Boeing 747-200/400 1:400 Scale New Mould Samples
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Modified: September 2023
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A new 747-100/200 mould is probably even more sought after in 400 scale than the 747-400 and a vital mould to get right. NG have been sending me samples for 5 years now and in general they have always been solidly reliable. Issues have usually been limited to add-on components such as engines, control surfaces and landing gear but, it does seem like NG have dropped the ball with this initial series 200 sample. Perhaps it is an indicator of the pressure to produce new moulds in time for the AMS show or maybe it is just an honest mistake that could come from working backwards from the 747-8 to 747-400 to 747-200. Regardless it at least has hopefully been caught early enough to be resolved, and given NG's track record I've got no reason not to expect them to fix the issues discussed below. So let's take a closer look.
The Real Thing
As with many Boeing aircraft families the 747 in its series 100 and 200 variants went through a selection of design changes throughout its production run. Mostly these relate to the engine nacelles but not entirely.
EARLY PRODUCTION MODELS
Early 747-100/200s had a SATCOM fairing just aft of the hump as can be seen here on this ex-BOAC series 136. I've seen it said this was on all 747s made up to 1974 but that might not be accurate. These were mostly removed in the mid-70s but some aircraft kept the fairing until being scrapped in the late 90s. As far as I'm aware no 400 scale mould has ever featured this detail but I have seen it printed on.
Eduard Marmet, CC BY-SA 3.0 GFDL 1.2, via Wikimedia Commons
In terms of engine pylons there was also variation on early frames for the 747-100/200s (and prototype SP). Alex (Phantom) created the below image to illustrate this. As far as I know nobody has ever created an accurate A version pylon in 400 scale either.
ENGINES
When it comes to engines there were 3 main options with some variation within the JT9Ds also. Rather oddly this sample doesn't actually display any 747-100/200 engines on it! Regardless, for more detail on this subject check out this thread on MAF and the engine section below in the review:
It should be noted that NG Models already has the updated pylon B above and the later JT9D-7 engines (plus the Rolls-Royec RB211 engines) on its existing 747SP mould so they can be easily retrofitted to the series 200.
LATE MODEL UPDATES
Production of 747-200/300s continued beyond the production of initial series 400s and the latest produced aircraft gained some features of the series 400s. Most notably a small number of aircraft acquired the redesigned wing root fairing, which curves into the fuselage. This 1988 Martinair build series 200 displays it:
An even smaller number of series 200s and 300s didn't feature the HF wingtip aerials, with the aerial being moved to the vertical stabiliser's leading edge.
Competing 747-200/400 Moulds in 400 Scale
There are so many 747-200 and 400 moulds in 400 scale it can be a challenge to even talk about them. I did attempt a 747-200 mould review back in 2017, which took ages to pull together. It is still broadly accurate as there have been no mould changes since then and precious few 747-100/200 releases:
Of the many moulds for the 747-200 the most important are all dated but generally fine except for the Phoenix, which despite being the newest is also the worst. The best three 747-100/200 moulds are:
Below: Aeroclassics / Big Bird
Below: Aviation400 / Witty Wings
Note that it is a seamless version of the Big Bird
Note that it is a seamless version of the Big Bird
Below: Dragon Wings
Gemini also has a decent mould that has been updated with aerials and rolling gear but dates originally from 1999. All of these moulds are ancient - the newest here being the best, which is the rarely used Aviation400/Witty version dating from 2007. It is a crime that the newest actual mould is the Phoenix version, from 2008, which is very poor by comparison.
Below: Phoenix
747-200 Mould Sample
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Eduard Marmet, CC BY-SA 3.0 GFDL 1.2, via Wikimedia Commons
Forward Fuselage, Hump & Nosegear
The nose form of this 747 effectively matches that of the other NG 747 samples and so once again although it looks good I am not convinced that the angle leading up from the nosegear to the nosecone is sharp enough. As with the SP it is most likely to be noticeable with schemes like this Air New Zealand one where the cheatline crosses the radome. The cheatline tends to sit slightly too high up the nosecone. The form of the hump itself isn't bad either but perhaps a little flat at the forward dorsal portion.
What becomes quite obvious when you tally up the position of the wing leading edge joining the fuselage on the two images above is how much further forward the sample's is and this relates to one of the major issues with the mould - the wingroot.
Wingroot
The 747-100/200/300 has a very different wingroot to the 747-400, which gained an aerodynamically refined curved wingroot. This was retrofitted to a small number of very late build series 200s and 300s (as described earlier) but the vast majority of 100/200/300s didn't have it. This sample model has the 747-400 wingroot, which is slightly bizarre given that NG has already made a 747SP, which shares the wingroot of the series 100-300. It really does seem like NG have started with a 747-400 and tried to turn it into an earlier 747, which just isn't possible without massive changes to the wingroot impacting both the fuselage and the wing itself.
The images below show the NG sample on the left and the Aviation400 / Witty Wings mould on the right.
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Phantom's image below showing a pair of Hasegawa plastic kits also shows the difference between a 747-100/200/300 (left) and the later 747-400 (right) illustrating how NG have got this incorrect.
Engines & Pylons
As discussed in the 747-400 sample review this 747-200 sample appears to be fitted with 747-400 CF6-80 engines - another mistake. I have discussed those engines on the 747-400 page. As I mentioned above NG already have the later Pratt & Whitney JT9D engines and the Rolls-Royce RB211 engines courtesy of their existing 747SP mould. What they currently don't have are:
The early JT9D engines with the extra secondary air inlet doors seen here on this KLM example:
The General Electric CF6-50 engine as seen here on this Lufthansa series 230B:
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Peter Bakema (GFDL 1.2 or GFDL 1.2 ), via Wikimedia Commons
Wings
Aside from the wing fairing join issues the actual wing itself also has some significant problems, once again seemingly born from attempting to use the 747-400 wing as the starter. Arguably they would have done better to instead modify the flaps and flap track fairings of their 747SP wing into a 747-100/200 as it shares the same wingspan and wingroot.
The big issue here is that this 747-200 sample has the wingspan of a 747-400, which it should not as the series 400 wasn't just a 200 with winglets, but also had a significant wingtip extension added the 200 doesn't have. The wingtip extension on the series 400 added 5.2m to the wingspan and allowed the fitting of a 6th leading edge slat towards the tip. What we have on this sample is a wing with too greater span and 6 leading edge slats. That is completely wrong. Although a small number of 747-200/300s gained the refined fairing none ever got the wingtip extensions so this is a fantasy wing.
Below: A comparison with the AV400 747-200 illustrates the issue. The wing is wider and there is an extra leading edge slat on the NG sample
Stabilisers
NG Models Boeing '747-200' Sample
Summary
There are lots of issues with this sample mould and as some have pointed out it doesn't really represent the majority of 747-200s at this point, at least not when it comes to the mid-fuselage, wings and engines! I do think a lot of the problems have come from trying to reverse engineer their 747-400. Nonetheless I have confidence that NG will fix the issues highlighted here.
Major issues:
747-300s: Most future 747-300s will need the old style wingroot fuselage join but the extended upper deck of the series 400. It isn't possible therefore to simply reuse the 400 fuselage.
- Modifying the fuselage wingroot join to that of a standard 747-100/200/300
- Correcting the wing so the wingroot angle is straight not curved
- Correcting the wingspan so it is that of a 747-100/200 with 5 leading edge slats, not a 747-400 with HF aerials rather than winglets
- Making sure they know which engines are which and developing the missing CF6-50 variant
747-300s: Most future 747-300s will need the old style wingroot fuselage join but the extended upper deck of the series 400. It isn't possible therefore to simply reuse the 400 fuselage.
Smaller issues:
Variations:
It will be interesting to see whether NG has the appetite to produce the variations to the base design to accurately represent:
Earlier 747-100/200s with:
- The nose form still doesn't seem 100% right although it does match the other NG 747s
- Hinge detailing on the underside of the wing outer flaps
Variations:
It will be interesting to see whether NG has the appetite to produce the variations to the base design to accurately represent:
Earlier 747-100/200s with:
- The earlier engine pylons with the straight trailing edge
- A fuselage version of the 100/200 with the SATCOM fairing aft of the hump (this could perhaps be added on rather than moulded in)
The latest 747-200/300s with:
- The modified 747-400 wingroot (this would require the current wingroot form, but with a corrected span, and could use the existing sample fuselage).
- A small number of aircraft would also require a wing lacking the HF aerials entirely.