Boeing 747-8F NG Model Sample Mould

Boeing 747-8I/8F in 1:400 Scale by NG Models

PART 2: THE 748F SAMPLE

Modified: March 2023

Following on directly from the review of the passenger variant sample here I'll take a closer look at the freighter, which obviously shares the majority of the structure of the 747-8I aside from the hump size and form. Given the 8F was the primary seller and still offers a viable platform in that space it is likely to see substantially longer service than the 8I and gain the lion's share of new operators too. That means this mould will surely be the more utilised of the two samples NG have provided me with.

The New NG Models 747-8F Mould In Detail

As with the 8I the freighter comes with cockpit and all cargo doors printed, including the large nose cargo door and portside rear cargo door. Obviously this model is not interactive so the cargo doors are fixed in position.

Peter Bakema (GFDL 1.2 or GFDL 1.2 ), via Wikimedia Commons

NOSE, COCKPIT & HUMP

Luc Willems (GFDL 1.2 or GFDL 1.2 ), via Wikimedia Commons

As with the 747-8I I'm broadly content with the form of the nose region. I doubt it is perfect but it still looks very impressive to me, especially if you compare to other 747 moulds. The forehead above the cockpit concerns me more as it seems a little too tall and strongly arched.

This could be partly due to the cockpit printing, which is too low and not shaped very well, but even so I still think the curve is a little strong. See below for a modified view of the mould with better cockpit printing.

The hump itself has been a major area of concern with the JC Wings 747-8F and I am pleased to see that the NG hump has a more accurate form.

Below: I have crudely edited this photo to use the actual cockpit above placing it slightly higher. I have also increased the size of the nose cargo door slightly and I think it is an improvement:

Mark Harkin, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

WINGROOT, MAINGEAR, ENGINES & WINGS

These areas obviously match the 747-8I and so the freighter shares its excellent wing/fuselage join, engine pylons and nacelles. As before the maingear does not tilt.

The wingform is good too and the engine fans well detailed if, as with the 8I, the wrong way around.

Summary

I am broadly satisfied with the 747-8F mould but I do think it illustrates that the cockpit printing on these samples is too low and the windows not the right size. On the freighter this also impacts the size of the nose cargo door.

The forehead is still a little too pronounced but I would be surprised if that is modified before release and I can't say it is a major. For me the cockpit/nose cargo door print is the only additional point I'm going to add on top of the 3 issues (main deck print, fan blades and apu) that I raised on the first review.

Given the hump form issues on the JC Wings / Gemini version and the inferior tail profile, and the poor wing and tail join of the Phoenix version I'm happy that this will be the best 747-8F available to date.