Best 747-400 Mo(u)lds ?

stevenmao86194 · 02-24-2012, 03:53 AM

Hello,

I am just trying to compare the 747 moulds. As I don't really have many 747's in my collection, I can't really come out of the answer.

In my opinion, as I only have 747-400s from Dragon Wings, Phoenix, and BigBird Mk2. I would always avoid the 747s from Phoenix as they have really sharpened nose although they have the best landing gears. I have tried some search on the forum, and come up with the following details for each manufacturer.

Dragon Wings: -Right now the best 747-400 mould. Although I really like the plastic wings, many other collectors consider it as a drawback.
-Has the option of PW and GE engines.
-The new ones tend to have some problem with the printing of the cockpit level, whether too low or too high. An example would be China Airlines 50 Anniversary 747-400
-Possible risk of bubble paint for early releases.

Phoenix: -I personally think that the paint quality is better than DW.
-Avoid any skyteam liveries. PHX uses gray instead of silver for this livery
-Sharp noses...
-inaccurate cockpit printing
-has only GE engines. and use GE engines for planes that actually use PW engines.
-Quality Control is poor...

Big Bird Mk2: -Other than DW, one of the best mould in market.

For the following brands, I do not have any product from them.
So all the details I got were from the internet.

Hogan: -other than the ANA products, the Printing for Cargo doors seems to be no better than a simple square... no detail at all. But their ANA licensed products are amazing!
-Offers PW and GE engines.

JC Wings: -Only have GE Engines.
-Quality Control is poor... (Personal Experience)

Aviation400: -there is a kind of "depression" or "concave" on 747's hump.

C&C or Netmodels: -shares the same mould as Dragon Wings.
-poor quality control
-paint work is not as good compared with DW.
-Engines and wings quality are not as good as DW

I have no idea for Gemini Jets nor Inflight 400, but rumors are saying that Inflight 400's 747-400 shares the same mould of Aviation400s.

Any opinions?

My ranks on these moulds:

1. Dragon Wings
2. Big Bird Mk. 2

The rest I really dont have any idea.
But Phoenix's 747-400 will always be on my avoid list... I want a 747-400, bot a concord... (sharp nose)

haneto · 02-24-2012, 08:08 AM

You can take a look at the new released Inflight400 KLM 744, they are said to be the Aviation400 molds which seems to be an improved mold of the Aeroclassics/BigBird ones.

If you neglect the sub model types, then Aeroclassic/Bigbird 747-100 and 747-200 are the best 747 in 1/400 I believe.
The nose shape, the cockpit curve and the printed position just spot on!

I have also tried to collect many Phoenix 747 landing gears and replace the gears from my Aeroclassics/BB 747s.

Just my 2 cents,
Yufei

CXB77L · 02-24-2012, 08:36 AM

I agree with your assessement of DW, but where it has its downfall is the landing gear and the excessive dihedral angle. Actual 747s don't have such a massive dihedral angle. But the overall shape of the fuselage, wings and winglets are spot on.

I would argue, however, that BigBird Mk 1 is better than BigBird Mk 2.

BigBird Mk 1:

http://www.diecastaircraftforum.com/...view-8120.html
http://www.diecastaircraftforum.com/...view-3992.html

BigBird Mk 2:

http://www.diecastaircraftforum.com/...iew-20704.html
http://www.diecastaircraftforum.com/...iew-11884.html

To my eyes, at least, there's a noticeable difference in the shape of the winglets. BigBird Mk 1's winglets are better.

As for GeminiJets, their latest 747s are actually quite good. Older releases suffered from problems such as the number 1 engine pointing skyward. So I'd rank GJ's 744s third behind DW and Aeroclassics/BigBird Mk 1. I am aware that GJ's wing/pylon joint isn't great, however, but despite this, GJ's 744s are still way better than Phoenix.

Herpa/Hogan is disappointing - nose is too round, winglets are too big. It's a tough call as to which of Phoenix and Herpa/Hogan have the worst 744 mould on the market, in my view. Herpa Premium's 1:200s 744s are great. It's a shame it didn't translate to 400 scale well.

KLM B747-400F · 02-24-2012, 11:08 AM

I have several different B747 modells, few of DW and only one of GJ and a few of PH, but I like the DW best but the B748 mould of PH is also outstanding..

stevenmao86194 · 02-24-2012, 11:49 AM

CXB77L, What do you think about JC Wings' 747-400?

SgtMoody · 02-24-2012, 11:55 AM

Very nice write up steven. DW certainly has the best 744 mould out there. I shun the Phx 744 like plague even though they release many nice liveries, it just looks so odd. Phx's fantastic 748 mould just goes to show that they werent really trying on the 744.

stevenmao86194 · 02-24-2012, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SgtMoody

Very nice write up steven. DW certainly has the best 744 mould out there. I shun the Phx 744 like plague, it just looks so odd. Phx's fantastic 748 mould just goes to show that they werent really trying on the 744.

Totally Agree with you~ I was amazed when I saw Phoenix's 747-8. Their 747-400 is a disaster... I actually wanna sell my 2 last Phoenix 747-400 and get the Dragon Wings version... But Dragon Wings made China Airlines models are always really expensive...

stevenmao86194 · 07-20-2012, 10:04 PM

Any idea about the 747 classics?
I have always find the classics really charming~
Just got my first Aeroclassics 747-200 few months ago and it was amazing~
The DW version is cool too~
But what about other brands like Blue Box? And Idea?

dpy940307 · 07-22-2012, 12:39 AM

i actually like the gemini jets 747-400, there mould is not perfect, but i think is better than phx or dw

pianisthuy · 07-22-2012, 10:12 AM

For me DW mould is the best
I wish that DW mould come with PH, GJ or AV400 gear --> it will be the best 747 model

dongfanghong · 07-22-2012, 11:03 AM

I think the dragon wing B747 very lifelike, especially the arc of the production of plastic wings too good.

Phenix621 · 07-22-2012, 06:28 PM

Is there any way to swap the dw gear with phoenix gears?

Garuda747400 · 07-22-2012, 07:22 PM

What is the quality of hogan 747-400s in 1:400.

Are these plastic like herpa?

I am looking to get the phoenix oasis hong kong 744 but it doesnt come up very often (except when im selling) so the next choice could be the hogan version, should i buy one?

stevenmao86194 · 07-23-2012, 05:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Garuda747400

What is the quality of hogan 747-400s in 1:400.

Are these plastic like herpa?

I am looking to get the phoenix oasis hong kong 744 but it doesnt come up very often (except when im selling) so the next choice could be the hogan version, should i buy one?

Hello Garuda,

I personally think that Hogan's 747-400 is OK~ Not as superior as DW and BigBird, but better than the Phoenix version~

Below is a picture comparison thread of the China Airlines 747-400 Skyteam between Flyteline, which uses the old Aviation 400 mould, and Hogan's version.

http://www.diecastaircraftforum.com/...s-version.html

The most significant weakness of Hogan's mould is that the nose is too "round" for a 747-400.

Left is Flyteline (AV400 mould) Right is Hogan.

and the winglets are too thick~

Left is Flyteline (AV400 mould) Right is Hogan.

Other than that, I think that they are OK comparing to Phoenix's 747-400 which has a Concorde nose... plus weird looking Engines. (I assume that they are GE engines...)

stevenmao86194 · 07-23-2012, 05:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phenix621

Is there any way to swap the dw gear with phoenix gears?

I have seen some pictures of swapping the PHX gear to AC models, but not the DWs~

[Ô*´´]Haneto's Wing Stories¡ª¡ª²¨ÒôÁ¬ÔØ¿ªÊ¼
Thread 27~

Adrian · 07-23-2012, 05:44 AM

For me the best 747 classic is the BigBird400/Aeroclassics mould. These are now owned by Aviation400.No one has mentioned the Jet-X 747 moulds yet and both their 747-200 and -400 moulds are excellent. I have the JAL delivery scheme and they have just released four South African 747s -all superb!

chen1681 · 07-25-2012, 10:39 PM

I would rather buying Inflight400/GJ/DW which are still in production of 744. I have only one PH CI 744 "Skyteam" livery in my collection but if the same livery is released by other brands in the future I'll sell PH out and buy Inflight/DW/GJ one in.

stevenmao86194 · 07-26-2012, 04:02 AM

Hello Chen~
Yeah, I have given up on a CAL 747-200 made by Blue Box after researching on that Brand's reputation.
For the CAL Skyteam livery, you might wanna get the Flyteline version as it's mould is pretty much the same as the Inflight 400's. Hogan's is OK~ JC's color is too light~ PH is gray...

KaiTak · 03-12-2013, 04:07 PM

I have a question to these Jet-X 747's. Can anyone here tell me something about the quality of these models and the manufacturer in general? I've never had one of their models in my hand or heard anything about Jet-X and I'm now especially looking after a SAA/ SAL 747-400 (ZS-SAV) in 1:400. The models I found are high priced, so are they worth the money? I also hope a 747-300 o/c from SAA/ SAL will be released in the next few months.Thx!