Lockheed L-188 Electra Moulds in 1/400 Scale
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Updated: July 2017
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During the 1950s it was far from clear that the pure jet was the future and many airline's and industry observers thought there would be an extended period of turboprops. This resulted in such great aircraft as the Viscount, Britannia, Vanguard, IL-18 and the Lockheed L-188 Electra II. Only the Viscount and IL-18 can be considered real successes, however initially the Electra sold well, with American Airlines the launch customer for 35 in June 1955. By the time the first aircraft flew in late 1957 Lockheed had accumulated orders for 129 aircraft with initial deliveries, to Eastern, beginning in October 1958. The type could seat 66-98 passengers and had excellent short field performance however initial aircraft suffered from noise and vibration in the forward cabin. This wasn't the only issue as between February 1959 and March 1960 three aircraft flew themselves apart in mid-air as a result of resonance vibrations from the engines. A costly modification programme fixed the aircraft, which were often renamed Electra II's (technically they were anyway as Lockheed's L-10 was already the Electra). Needless to say the bad press killed the type's sales and cost Lockheed a small fortune. In the end production ceased at 170 aircraft though most went on to give long service, especially as freighters. The type sold especially well in Australasia and South America however even without its well publicised issues it's hard to see how it could have competed against real short-haul jets like the Caravelle, One-Eleven and DC-9.
As of July 2017 in 1:400 there have been the following 122 releases (including 9 P-3 Orions which I won't be reviewing here):
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At various times there has been quite a bit of mould sharing though. None of the 5 moulds are perfect and this is one of the few categories of plane where it can be convincingly argued that Aeroclassics isn't the best.
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Aeroclassics Mould 1 (2000)
This is one of the first generation decaled Aeroclassics moulds and was used for 9 Aeroclassics and 1 Jet-X release. As with all the first generation moulds it really doesn't stand up to modern scrutiny. The undercarriage is very simplistic and there is a massive rearwards seam. These models were made in extremely small numbers so are no doubt very rare nowadays anyway.
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Aeroclassics Mould 2 (2004)
Between 2004 and 2015 Aeroclassics have made 66 releases on their updated Electra mould whilst Jet-X used the mould once in 2004 for a PSA release and Gemini once in 2005 for an American Airlines release. The mould has caught some flak ever since it was released and with some justification. The Aeroclassics release has been called tubby however I don't think that is actually the case. It is more that it is too short ahead of the wing. Looking at the photo comparison below this is quite clear to see. There are other issues too as detailed way back in 2006 by Gavin Miller:
- Cockpit glazing printed as an "arc" instead of flat panels (as they were in the 50s)
- Trailing edge of tail fin more vertical (and no curve at the bottom). Fin top has two distinct radii curves (not a single curve like AC version)
- Note shape of engines. Highest point of engine should be just behind the prop and sloping down towards the rear. AC version is too fat and "humped" in the middle.
Aeroclassics L-188 Mould Comparison
There is obviously also a fairly obvious fuselage seam and the nose shape though close isn't perfect either. Despite all these failings I have to say that I like the mould and own a lot of Aeroclassics Electras. I still think the spirit of the Electra is captured well even if these problems are present, but in reality the failings are plentiful. Aeroclassics has shown no interest in recreating the mould (they have updated it with rolling gears (see the KLM above)) and soo many Electra's have been released now I can't see anyone else stepping in with lots more so I have chosen to standardise my Electra fleet around this mould even with the failings.
Dragon Wings Mould (2004)
Dragon's Electra appeared the same year as Aeroclassics however they have only used the mould 7 times between 2004 and 2007 whilst Jet-X used it 6 times in 2004. In many ways the mould is much better than the Aeroclassics however something about it has never looked right to me and I've always preferred the Aeroclassics. I may now have to re-evaluate my opinion of it. As can be seen below the length of the Dragon mould better fits the reality and the tail shape is also better than the Aeroclassics. The cockpit windows are also printed as flat panels (though they're too large) and the overall engine shape is better. On the minus side the usual Dragon failings are present. The wings and engines look cheap with an obvious seam along the engines. The props and spinners are inferior to the Aeroclassics mould and the undercarriage and bay doors pretty tragic. The seam, though fitting the fuselage better than the Aeroclassics, is oddly very large and two stage continuing well beyond the rear passenger door.
Dragon's Electra appeared the same year as Aeroclassics however they have only used the mould 7 times between 2004 and 2007 whilst Jet-X used it 6 times in 2004. In many ways the mould is much better than the Aeroclassics however something about it has never looked right to me and I've always preferred the Aeroclassics. I may now have to re-evaluate my opinion of it. As can be seen below the length of the Dragon mould better fits the reality and the tail shape is also better than the Aeroclassics. The cockpit windows are also printed as flat panels (though they're too large) and the overall engine shape is better. On the minus side the usual Dragon failings are present. The wings and engines look cheap with an obvious seam along the engines. The props and spinners are inferior to the Aeroclassics mould and the undercarriage and bay doors pretty tragic. The seam, though fitting the fuselage better than the Aeroclassics, is oddly very large and two stage continuing well beyond the rear passenger door.
Dragon Wings L-188 Electra Comparison
Herpa Mould (2006)
If people think the Aeroclassics mould looks bad then they must think the Herpa mould looks appalling. It's incredibly bloated so that it looks too heavy for it gears. In addition the shape of the tail and engines is all over the place. Fortunately being Herpa the mould in 1:400 has only been used 3 times. In my opinion this is the worst of the moulds out there.
If people think the Aeroclassics mould looks bad then they must think the Herpa mould looks appalling. It's incredibly bloated so that it looks too heavy for it gears. In addition the shape of the tail and engines is all over the place. Fortunately being Herpa the mould in 1:400 has only been used 3 times. In my opinion this is the worst of the moulds out there.
Jet-X / JC-Wings Mould (2008-2012)
The new Jet-X split from Dragon and began to use moulds from the Witty and JC stable. In 2008 a new Electra appeared and this has been used 13 times by Jet-X and 6 times by JC-Wings. This is probably the best of the Electra moulds, though I have always thought that its fuselage was a bit too slim and long. The cockpit windows aren't printed as flat panels however the shape of the upper engines is correct as is the tail. The wing seam is also small and relatively discrete. I'm less impressed by the contouring of the engines sides which appear a bit slab-sided and the nosegear bay doors are too large and don't angle upwards. Additionally on some models Jet-X have done what they regularly did and printed the cockpit windows incorrectly. They certainly don't know what colour Ochre is - see the Braniff example below! However when they got it right this mould looks pretty good and I think I may track down some of the releases if I can.
Jet-X / JC Wings L-188 Comparison
Jet-X L-188 Electra Mould. Allegedly this is Ochre but in reality it is nothing like it