Boeing 747-300 Moulds in 1:400 Scale
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Updated: November 2025
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The 747-300 was very much a stopgap design between the series 200 and next generation series 400. It featured the 7.11m upper deck stretch of the latter, but not the raft of other improvements the 400 came with. The stretched upper deck was also offered as retrofit to earlier series 100s and 200s - an offer taken up by Japan Air Lines, KLM and UTA. The 747-300 first flew on October 5, 1982, but the customer interest was lukewarm and the 747-400 was announced in 1985 anyway. This meant that production was short with only 81 being produced overall. The last 747-300 was delivered in September 1990 to Sabena.
Boeing 747-300 in 1:400 Scale
As with the 747-100/200 the sheer number of different 747-300 moulds is large, but unlike the 200 the usage of the moulds has been poor with only 121 models made as of December 2025. In addition to the below 119 there are also at least 3 models made for C&C and I'm not sure which mould they use.
As with the 747-100/200 the quality of the moulds is highly variable and many of the brands dating from the 2002-2010 period are obscure and hard to find. Fortunately, few of them are worth finding with several moulds appearing to be quite poor copies of other castings. Ignoring the toylike JetHut mould it has been over 15 years since a new 747-300 was made and that has finally come to pass with the new HX Models version.
Boeing 747-300 in 1:1
The majority of 747-300s basically look like a series 200 with the stretched upper deck (SUD) hump of a series 400. That isn't the whole story though as some late build aircraft were completed with the redesigned wing root fairing of the 747-400, which curves into the fuselage. A smaller number were not equipped with the HF wingtip aerials too. Of course only 81 new build 747-300s were built, while a tiny number of 747-100s (JAL) and 200s (KLM and UTA) were retrofitted with the SUD as well.
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simon butler from halesowen, uk, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Asuspine (GFDL 1.2 or GFDL 1.2 ), via Wikimedia Commons
BELOW: A late model 747-300 with the 747-400 style wingroot
Konstantin von Wedelstaedt (GFDL 1.2 or GFDL 1.2 ), via Wikimedia Commons
Model Moulds
I'll look through the moulds in the usual date of release order:
Gemini Jets (1999)
The Gemini 747-300 barely got any usage, with only 5 models made - one of which (Pakistan International) was made under the Sovereign brand and 3 are Corsair examples, probably made for Socatec of France. It is broadly comparable to the Tucano Line mould (and quite possibly that was a cloned version of it) and has a large wing seam and ugly pylon to wing join. Obviously it shares a lot of characteristics with the classic Gemini 747-100/200 and 747-400. As you can see below the first usage in 1999 also had a tail seam, but by the 2003 releases the seam had been removed for the Gemini Jets II era. It is curious that the mould got such little usage and vanished entirely after 2003.
Dragon Wings (1999)
The Dragon 747-300 received 19 models and of course shares much with other Dragon 747 moulds. That means it is actually really decent and primarily let down by the simple undercarriage and printwork. Unlike older moulds with metal wings the detailing of the engines and pylons, and especially the join to the wing are excellent.
Dragon made some very attractive versions, such as the SAA Ndzani, JAL Res'ocha, Ansett Olympics and Orient Thai. Even in 2025 many of these haven't got suitable replacements in the scale.
Dragon made some very attractive versions, such as the SAA Ndzani, JAL Res'ocha, Ansett Olympics and Orient Thai. Even in 2025 many of these haven't got suitable replacements in the scale.
Tucano Line (2002)
Considering the source for this mould is the disgraced brand Tucano Line (see the Tucano Line brand history here) this mould is surprisingly solid for an early 2000s 747. It of course shares the usual features of a 747 from this period (the wing seam, blocky wing / engine pylon join, lack of wingtip aerials) but arguably it is better than the Gemini version.
As far as I can tell, it was used 17 times. Phoenix used it for 11 models and made a nice variety prior to replacing it with the arguably worse 2009 version. Highlights for me are the TAAG Angola and Surinam versions. Obviously in 2025 this is far from a sought after mould and if newer versions become available then I'd be replacing my three models, but it doesn't standout as dramatically inferior to several earlier 747 castings.
As far as I can tell, it was used 17 times. Phoenix used it for 11 models and made a nice variety prior to replacing it with the arguably worse 2009 version. Highlights for me are the TAAG Angola and Surinam versions. Obviously in 2025 this is far from a sought after mould and if newer versions become available then I'd be replacing my three models, but it doesn't standout as dramatically inferior to several earlier 747 castings.
BigBird / Your Craftsman (2003)
This mould is probably the best of the moulds to date and also the most widely used. The usage is down to the mould's survival through multiple changes of ownership. Initially a Big Bird / Your Craftsman mould, also used by Aeroclassics who shared the same factory, it transitioned to Witty ownership. They created a seamless version (see below) but still used this mould for their Apollo line. Following Witty's bankruptcy in 2014 ownership passed to JC Wings and the mould is still in usage for JC and the Big Bird Mk3 brand.
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Obviously the mould is seamed and also has a rather chunky engine/pylon join, but the overall shape and undercarriage are better than other early moulds and even though finally in the mid-2020s it has been surpassed like most BigBird moulds it is still held in some reverance. JC Wings are still releasing on this mould in 2025 in an attempt to combat HX Models. The mould was updated with aerials in 2015 and nearly half of the models made using it have been made since then. I reviewed a 2023 example here at the site:
Blue Box / Magic Models (2005)
This mould comes from the rather obscure Blue Box / Magic brands (see brand history for Blue Box and Magic here). It looks quite similar to other 747s from the period and is most easily identified by the small bumps on the top of the hump. It has a slightly better fuselage shape to the Gemini and Tucano variants, but despite being used 17 times is quite obscure. This isn't helped by the fact that Blue Box and Magic models are notorious for paint bubbling issues.
The two standout models made using this are the pair of Egyptair examples, dating from 2007. Neither have been made by any other brand and are both very nice.
The two standout models made using this are the pair of Egyptair examples, dating from 2007. Neither have been made by any other brand and are both very nice.
Net Models (2005)
The Net Models 747 appears to be an all metal clone of the Dragon Wings 747. As such it is ok, but very dated. It was only used a handful of times and I'd be surprised if you came across one nowadays.
BigBird Mk2 (2007)
As with the Mk2 747-200 the BigBird Mk2 is an illegal clone of the original Aeroclassics/BigBird mould. The nosegear often looks too short (they apparently sometimes used 1/500 scale gear!) and the front fuselage too slab sided, plus the wingroot is different. The mould was also used by Jet-X, in fact they used it more than BigBird Mk2 did. These are hard to find and not worth finding really!
Witty Wings (2008)
When Witty inherited the BigBird 747s they put the effort into making seamless versions of them - all of which were criminally underused, not helped by Witty's bankruptcy in 2014 after which they seemingly vanished. That has always been odd, especially as the inferior seamed moulds have continued to be used by JC Wings and other brands afterwards. Overall this has probably been the best 747-300 until 2025. This mould only received 3 releases - a pair of Orient Thai examples and a single Mahan Air version. The latter is nowadays quite sought after.
Phoenix Models (2009)
My distaste for the post 2009 Phoenix 747s is well known so I will simply point you to the page where I have previously discussed my dislike for them:
The best thing about this mould is that Phoenix have barely used it in the past 16 years, although sadly they did just announce a retailer driven VARIG example.
Jet Hut (2021)
De Agostini's JAL Collection magazine series also featured a 747-300, which only two usages. 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 (blocky wing join, seamlines, no aerials, static gear). Even so, the Jet Hut 747s are pretty poor.
HX Models (2025)
The appearance of the HX Models Boeing 747 moulds in 2024 has been a breath of fresh air. They are not perfect, but they are the only serious attempt to make a new 747 classic mould in the past 15 years. The 747-300 version has only appeared in 2025 and exists in two versions - one with the classic wing and one with the modified series 400 style wingjoin. The latter has an incorrect 747-400 wing without the winglets.
The Qantas Nalanji Dreaming version was reviewed recently here at the site:
The Qantas Nalanji Dreaming version was reviewed recently here at the site:
