When Aviation400 released their first A380s in 2023 the mould was a breath of fresh air and high quality in the scale. Since then, there has been a surprising amount of new development in the A380 space considering the aircraft is long out of real-world production. I have followed and commentated on the new A380s but in mid-2026 how does the Aviation400 version now stack up and what has changed with it? This April 2026 is one of the latest releases from Aviation400 so let’s take a look.
Each review is to split into three key areas:
- The model mould
- The paint and livery reproduction
- Printing and quality control
Each section can get a maximum score of 10 for a maximum combined score of 30
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MOULD
The last time I reviewed an Aviation400 A380 was in mid-2025 and I said I didn’t see the need for a new A380 mould anytime soon. Of course, that has never stopped 400 scale brands and lo and behold since then there have been 2 all new 400 scale A380s produced – from HX Models and NG Models. Additionally, Apollo Models is back on the scene using the older Witty Wings mould.
That means there are now 6 active A380 moulds (AV400, GJ/JC, HX, NG, PHX and Apollo) and over 60 models have been announced or released in the past 18 months. Aviation400 has used its mould very well and of the over 570 A380s made in the scale 66 are from them in less than 4 years. This means they have covered the majority of subjects and potentially it allows you as a collector to focus on one mould over another.
In my view a focus on the Aviation400 A380 is a sensible choice as despite the arrival of the two new moulds it remains either at or near top of the class. All the moulds have strengths and weaknesses but the detailed review of the moulds I undertook in March still had the Aviation400 winning on points, albeit the scores were within margin of error territory. For that detailed scoring see:
The fuselage barrel is fabulous from nose to tail. At the nosecone I can see no fault, and this is an area where it is definitely superior to the new NG Models and HX Models versions. Although NG may modify their A380 they sent me the sample at such a late stage that there’s no chance they have been able to modify the first releases and the NG nose form is definitely an area that could do with some tweaks.
Fuselage detailing as you move rearwards is also excellent. Obviously, this version includes the trademark AV400 beacon lights and there is good detailing on the underside of the RAM Air Inlets and maingear doors. Interestingly the RAM Air Outlet doors on the inner wing underside are not moulded in and neither are the long square ended underwing strakes, both of which are present on the NG and HX.
The wing itself has excellent structural detailing and dihedral. Unlike the NG mould it also correctly moulds in the fuel dump pipe on the second outermost flap track fairing – NG have it incorrectly on the third outermost.
The engines are another area of strength and look very good, however the exhaust shock cones are a little large and there are only 18 rather than 24 fanblades in the hollowcore engines. That doesn’t really detract from how they look and the shape of the fanblades is good, as is the engine pylon and nacelle.
At the tailcone the detailing is good and the bladed ending correctly smaller than on the HX. Along the fuselage roofline there are 3 separate raised fairings and 3 finely sized aerials in addition to the paired beacon lights.
Maingear spacing is a challenge for all the A380 moulds and has been an ongoing issue for the AV400. An improvement was made to increase the overlap of the inner and outer gear trucks by increasing spacing between tyres on the inner trucks. This does give a better overlap, but at the expense of the tyres being spaced too far apart. Even so, the magnetic undercarriage that Aviation400 provides, including gear up elements, supplies a real edge over the other 400 scale A380s and is superb.
There are minor nitpicks I can identify with this mould, but none that really detract significantly from the overall impression of an excellent A380. In key areas, such as the nose, tailcone, wing and engine form it is very competitive and with the addition of AV400’s beacon lights and mag gear it is my first choice for the A380 still. Now I’ve looked in such detail at all the A380s a 9 is perhaps more appropriate than a 10 for this version, but it is very strong.
SCORE – 9
PAINT & LIVERY
Richard Branson famously said that ‘The quickest way to become a millionaire in the airline industry is to start out as a billionaire’ and I can’t help but feel this adage is very relevant for Global Airlines – a venture that was destined for failure from the off. Even though I’d love to see new usages for the A380 fleet the reality of creating a new transatlantic A380 operator was never likely to be achievable no matter how much cash was thrown at it. After 4 flights across the pond the airline’s only aircraft was put into storage and I doubt we’ll ever see it fly for Global again!
Nonetheless, Global did get a surprisingly long way towards real operations considering its rather fanciful business model. That included the Hi Fly Malta owned ex-China Southern A380 9H-GLOBL being painted into a rather austere, but smart, Global scheme. I admit I rather like the livery, which features different globes on either side of the tailfin.
AV400 recreate the livery with ease. The two globes look great and correctly have Greenland and Australia in red with the rest of the planet in blue. The bright red tailfin and winglets stand out nicely and the billboard titles are well sized and shaped.
SCORE – 10
PRINTING & QUALITY CONTROL
Printing is very nice on the model. There’s plenty of it and it is finely done. From a paint perspective a nice touch is that the inner engine cowlings have mismatched grey and white portions (white front and grey rear on the starboard engine and the reverse on the portside), which shows nice attention to detail with the real thing.
With such a good A380 mould it is towards the extras that AV400 has looked to add value and compete with the HX Models A380, which comes with a nice stand. Previously AV400 models came only with a generic black plastic stand, but now they have a much nicer all metal, customised stand featuring a similar screwstyle construction to the HX version.
The base of the stand is shaped differently to the HX and has a larger footprint, but the attachment to the fuselage is triangular like the HX. This has necessitated a plastic insert to the model’s circular standhole, but it all works well. It is a top-quality addition to the model and impressively they have worked out a way to store it properly in the box, something that HX have not done (the HX stand is loose packed in a plastic bag and often rattles around and breaks free during transit).
Build quality is very good and incredibly I have never had an issue with the detachable mag gear components, which always fit well and are well built. The only minor complaint I have seen with the A380 is that the nosegear leg has a slight tendency to angle rearwards, although this can be easily corrected.
SCORE – 9
CONCLUSION
There has definitely been a stratification of 400 scale in recent years, with more top-end premium brands and at the lower end of the market more low-cost brands too. Aviation400 definitely fits into the upper strata and now finds itself competing with NG Models and HX Models in the A380 space, a challenge made all the more difficult by HX’s competitive pricing. At the lower end of the market is Apollo’s A380 with the traditional contenders of JC Wings, Gemini Jets and Phoenix somewhere in between. To help it compete AV400 has upgraded their stands and certainly the complete package of arguably the best A380 in the scale, with mag gear and a nice metal stand, is a compelling one. They remain my go to for the superjumbo but have strong competition.
FINAL SCORE – 28/30
