The Ilyushin Il-76 & Beriev A-50 in 400 Scale
Updated: September 2024
The Soviet-era produced vast numbers of aircraft but very few of them have garnered much respect in the Western world. One that definitely has is the Ilyushin Il-76, although admittedly it is a military type first and a civilian aircraft second. NATO gave it the codename 'Candid' and though far from a looker it has proven its worth over the years as a very effective all purpose transport aircraft - almost like a pure-jet Hercules. The type first flew in March 1971 and was designed as an Antonov AN-12 replacement capable of operating into unprepared airstrips in inhospitable regions and weather.
Two Aeroclassics Il-76s. Note the different tail root configurations
Well over 900 aircraft were produced with production running into the late 1990s, after a service entry in 1974. The majority of aircraft were manufactured in Tashkent in what is now Uzbekistan. Over 80 have seen service with Aeroflot since 1976 and many more with the Soviet Air Force – often themselves carrying Aeroflot colours. Indeed the type was the workhorse of the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan accounting for 89% of troops and 74% of cargo lifted into the nation between 1979 and 91. By 2006 the Soviet Air Force still operated over 200 aircraft including AEW and tanker variants.
Outside of Russia the type has seen widespread use in Russian friendly air forces as well as a variety of airline operators often of dubious character. In 400 scale it has received more attention than the An-12 it was designed to replace, with two brands producing moulds for it.
Below: The two main moulds for the Il-76 side-by-side illustrating how similar they are to each other and how good they look. Aeroclassics on the left and Witty Wings on the right. Note the different tail root configuration.
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For more information on the Il-76 the bible for the type is surely Yefim Gordon and Dmitriy Komissarov's Aerofax edition:
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Ilyushin Il-76 in 400 Scale
The Il-76 debuted surprisingly early in 400 scale with the Aeroclassics release appearing in 2003. Use was fairly sporadic between 2003 and 2006. The mould only reappeared once Witty Wings released their own version (almost certainly cloned from the Aeroclassics edition) in 2013. Witty production was focused entirely in 2013/2014 as they went bankrupt at the end of the year. Presumably, the mould was part of the inventory sold to JC Wings when they purchased the Witty assets, but it has not been seen since. The Aeroclassics edition also vanished and has only reappeared twice - once for a PLAAF edition in 2020 and once for a model of the prototype, produced for Yu ModeL in 2022.
There has also been a third mould made by Model Power / Del Prado, which has been used once for a Cubana version. The brand and mould are not up to the same quality as standard 400 scale but are diecast and can do a job. There has been a good analysis of the Del Prado mould by Mark Bouma over at YV400 so I recommend checking that out:
Versions
As with most Russian transport aircraft there have been lots of variants of the Il-76 most, but not all, of which are militarised. in 400 scale, ignoring the Beriev A-50 Mainstay AWACs platform, the most important aspect is the configration at the tailbase. Military versions typically came equipped with a tail gunner's station but even some civilian machines had this feature too and many military aircraft were subsequently demilitarised so have the gunner's station but without the guns and radar. In the below pictures you can see the different configuration at the root of the vertical stabiliser. Both of these versions are available with the Aeroclassics and Witty/Apollo moulds.
Christian Volpati (GFDL 1.2 or GFDL 1.2 ), via Wikimedia Commons
Kookylooky, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Mould Usage
AEROCLASSICS (2003)
The Aeroclassics Il-76 is very impressive, considering that it dates all the way from 2003. The nose could definitely be pointier but otherwise it stands up well in 2024. There have been 24 models branded as Aeroclassics but that amounts to a much smaller range of operators than you might think, as a lot have been in the colours of Aeroflot (5) and the Chinese Air Force / PLAAF (4).
AEROCLASSICS BERIEV A-50 MAINSTAYS
Aeroclassics produced a pair of Beriev A-50 Mainstays. They are very nice but don't replicate the real aircraft especially well. They obviously include the large AWACs dome but ignore the wingtip pods, the dome ahead of the wing and didn't even include the gunner's position at the rear despite having the mould for that part.
![VVS - Il-76AEW - CCCP-76456 [Zhukowsky 8.95]](https://live.staticflickr.com/5579/14830153538_47406b5824_c.jpg)
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The latest usage of the mould was for Yu ModeL, who have been making a range of mainly Chinese models, but did make this one Russian prototype Il-76.
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Witty Wings / Apollo (2013/14)
The Witty Wings mould is basically identical to the Aeroclassics edition with the only noticeable differences being the slightly larger tyres and presence of a standhole. Witty's predecessor, the first Aviation400 had been accused of stealing and cloning several Aeroclassics moulds after the move of production by Aeroclassics away from the Jinbo factory Witty Industrial owned.
When it comes to the usage of the Il-76 Witty did well, producing nearly as many models in 2 years as Aeroclassics has in 20. They made a total of 20 models and were willing to modify the mould to make more accurate variants such as the Il-76MD-90A, much more accurate A-50s and a KJ-2000 (the Chinese AWACs platform).
Below: The Chinese KJ-2000 has no wingtip pods but does have larger ventral fins. Witty went the distance with their version.
A lot of the models produced were similar to Aeroclassics releases but there were also some unique models for operators such as the Ukrainian Air Force.
Below: Another unique Witty mould is the Il-76MD-90A fitted with the PS-90 engines, much larger than on older Il-76s.
Below: As you can see the Witty A-50, in the foreground here, is a lot more accurate than the Aeroclassics editions in the background. It features the wingtip pods, before wing dome and correct tail, plus it has more detailing on the AWACs dome too.
The Future
There has been a big increase in interest from manufacturers in Soviet-era aircraft so it wouldn't surprise me to see a new Il-76 being produced from the likes of Patriot Models or HX Models. Indeed, the recent Shanghai fair did showcase a 200 scale version so it wouldn't surprise me at all to see a new 400 scale mould following that.