Lockheed L-1011 Tristar 500 in 1/400 Scale
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Updated: March 2019
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The Tristar 500 was Lockheed's rather desperate attempt to match the range of the DC-10-30 by shrinking the standard Tristar and buying a weight decrease for range (like with the 747SP). It was the last variant of the Tristar but arrived too late to stop the DC-10-30 from taking the lion's share of long range tri-jet orders. In fact the series 500 didn't fly until October 16, 1978. It did gain significant orders, most notably from Pan Am, but also TAP Air Portugal and Royal Jordanian, however most operators already had standard Tristars. In later years the type found favour with charter operators like Air Transat and ATA.
Tristar 500s in 1/400 Scale
Only 50 Tristar 500s were built but that is still 1/5th of all Tristars made and there is a decent number of airlines that operated the type plus the RAF. 2019 is gearing up for a major resurgence of L-1011s and there are now 5 attempts at making a mould, the latest being a surprise announcement from Gemini Jets in late 2018 - see Cynical Spoiler or Great Tristar: Gemini's 500.
Like with the larger Tristars over 75% of the models made have been made by one manufacturer - at least their series 500 is better than their series 1 mould. Nonetheless two brand new Tristar 500 moulds are scheduled for 2019 and I suspect most collectors will be only too happy to discard their older series 500 representatives.
Like with the larger Tristars over 75% of the models made have been made by one manufacturer - at least their series 500 is better than their series 1 mould. Nonetheless two brand new Tristar 500 moulds are scheduled for 2019 and I suspect most collectors will be only too happy to discard their older series 500 representatives.
Below is the existing output of Tristar 500s as of March 2019:
Tristar 500 Variant
The differences between a Tristar 500 and it standard length sibling are larger than you may imagine. They include:
It is surprising how few of the manufacturers of 1:400 scale models seem to recognise all of these points! In fact to date only 1 has accurately produced a Tristar 500 at all.
- A decrease in length by just under 4 metres
- A redesigned and shorter forward and rear wing fairing where it meets the fuselage
- An increased wingspan (by an extra 3 metres) at the tip.
- The different middle engine / fuselage connector (shared with the L-1011-200)
It is surprising how few of the manufacturers of 1:400 scale models seem to recognise all of these points! In fact to date only 1 has accurately produced a Tristar 500 at all.
The extended fairing and shorter wing of a Tristar 1
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The rounded fairing and longer wingtip of a Tristar 500
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Above - a full lengthTristar 1 for comparison
Tristar 500 Moulds in 1/400
So let's take a look at the moulds, as always, in date order.
Gemini Jets (1999)
Gemini used their Tristar 500 only right at the beginning of their production and therefore all but 2 of the 7 releases have simple stalk landing gear without any nosegear doors. Otherwise it shares all the features of the standard Gemini Tristar - except for the tail. The tail is actually a massive improvement over the standard Tristar tail as they have redesigned the engine intake area, which not only has the new 500 style attachment but also has a much better curvature around it. Unfortunately as this mould shares the features of the standard Gemini Tristar it is also very inaccurate.
Not only does it use the shorter wings of a Tristar 1 but it has a huge seamline. To add insult to injury this seam follows the curvature of the fuselage/wing fairing of a standard Tristar rather than a Tristar 500. Oh and it's very ugly too! So Gemini only get 2 out of 4 of the characteristics of a Tristar 500 correct on this mould.
Gemini Jets (1999)
Gemini used their Tristar 500 only right at the beginning of their production and therefore all but 2 of the 7 releases have simple stalk landing gear without any nosegear doors. Otherwise it shares all the features of the standard Gemini Tristar - except for the tail. The tail is actually a massive improvement over the standard Tristar tail as they have redesigned the engine intake area, which not only has the new 500 style attachment but also has a much better curvature around it. Unfortunately as this mould shares the features of the standard Gemini Tristar it is also very inaccurate.
Not only does it use the shorter wings of a Tristar 1 but it has a huge seamline. To add insult to injury this seam follows the curvature of the fuselage/wing fairing of a standard Tristar rather than a Tristar 500. Oh and it's very ugly too! So Gemini only get 2 out of 4 of the characteristics of a Tristar 500 correct on this mould.
Dragon Wings (1999)
Dragon may have used their standard Tristar only 6 times but the short series 500 only got 4 run outs and 3 of those are Pan Am (one is a Jet-X release). Doubly annoying is that as very early releases the Pan Am examples have large ugly tyres on their already simple undercarriage. At least they can be removed and exchanged for smaller ones. The other model, a United example, is actually really nice and possibly the best Tristar 500 ever made in this scale. The nose on the Dragon 500 actually looks better than that on the Tristar 1 and they have upgraded an already good tail for this version well. Even better Dragon actually looked at the Tristar 500 and their version has not only the correct wings but the correct wing/fuselage fairings as well.
Such a shame the mould was never really used.
Dragon may have used their standard Tristar only 6 times but the short series 500 only got 4 run outs and 3 of those are Pan Am (one is a Jet-X release). Doubly annoying is that as very early releases the Pan Am examples have large ugly tyres on their already simple undercarriage. At least they can be removed and exchanged for smaller ones. The other model, a United example, is actually really nice and possibly the best Tristar 500 ever made in this scale. The nose on the Dragon 500 actually looks better than that on the Tristar 1 and they have upgraded an already good tail for this version well. Even better Dragon actually looked at the Tristar 500 and their version has not only the correct wings but the correct wing/fuselage fairings as well.
Such a shame the mould was never really used.
Herpa (2003-2005)
Agghhh bloody Herpa! Another one of their barely used 1:400 moulds, but in this case perhaps that is a good thing? The worst part of the model is the undercarriage legs, which look way too short, not that the gear looks any good anyway. The mould is seamless but this must be weighed up against a squarish nose and cockpit top line plus a poor middle engine / fuselage join. It is hard to tell whether they have made the wings the correct span but the fuselage/wing fairings look good. So this has the potential to be a decent mould with some tweaking of the nose and undercarriage. Of course it doesn't matter as it was used 4 times and then forgotten about.
Agghhh bloody Herpa! Another one of their barely used 1:400 moulds, but in this case perhaps that is a good thing? The worst part of the model is the undercarriage legs, which look way too short, not that the gear looks any good anyway. The mould is seamless but this must be weighed up against a squarish nose and cockpit top line plus a poor middle engine / fuselage join. It is hard to tell whether they have made the wings the correct span but the fuselage/wing fairings look good. So this has the potential to be a decent mould with some tweaking of the nose and undercarriage. Of course it doesn't matter as it was used 4 times and then forgotten about.
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Blue Box (2005-2007)
Onto Blue Box and after what I've said about their standard length Tristar you would expect further disappointment. With the series 500 however it is not so bad. The nose still isn't perfect but it looks better whilst the tail has had a complete redesign and now looks pretty good. The engine is still a bit too tall but they have fixed the lack of curvature and the engine/fuselage join to make one of the better Tristar tails. In fact this mould bears such a strong resemblance to the original Gemini Tristar 500 that I am almost tempted to think they are one and the same. Of course that means that the fuselage/wing fairing and wings are inaccurate just like on the original Gemini.
If anything the Blue Box series 500s are even rarer than the standard Tristars and they still had a silly tendency to release chrome and gold plated versions of some of the models. The cockpit printing does sometimes leave a bit to be desired but there are some nice examples for Pan Am and several other major operators out there. They have also released some very obscure, but welcome, liveries like Sudan, TAAG and Hew Bora too. What they haven't done is several really obvious models like British Airways, Air Lanka and Delta.
Onto Blue Box and after what I've said about their standard length Tristar you would expect further disappointment. With the series 500 however it is not so bad. The nose still isn't perfect but it looks better whilst the tail has had a complete redesign and now looks pretty good. The engine is still a bit too tall but they have fixed the lack of curvature and the engine/fuselage join to make one of the better Tristar tails. In fact this mould bears such a strong resemblance to the original Gemini Tristar 500 that I am almost tempted to think they are one and the same. Of course that means that the fuselage/wing fairing and wings are inaccurate just like on the original Gemini.
If anything the Blue Box series 500s are even rarer than the standard Tristars and they still had a silly tendency to release chrome and gold plated versions of some of the models. The cockpit printing does sometimes leave a bit to be desired but there are some nice examples for Pan Am and several other major operators out there. They have also released some very obscure, but welcome, liveries like Sudan, TAAG and Hew Bora too. What they haven't done is several really obvious models like British Airways, Air Lanka and Delta.
Gemini Jets / JC Wings (2018)
You would of course expect that any new Gemini Tristar would be a seamless mould (it is) and an accurate representation of the aircraft (it isn't). Gemini's own release photos showed that the mould has the same inaccuracies as their 1999 effort did. Basically it is a chimaera with the Tristar 1 wing and fuselage/wing fairing grafted onto a shortened Tristar 500 fuselage. These aren't the only issues as my detailed review discusses:
You would of course expect that any new Gemini Tristar would be a seamless mould (it is) and an accurate representation of the aircraft (it isn't). Gemini's own release photos showed that the mould has the same inaccuracies as their 1999 effort did. Basically it is a chimaera with the Tristar 1 wing and fuselage/wing fairing grafted onto a shortened Tristar 500 fuselage. These aren't the only issues as my detailed review discusses:
I am stunned that such lazy design work for a new mould can happen in this day and age. It is hard to see the Gemini Tristar 500 as anything but a spoiler for the upcoming Tristar moulds.
Tristar 500s in 2019
There are two upcoming moulds for the Tristar 500 from different manufacturers that will be available this year. Keep your eyes peeled at this site for more news.
There are two upcoming moulds for the Tristar 500 from different manufacturers that will be available this year. Keep your eyes peeled at this site for more news.