UPDATED: OCTOBER 2026
The Saab 340 began life as a joint venture between Saab of Sweden and Fairchild of the USA as the SF340. The type first flew on January 25, 1983 and would become one of the most important of the next-generation regional truboprops (competitors included the Embraer 120, ATR-42 and DHC-8) that would help transform the regional market from small niche air commuters to major network carrier aligned franchise partners. In 1985 Fairchild abandoned the project after completion of the first 40 units and the type became known as the Saab 340, but this had little impact on the aircraft’s success, which would eventually see 459 aircraft produced and the ultimately unsuccessful stretched Saab 2000. Impressively although production ended in 1999 by 2023 around 250 Saab 340s remained in service with many converted to freighters. 57 of these are in service with the Australian regional operator Rex Airlines.
Saab 340 1:400 Scale
The Saab 340 represents probably the smallest aircraft type made in die-cast in 400 scale – being even smaller than the DC-3 and Shorts 360. For discussion of the smallest moulds in the scale see here:
Given the aircraft’s small size it is surprising that it has a 400 scale mould at all, however it was lucky to benefit from JC Wings interest in regional aircraft during its early years as a brand. A second mould also exists for the type as one was produced for the De Agostini JAL Collection. Given the type’s small size production has been rather limited but has picked up somewhat in recent years.
THE REAL THING
The Saab 340 has a very standard monoplane form with low wing and two wing mounted engines. The nose has a sharply downward angle creating an assymetric profile while the vertical stabiliser has a fin fillet and the horizontal stabilisers have a strong dihedral. There are three main passenger variants, Saab 340A, 340B and 340B+ but the differences are largely related to engine power or internal changes. Certainly in 400 scale one mould is sufficient to cover them all.
THE MOULDS
JC Wings (2009)
The Saab 340 was one of several new regional moulds that appeared in the first wave of JC Wings models (other types included the Shorts 360, Fokker 50, DHC-8 and ATR-42). The early history of JC Wings, including these regional moulds has been discussed here at the website before. See:
Below: Some early Gemini Jets releases. Note how tiny the nosegear tyres are on these early versions.
Usage of the mould was shared between JC Wings and its partner Gemini Jets from the start, with Gemini focusing on the production of a range of US and UK commuters into 2013. JC Wings production was far more sporadic with only 4 models made in the same period. Gemini Jets continued to use the mould for the odd release (3 in 2018, 1 in 2022 and 1 in 2023) but it wasn’t until mid-2024 that the mould began to reappear more regularly.
So far 2026 has been the best year for the type to date with 6 releases, albeit 2 of them were announced in 2025, and the majority of these models have been made by JC Wings. JC also has a 200 scale version of the Saab and that has allowed both Gemini and JC to reuse artwork across both scales to reduce costs and produce multiple variants, several of which (Estonian Air, Brit Air, Air Nelson) have yet to see 400 scale releases.
The mould, in keeping with other early JC Wings regional types, is of a high quality with few issues even though it is a cradle mount casting. Nonetheless, there have been a few construction quality issues over the years – mostly some models that have been fitted with outsized nosegear tyres and at least one with the horizontal stabilisers fitted on backwards. The below Gemini Jets release from 2022 is most notorious for an over-sized nosegear tyre.
Recent releases have better sized nosegear tyres although they are still quite a lot larger than the original releases.
Examples of the mould used for both Gemini Jets and JC Wings have been reviewed here at the website in detail. See:
JET Models (2021)
The Saab 340 appeared twice in the De Agostini / JAL Collection magazine series, both times with a pair of models per issue. Considering the small size of the mould and simplicity of the JAL Collection moulds (made by JET HUT, now JET Models) the Saab is surprisingly decent. The biggest issue, which impacts many of their smaller moulds, is the size of the nosegear tyres. Cockpit printing was dismal across all the models as well.
The mould is inferior to the JC Wings version in most ways but if the cockpit and nose tyre sized were fixed it would be a perfectly respectable offering. In 2023 the mould reappeared for a quartet of China Southern examples produced under the Jet Hut brand.
