British Aerospace BAE-146 / Avro RJ-85/100 in 1:400 Scale
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Updated: July 2023
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The BAE 146 has always seemed a little odd to me. In some ways a trendsetter, whilst in other ways anachronistic. It was a regional jet decades before regional jets existed (only the F28 was a viable contemporary), and its noise profile and STOL performance made it perfect for noise conscious environments and city airports (well before London city was even built let alone certified for jet ops). On the other hand the high wing configuration and short undercarriage didn't lend it much beauty whilst having four engines must have surely hurt its competitiveness even without their unreliability. Even so, it overcame these issues to sell 387 aircraft (that's combined 146 and Avro RJ sales) making it Britain's most successful jet airliner programme. The type even managed to continue selling into the 90s and operated some of the first true regional jet ops with US commuters like Air Wisconsin, ASA and Mesaba.
BAE-146 in Real Life
One of the factors that no doubt aided the 146 was the choice of three size options all available quite early in the type's history. The base version, the series 100, sold in relatively small numbers to a range of smaller airlines. It is 26.19m (85.9ft) long:
Aldo Bidini (GFDL 1.2 or GFDL 1.2 ), via Wikimedia Commons
The far more popular series 200 got a 2.41m stretch to make it 28.55m (93.7ft) long:
Peter Bakema (GFDL 1.2 or GFDL 1.2 ), via Wikimedia Commons
The largest variant, the series 300, was stretched a further 3.2m over the 200 for a total length of 31m (102ft).
Konstantin von Wedelstaedt (GFDL 1.2 or GFDL 1.2 ), via Wikimedia Commons
During the early 1990s all three variants were upgraded, received new engines and also new names - becoming the Avro RJ-70, RJ-85 and RJ-100 respectively. Externally they remained effectively the same.
BAE-146 in 400 Scale
Gemini Jets BAE-146-200s
The BAE-146 and Avro RJ have seen a surprising amount of diversity of releases in 400 scale due largely to the personal interest of the Jet-X founder Brian Wiklem. He has a love for the type that has recently seen him publish an impressive book on the aircraft - see Fighting to be Heard by Brian Wiklem.
Jet-X BAE-146s
Thanks to Jet-X all the major versions are covered whereas Gemini has only ever had a mould for the best-selling series 200 / RJ-85. The history of the Jet-X mould is indelibly linked to the history of the brand itself, which eventually was swallowed into the JC Wings group. For more on this see here:
With the Jet-X 146 moulds coming under JC's ownership and their production partnership with Gemini Jets the Jet-X versions have paradoxically been used sparingly for a small number of Gemini and JC releases in recent years, whereas the original Gemini BAE-146 mould appears to have vanished.
Jet-X production could be quit eclectic and so while there are obvious missing airlines, like Dan Air for example, many airlines got multiple releases in different scheme variants as can be seen here:
Jet-X production in detail
- 19 146-100s - Air China (2), British European/AF (3), QantasLink (2), UAExp (3), RAF (2), BAE (2), PSA (2)
- 61 146-200s - AF (7), AA/OC (7), Ansett (8), Presidential/CO Express (7), PSA/USAir (5). UAExp (4)
- 16 146-300s - Ansett (3), UAExp (3), Qantas (3), FlyBe (2), TNT (2), AusAEx (2)
- 2 RJ-70
- 8 RJ-85 - BAE (2), Lufthansa (2), Alitalia (2)
- 10 RJ-100 - BA Citiexpress (5), Swiss (3)
Jet-X production in detail
- 19 146-100s - Air China (2), British European/AF (3), QantasLink (2), UAExp (3), RAF (2), BAE (2), PSA (2)
- 61 146-200s - AF (7), AA/OC (7), Ansett (8), Presidential/CO Express (7), PSA/USAir (5). UAExp (4)
- 16 146-300s - Ansett (3), UAExp (3), Qantas (3), FlyBe (2), TNT (2), AusAEx (2)
- 2 RJ-70
- 8 RJ-85 - BAE (2), Lufthansa (2), Alitalia (2)
- 10 RJ-100 - BA Citiexpress (5), Swiss (3)
BAE-146 Avro RJ Moulds
Gemini Jets (2006)
The Gemini Jets mould is suitable for the intermediate sized BAE-146-200 and Avro RJ-85. It is a lovely little mould but was only used between 2006 and 2009. It has one annoying feature that may account for that, it is something of a tail-sitter. The mould as an excellent shape with a delightful nose and nosegear. Gemini also had superior cockpit printing - something that is a recurring issue on the Jet-X versions. The seam across the top of the fuselage doesn't follow the fairing but is quite discrete and subtle. Flap and aileron printing on the mould is detailed. Overall this is probably the better of the two moulds - aside from the aforementioned tail-sitting it can be prone to.
The Gemini Jets mould is suitable for the intermediate sized BAE-146-200 and Avro RJ-85. It is a lovely little mould but was only used between 2006 and 2009. It has one annoying feature that may account for that, it is something of a tail-sitter. The mould as an excellent shape with a delightful nose and nosegear. Gemini also had superior cockpit printing - something that is a recurring issue on the Jet-X versions. The seam across the top of the fuselage doesn't follow the fairing but is quite discrete and subtle. Flap and aileron printing on the mould is detailed. Overall this is probably the better of the two moulds - aside from the aforementioned tail-sitting it can be prone to.
Jet-X (2006)
The Jet-X BAE-146 mould covers all the three major variants of the original 146 and later Avro RJ family. It was used a lot by Jet-X between 2006 and 2012 but then disappeared. Since then there have only been 3 releases - a China Eastern series 300 in 2018, an Aer Lingus RJ-85 in 2019 and a Thai Airways series 300 in 2023.
These are also nice little moulds, although probably slightly inferior to the Gemini version these don't tailsit. The nose shape is fine but the nosegear is a little simplistic. Jet-X never really seem to have got a firm grip on the cockpit printing and the windows often appear too large, with the central ones slipping down the nose somewhat. The engine pylons hang the engines a little low and there is less detailing on the wings. The moulds have a very different form of wing attachment to the Gemini too with a much larger seam that attempts to follow the shape of the wing fairing forward and aft of the wing.
Below: This is the latest release of a BAE-146 and the first in four years. It is a JC Wings version but using the Jet-X BAE-146-300 mould and was announced in March 2023. Unfortunately the nosegear size on these later releases seems a little large.
Side by Side
Alongside each other the difference between the moulds is fairly obvious. Here the PSA is Gemini Jets and the United Express is Jet-X:
