Boeing P-8 Poseidon Moulds in 1:400 Scale
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Modified: February 2025
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The P-8 Poseidon is a militarised Boeing 737-800 designed to replace the venerable P-3 Orion in the wide variety of maritime roles that the type has performed since the early 1960s. These include anti-aubmarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASUW), shipping interdiction, search and rescue, and fisheries protection roles. The design uses the fuselage and wing of the 737-800 but with new raked wingtips rather than the typical blended winglets of the 737NG. The other major differences are of course the many aerials and added lumps and bumps typical of military surveillance aircraft, plus a ventral weapons bay. Lastly to power the extra onboard electronics a new 180kVA electric generator has been added to the engines requiring a redesign of the nacelle and pylon.
Gemini Jets P-8 Poseidons
P-8s in 1:400 Scale & Real Life
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The P-8 has received 3 moulds, but only one of them actually really focuses on a particularly accurate version and usage has seemingly ended for all but one. Fortunately, it is the most accurate version that is still getting utilised.
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Darren Koch [GFDL 1.2 (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html) or GFDL 1.2 (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html)]
Balon Greyjoy, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
P-8 Poseidon Moulds
Dragon Wings (2011)
Dragon seemingly made a P-8 in 2011, but I can't find any photos of the actual model. The box art above suggests that they used their base 737-800 and didn't add any extra detailing to make a Poseidon.
Panda Models (2020)
All Panda version model photos are courtesy of Chris Ivins and used with permission. Thanks Chris.
In November 2019 Panda showed off some images of their new 737-800 mould's wing having retired their earlier 737-800 in April 2019, despite it being the 2nd best mould. Little to nothing was seen or heard of the newer 737-800 mould until this P-8 appeared.
It was therefore a little surprising that Panda announced the P-8 since this variant couldn't use any of the wings that Panda showed off in late 2019. The assumption was that Panda would use their new 737-800 mould suitably modified to be a P-8 and this does appear to be what they have done, to a degree anyway.
Panda announced a trio of P-8s (2 USN and 1 RAAF), but none have been released since.
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It is immediately obvious that while Panda have modified the basic 737-800 they have not gone the whole hog.
By my count the model is missing at least 13 aerials and bumps on one side alone. Some are printed on but are not in relief. Missing elements include the extra bump on the side of the engines housing the new electric generator.
Missing elements circled in red
Greater effort is made at the rear of the mould with a modified tail top and tailcone. On the underside the large dome just behind the wings on the ventral centre-line is present and the weapons-bay doors are printed. You can also see that the wingtips are correctly raked.
Gemini Jets (2020)
Considering that Gemini and JC persist in using a poor 737-800 mould the P-8 Posiedon casting here is a major relief. I would have hoped they could have modified it for a standard 737-800 because the base fuselage here is excellent. In addition Gemini have really gone to town on the extras that make the P-8 a military aircraft. The aircraft is littered with fairings, aerials, bumps and even wing hardpoints. It is seriously impressive. Additionally, the weapons bay is moulded in not just printed. If you're going to criticise then the rooftop aerials are a little large, but overall this is a great mould and massive improvement over the Panda effort.
By 2025 P-8s are operated by 7 Air Forces (RAAF, Indian Navy, RNZN, RNoAF, RKoN, RAF and USN) with two further operators coming in the future (RCAF and German Navy). There have been 5 400 scale releases covering 4 of the current operators (RAAF, RAF, RKoN and USN), but there's plenty of room for more models and we've seen only 1 model since 2022.