Exclusive: Aviation400's Next New Mould

Aviation400 have been making some really high quality models for several years now. Over the past few months I've struck up a relationship with Aviation400 and my contact there has told me that they are nearing completion of their latest new mould in 400 scale. He has given me permission to show a few early photos of the sample mould. In this post I'll look back at AV400 and the what the new mould means for 400 scale.

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AV400 Recap

Aviation400 reappeared as a brand in November 2017 as I reported at the time here:

The Return of Aviation400

AV400 A340-300

The initial releases were A330s and A340s but by December they had their new A350 on the scene and it has grown a strong following among collectors due to its superiority over those from Phoenix and JC Wings / Gemini Jets. I have used it as the basis for my A350 fleet and of the 18 A350s I own 12 are Aviation400.

AV400 A350s

This year Aviation400 have continued to acquire new fans. They were first to market with a variety of Airbus A330 MRTTs, which turned out very nicely. See below for my review of the RAAF example:

Royal Australian Air Force Airbus A330-203MRTT A39-003 by Aviation400

In addition they have also created a fine Boeing 777-300ER casting which has been getting greater usage in 2020. See below for my review of an Air China example:

Air China Boeing 777-39LER B-7973 by Aviation400

AV400 77Ws

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As it stands at the end of 2020 Aviation400 have the following moulds available to them:
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• Airbus A330-200/300/MRTT
• Airbus A340-300
• Airbus A350-900/1000
• Boeing 777-300ER

There are a couple of reasons why AV400 stand out from the crowd. Firstly, every model comes with a free plastic stand, and sometimes also with a pushback tug. Secondly, all the models are fitted with red navigation beacons. On the minus side some AV400 releases can take a while to appear after announcement. Not usually as long as with JC Wings but certainly often 3 or 4 months.

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AV400's Next New Mould

Images below provided by AV400 of early samples

It was little surprise to me to hear that AV400 are working on a new mould in 400 scale as they have gradually been building up their portfolio of popular widebodies, which compete well against the existing major players as well as newer offerings from NG Models. Given their existing mould catalogue it is not major surprise that the next new mould from AV400 will be a Boeing 787.

All three variants (787-8, -9 and -10) will be available and they will be up against some strong competition from the existing NG Models and JC Wings versions. They should comfortably be better than the Phoenix and Gemini offerings.

I admit to being rather disappointed that we are getting another new 787 when there are far more deserving aircraft out there in need of new moulds but you can't argue with the sales figures and clearly modern widebodies are the most saleable moulds in 400 scale.

AV400 have told me that they have identified weaknesses in the NG Models 787 (APU and maingear detail and wheelbase) and JC Wings' 787 (wing angle). It'll be interesting to see how the new mould comes out for them.

From the photos it looks like the mould is at the resin sample stage. AV400 tell me that the mould will be ready after Chinese New Year when the first releases will be announced.

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Wishlist

They did ask me what could be made and after looking through the existing production there didn't appear to be a huge amount that hadn't already been done. My suggestions angled towards unreleased models or ones that needed a new release. They were:

B787-8

Air Tanzania has never been made and Xiamen Airlines has had rather unsatisfactory releases from Phoenix and JC Wings.

dxme from Schweiz, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

B787-9

I don't believe either of these Suparna or Neos 787-9s have been made:

Anna Zvereva from Tallinn, Estonia, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

What 787s would you like to see made bearing in mind the substantial existing production?

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Summary

I currently own 21 Boeing 787 models and they only really hit my collection criteria in relation to Chinese models. There are already two superb 787 moulds, from NG and JC, and they together make up 17 of my 787s. I doubt I'll replace any of those with the new AV400 offering but I expect that is missing the point. The 787 clearly has many years ahead of it and 787s are very popular with collectors. If you want to be a major brand in the scale you need a 787 and this new trio of moulds can be seen as a further escalation of the ongoing movement of newer brands into space that has traditionally been held by Phoenix, Gemini Jets and JC Wings.