Boeing B-377 Stratocruiser in 1:400 Scale
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Updated: June 2016
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The mighty Strat was the most luxurious (though not most reliable) way to fly in the 1950s and has become almost synonymous with the post-war service and style offered in the pre-jet age by Pan Am, BOAC, Northwest, United and AOA. Only 56 were built but it has a pretty decent following in 1:400 thanks to Aeroclassics who have produced one of my favourite prop liner moulds for the Strat.
Here are some shots of the B-377 in action:
Here are some shots of the B-377 in action:
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Of the 15 models produced in 1:400 10 are from Aeroclassics and 5 are from Dragon Wings.
Dragon Wings (2005) - Used 5 times
Personally I am not a fan of the Dragon mould - ranking it as one of the poorer 1:400 moulds. As is fairly common with Dragon models the fitting of the tail and undercarriage is poor but the Dragon mould makes the B-377, admittedly hardly the most attractive plane to begin with, pretty dumpy and ugly. Having said that there are collectors who prefer it over the Aeroclassics mould as they think the tail is superior. Personally I can't see much difference but each to his own. Dragon also has only one mould so can never correctly show a radar equipped Strat - they had the nose blister radar on the chin.
Personally I am not a fan of the Dragon mould - ranking it as one of the poorer 1:400 moulds. As is fairly common with Dragon models the fitting of the tail and undercarriage is poor but the Dragon mould makes the B-377, admittedly hardly the most attractive plane to begin with, pretty dumpy and ugly. Having said that there are collectors who prefer it over the Aeroclassics mould as they think the tail is superior. Personally I can't see much difference but each to his own. Dragon also has only one mould so can never correctly show a radar equipped Strat - they had the nose blister radar on the chin.
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Above: Dragon Wings B-377s
Side by side comparison of the Aeroclassics and Dragon Strat Moulds
Aeroclassics B-377 Stratocruiser Mould
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Dragon Wings B-377 Stratocruiser Mould
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Aeroclassics (2009) - Used 10 times
I think this is a great mould. I can't really fault it myself. Even better AC produced two versions of the mould - one with weather radar and one without (see the Pan Ams and Northwest examples below to see the radar). This is something they have also done with their Convair-liners though they haven't always got its use correct with them. I wish the Connie had been made late enough for them to have done the same here to but that's another story. The only issue I have had with the Aeroclassics is that sometimes the wings have taken on a gull like effect where they are far too high at the tips. This has been fixable with some pushing of the wings at the joint but isn't ideal obviously.
I think this is a great mould. I can't really fault it myself. Even better AC produced two versions of the mould - one with weather radar and one without (see the Pan Ams and Northwest examples below to see the radar). This is something they have also done with their Convair-liners though they haven't always got its use correct with them. I wish the Connie had been made late enough for them to have done the same here to but that's another story. The only issue I have had with the Aeroclassics is that sometimes the wings have taken on a gull like effect where they are far too high at the tips. This has been fixable with some pushing of the wings at the joint but isn't ideal obviously.
The Future
There haven't been any Stratocruisers for several years now but according to Andrew Klein (Aeroclassic's head man) the Stratocruiser mould is still available. There are certainly a small number of releases that I'd like to see. These include the first BOAC natural metal scheme, Transocean Airlines (TALOA - who were a major non-sked and receipient of several aircraft at the end of the 1950s) plus both Pan Am schemes and the Northwest on the radar-less version of the mould:
There haven't been any Stratocruisers for several years now but according to Andrew Klein (Aeroclassic's head man) the Stratocruiser mould is still available. There are certainly a small number of releases that I'd like to see. These include the first BOAC natural metal scheme, Transocean Airlines (TALOA - who were a major non-sked and receipient of several aircraft at the end of the 1950s) plus both Pan Am schemes and the Northwest on the radar-less version of the mould:
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