The Third & Final Aviation400 A380 Sample - With Detachable Magnetic Landing Gear |
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Updated: June 24, 2022
Aviation400's Airbus A380 has now entered production and in the past fortnight they have announced 11 A380 releases, while at the same time facing strong competition from competing releases from both Phoenix and JC Wings. I have just received the third and final version of the new sample mould and I am pleased to say that they have modified two of the areas for improvement identified in my previous review.
Announced Releases
As discussed in my previous blogpost there has been an obvious reaction from both Phoenix and JC Wings after Aviation400 announced their first 7 Airbus A380s. This may have had an impact on AV400's thinking as they have now announced a further 4 A380s including several of the models announced by Phoenix and JC Wings.
Here are the 11 A380s that have been now announced by Aviation400:
Sample Mould Modifications
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I am very pleased to see that there have been some modifications to the sample based upon my previous reviews and comments. These fall into the following two areas - wingtips and outer engine pylon shape.
The shape of the upper portion of the wingtip fences is much better than on the previous sample. It now has a much squarer and sharper cut to it.
I also think the modified profile of the outer engine pylon is closer to the real thing than it was before. |
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Old Sample Pylon profile
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New Sample Pylon profile
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Magnetic Gear
The new sample mould is the first of the three I've received to be fitted with the magnets for the landing gear. I can confirm that the gear fits well and holds tightly even when shaking. It is also very easy to attach and detach. When displayed with the gear up the gear doors have small notches in which make them easy to extract using a pin.
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Overall the rest of the mould remains excellent. I am particularly impressed by the engines and fanblades. The latter spin freely and are the correct thickness. The multi-part engine construction is very good with a tight join between the rim and nacelle.
About the only remaining criticism I have is that the rear maingear bogies are slightly too far back from the outer pair. On the real thing they just about overlap:
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Overall the mould is excellent and when the navigation beacons and AV400's excellent printing detail are added I would expect models using this mould to comfortably be superior to anything Phoenix or JC Wings are offering in the A380 space. I can also report that the AV400 A380 is suitably heavy in the hand and sits well on its landing gear.
A Youtube video review will be on the way soon! |
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