UPDATED: OCTOBER 2026
Competition remains very strong in the Airbus A330-200/300 space in 400 scale despite the replacement of the CEO version by the NEO. In 2026 there are currently 6 moulds available from the following manufacturers: Aeroclassics, Aviation400, JC Wings / Gemini Jets, Kylin Model, NG Models and Phoenix Model. The Kylin Model and NG Models versions are the newest with the latter having been redesigned recently to remove the underside standhole. Of all the existing moulds the JC Wings and Aviation400 versions are the weakest but with Aviation400 gradually applying their signature magnetic detachable landing gear to their moulds it has also given them the opportunity to upgrade their A330, and they have been kind enough to send me through a sample.
The Previous Aviation400 A330 Moulds
The original Aviation400 Airbus A330 debuted in 2017, and came in series 200 and 300 versions, but has only been used 72 times. Its usage has been in two periods:
2017-2022
The first 29 releases appeared in a 5 year period and 20 of those were civil versions that entirely featured Chinese or Taiwanese airlines. I own a pair of these from 2019 – a single series 200 and a single series 300. For a list of these early releases see:
An additional 9 models were made as military A330s 8 of which featured extensive add-ons to recreate A330MRTT and Voyager versions. For a list of production of these see:
2025-2026
The AV400 A330s disappeared in the years 2022-2024 before reappearing last year. The 18 models made in 2025 once again featured entirely Chinese airlines but among the 19 released in 2026 there has been a greater diversity including airlines such as Air Canada, Delta, Fiji Airways, KLM, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar and Virgin Atlantic. For a list of these releases see:
While the military A330s were generally well received the overall mould has been considered to be quite weak due to the overly rounded nose region and lack of the nose-down aspect characteristic of the type. Given the high amount of Chinese airline releases its exposure in the West until recently has been limited.
NEOs to New CEOs
Aviation400 debuted a new A330-900NEO mould in 2023 and while I was quite critical of the forward fuselage especially by 2024 it has been reworked and nowadays looks significantly better. This mould also comes with the mag gear so it was inevitable that AV400 would eventually get around to also upgrading their A330CEO, no doubt using the experience gained from work on the NEO. The below Senegal A330-900 was reviewed here at the site in 2024 – see:
The sample provided is fitted with the mag gear although this obviously comes from the recent Sunclass A330-900 release since it has KP on the nosegear door. I expect that the undercarriage will stay unchanged from that currently used on the NEO mould.
The sample is fitted with the Rolls-Royce Trent engines, which given their fully printed look are from a previous release. They are also not equipped with fanblades. Again I suspect there are no changes to the engines, which will remain the same as earlier versions.
Given the above this review will focus on the fuselage barrel and control surfaces.
The Sample
A comparison with a real A330-300 from the side is promising. The overall stance of the model is good with the usage of the A330NEO undercarriage providing the correct nosedown stance. My gripe with the undercarriage is that the nosegear tyre hub is too small, but that’s not major.
Compared to the original Aviation400 A330 (below) the new mould definitely has a better nosedown attitude due to the new mag gear, but also noticeably has redesigned engine pylons meaning the engines are held more level. It also has a new nose profile.
The sample does not come fitted with the AV400 standard navigation beacons so I can’t critique those, however hopefully they will be smaller than those on the older A330s, as on those they were rather tall. Presmably they will be similar to those now fitted to the A330NEOs, which are better sized.
NOSE
For me this was always the region of the original mould that was the weakest and led to me ruling it out of contention. It is difficult without cockpit printing to fully understand the strength of the new mould’s revamped nose, but it appears to strongly resemble that of the AV400 A330NEO, which I consider to be good but not perfect. It is certainly a major improvement over the original AV400 A330. The photos unfortunately, don’t show up the sculpting of the cockpit area well but I am confident that printed well the nose will look good.
WINGS / WINGJOIN
The wings were never an area of real concern for the mould and as far as I can see this area of the mould remains unchanged. The only inaccuracy I can see is that the forward wingjoin is not as downward curved or long as it might be. It is certainly more rounded than on the NG mould.
Aside from that the wings look great and very similar to both the real thing and competing NG mould.
ENGINE PYLONS
Whereas the engines are seemingly to be reused from the earlier mould the engine pylons have been redesigned to remove the overly long rear margin that meant those on the original mould tended to point a little upwards. In partnership with the new maingear it significantly improves the overall stance of the model.
UNDERSIDE
The only change I can see on the underside is that the standhole has been reformatted to be triangular in keeping with other recently modified AV400 moulds such as the A350s and A380s.
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WALK AROUND
GEARS UP
Obviously this model comes with the magnetic gear so can be displayed gears-up on the stand provided. The sample didn’t come with the gears-up door elements.
Summary
Aviation400 continue to offer features that other 400 scale brands do not, such as the magnetic detachable gear and the navigation beacons. These features, as well as spinning fanblades and pivoting maingear units, can split opinion although they seem to have been generally well-received by the majority of collectors. For those looking for more realism and less features the NG Models A330 is probably more suitable. Personally I am a fan of the magnetic gear and beacons but less so of the AV400 engine fans, which tend to be less realistic and thinner.
This A330 is definitely a major upgrade on the original AV400 mould and with its new nose and pylons is one I would strongly consider for future purchases. The only area I would like AV400 to modify is actually the diameter of the nosegear tyre hub, which I think should be larger. I will reserve opinion on how this mould compares to other A330s on the market until the first printed examples are available so stay tuned for future mould comparisons for the type.