made to the maingear trucks and tyres, which nowadays look quite different to the original form.
As with all Aviation400 widebody moulds AV400 has begun to retrofit detachable magnetic gear. The first A350s to be announced with this were in late 2023, but as of November 2024 the updated mould with magnetic gear hasn't been seen. I expect it to arrive very soon.
The Aviation400 mould was the brand's first new mould and has been well received by collectors. It is rightly considered, in general, to be a good mould, although the new competition from NG and Panda has perhaps pushed it into 3rd place. When it debuted its nig advantages were due to the shape of the nose and the addition of navigation beacons. It is also worth mentioning that as with all AV400 models it does come with a free stand. Some of the earliest examples had problems with the angle of the engines but this has been resolved, however there have been some wing-fit issues and at times over-polished noses too. Improvements have been made to the maingear trucks and tyres, which nowadays look quite different to the original form.
As with all Aviation400 widebody moulds AV400 has begun to retrofit detachable magnetic gear. The first A350s to be announced with this were in late 2023, but as of November 2024 the updated mould with magnetic gear hasn't been seen. I expect it to arrive very soon.
EARLY EXAMPLES:
Detailed reviews of the early release AV400 A350s:
LATER EXAMPLES
Detailed reviews of later AV400 A350s:
Also checkout the video review of the Delta example here:
JC WINGS / GEMINI JETS v2 (2019)
Following criticism of their original mould JC Wings grafted a new version onto the existing and significantly improved the whole. It is a little unclear when exactly the new mould was released, as there was no fanfare and JC Wings tendency to release models at random points well after the release announcements makes it hard to track actual releases. It may even be that Gemini Jets used the updated mould first. The new nose is much better than the previous version and elevates this mould but I'd still suggest it was behind all the others aside from the Phoenix. The cockpit printing on A350s from JC and Gemini is also often poor and something to watch out for.
Following criticism of their original mould JC Wings grafted a new version onto the existing and significantly improved the whole. It is a little unclear when exactly the new mould was released, as there was no fanfare and JC Wings tendency to release models at random points well after the release announcements makes it hard to track actual releases. It may even be that Gemini Jets used the updated mould first. The new nose is much better than the previous version and elevates this mould but I'd still suggest it was behind all the others aside from the Phoenix. The cockpit printing on A350s from JC and Gemini is also often poor and something to watch out for.
Below on the left is the new nose and on the right sis the old one. There is a definite stronger change of angle at the base of the cockpit and a different profile at the forehead too.
New Nose Profile
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Old Nose Profile
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I've reviewed an example of the updated JC Wings mould once to date:
NG MODELS (2020)
I received a resin sample of the NG A350 mould in January 2020 and was able to report on it then before I received the first die-cast sample in August. Use the below button to view that review:
When I scored this mould in the detailed comparison it performed excellently and has since its introduction been my choice for A350s. That has been challenged more recently by the Panda Models version, but it remains an excellent mould. It has also been used prolifically by NG, with over 75 releases.
I have reviewed the mould in detail a few times including one of the first releases (the Negaraku):
Panda Models (2024)
Panda Models announced an A350 back in November 2023, although the images at the time were of a series 1000, and it took 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 three A350s under their own name have been announced, while GeminiStar have produced 29 Air China examples (essentially rebadges).
The mould is a very strong contender against the NG Models edition and scored very well in my detailed review. I also reviewed in detail the first release:
The mould is a very strong contender against the NG Models edition and scored very well in my detailed review. I also reviewed in detail the first release:
De Agostini / Jet Hut (2020)
De Agostini's JAL Collection magazine series also featured an A350, although it is one of the moulds I haven't seen in person. As with other Jet Hut moulds it isn't intended to compete against standard 400 scale models and has a very early 2000s feel to it. At the same time it doesn't look dreadful either:
Aero Polaris (2025?)
HYJL Wings successor company Areo Polaris has also said they will be making an A350 mould but to date all that has been seen are some mould parts. See this blog entry for further details:
