The Best Airbus Moulds in 400 Scale - April 2022
See the Best Moulds page for a breakdown of what this page is trying to achieve. In brief below is my view on the best 400 scale moulds for 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.
A300-A320NEO
Aeroclassics A310s
Among the older Airbuses there isn't much competition and both the Aeroclassics moulds for the A300 and A310 are excellent. It'll be interesting to see how the new upcoming JC Wings A310 compares.
For the A320 series (excluding the A321) the Panda A320, seemingly derived from the Aeroclassics version, has been updated and improved. The Aeroclassics mould is obviously good too but their undercarriage remains weak and still no aerials. The other older moulds (Phoenix and JC Wings / Gemini) are definitely weaker but the newest from NG Models is excellent too. Aviation400 has A320 series mould in development as well so for the first time ever there should be plenty of decent A320s about. The Herpa A318 is distinctly ordinary but has had little competition until NG Models new mould, which is definitely going to be superior.
Aeroclassics A320s
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A321-A330NEO
HYJL Wings / NG Models A321s
The A321 is an area of much competition. The HYJL Wings mould (used previously by NG Models) and the Panda Models moulds are both excellent and very similar (although there are differences). The Phoenix and Aeroclassics versions all have issues, especially with wing structure, and the JC Wings/ Gemini version suffers from being an extension of their weak A320. The new NG Models mould is excellent.
Panda Models A330s
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 are the best. The A330NEO market only has two entrants and I think the JC Wings mould trounces the Phoenix.
Panda Models A330Fs
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A340-BELUGA XL
Aeroclassics A340s
The A340 gets a lot less attention than more modern Airbuses and once again, as with the A330, most of the existing moulds are decent and I'd get any of them. The Phoenix A340-500/600s are some of their best moulds and benefit from sharing components with their excellent A330s.
The Beluga XL has two fine moulds with different details to them. While the NG version is the better mould the JC Wings edition is interactive making it a tough choice.
The Beluga XL has two fine moulds with different details to them. While the NG version is the better mould the JC Wings edition is interactive making it a tough choice.
NG Models Beluga XL Samples
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A350-A380
Aviation400 A350s
Another major battleground. The best A350 is currently that of NG Models on a purely points basis, however the Aviation400 version is excellent. The updated JC Wings / Gemini mould is good and the Phoenix is the worst of the bunch. Phoenix have owned the A380 space for a long time, although the upcoming Aviation400 looks like it is superior in detail.
JC Wings A380s
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