Below is my view on the best 400 scale moulds for a selection of Airbus Industries types based on buying a lot of 400 scale models and looking at them in detail across many years. You may not agree but if you don't you should at least mount a sensible argument about why you don't!
NOTE: Just because a mould isn't the best it doesn't mean it isn't good and that you shouldn't buy it. I buy a wide range of good moulds for many of these types myself. In the end your collecting is up to you. Use the resources linked to below to get a better understanding of what is available.
The A330 market in 400 scale is full of good moulds, with the Phoenix series 300 being superb (the 200 has stabiliser issues), the Aeroclassics very good, and the JC Wings / Gemini and Aviation400 versions being ok. However, it is the NG Models and Panda versions that stand out to me as the best, although it appears Panda has lost access to its moulds.
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* Mould appears inactive
* A330-300 only
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FREIGHTER |
When it comes to the A330 freighter there are two active moulds but it appears that the mould once used by Panda Models has migrated to NG Models somehow. The JC Wings mould actually has a better nosegear blister but suffers from the issues that impact the standard JC Wings A330 - mainly due to undercarriage length and position.
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The A330neo is a mould that once again I suspect will gain several more moulds associated with it in the future and indeed Aviation400 are in the process of creating a new mould, a sample of which I have already reviewed. The two existing moulds both have issues but in detail the Gemini Jets / JC Wings mould is clearly superior.
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The A330-700 Beluga XL is a tough one because even though the NG Models version has a better mould it doesn't offer the excellent interactive features of the JC Wings version. I really like the interactive features so I'm minded to say these are drawing here.
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I'd say this one is a tie
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-200/300 |
The A340 gets a lot less attention than more modern Airbuses but as it shares a good chunk of its structure with the A330 it has benefitted from the good moulds developed for that type. Having said that it has been ignored when NG created their A330s. The majority of the existing moulds are decent and it is hard to really say one is much better than the other - or perhaps I just haven't done a detailed review of them yet!
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Arguably these are all very good and there isn't a clear winner. I probably preferred the Panda mould the most, but that appears to be inactive.
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-500/600 |
The later A340s have not got a lot of love in recent times due to their limited service histories. Fortunately at least one of the older moulds is superb so we aren't just stuck with old Dragon versions! This is of course the Phoenix A340-500/600, which are some of their best moulds and two of the few areas where Phoenix still excel.
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Another major battleground. The best A350 is currently that of NG Models on a purely points basis, however the Aviation400 version is excellent and the pair are very close together. The updated JC Wings / Gemini mould is good and the Phoenix is the worst of the bunch.
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The Phoenix A380 was for years comfortably the best in show, easily trouncing the old Gemini mould. However, 2022 brought the wonderful new Aviation400 mould - the first with detachable magnetic gear in 400 scale. It is excellent.
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