1:500 models comparison and models review.

[Charter]

Hi everyone, this thread is for models comparison and models review. The 1:500 scale isn't comparable to the 1:400 scale in terms of its proximity to perfection, and this isn't expected of Herpa, Aether Models or future brand manufacturers. This is because the surface area to work with is very small, especially for narrowbodies and regionals, and some details simply can't be reproduced. Widebodies are certainly easier to create well-made models. The smaller scale, however, doesn't rule out the possibility of being able to, and above all, having to, create almost perfect models, because we collectors want and demand it, and because the now astronomical prices also demand it.
In the past, Herpa has accustomed 1:500 scale collectors to living with truly gross errors: missing fuselage windows, incomplete aircraft registrations, incorrect or backwards printed airline names, even a B747-400ERF with a B747-300F fuselage (Cargolux B747F "50th Anniversary retro livery), incorrect engines, and completely incorrect cockpit windows in terms of position and size.
The most common errors are the wrong livery colors, the wrong geometric shapes of special liveries (but also normal liveries) etc.
Then there are the molds for the various models: for decades, Herpa has marketed models with the wrong nose section and continues to do so with some models, such as the A350, even though much has been improved. It's true that modifying a mold is expensive and time-consuming, and every modification must necessarily have a financial return.
Previous brands like Netmodels, Aero500, Big Bird, Sky500, Starjets, and Inflight500 have accustomed us to better-made models with fewer errors and molds that are much more similar to the original aircraft, such as the legendary MD-11 from Starjets or the DC-10s from Inflight500.
For all these reasons, reviews and comparisons of 1:500 models cannot be like the reviews conducted by Richard Stretton (YesterAirlines) with a perfect architecture for 1:400 models and really wonderful (even if since i joined this beautiful website and met new 1:400 collectors i started to better understand like 1:400 scale is not the Holy Grail and even with bigger scale the flaws and errors, even shameful, are common. But, as many times already said, in 1:400 scale there are so many brand and manufacturers that everyone can have pleasure collecting good, decent and almost perfect models). Richard shares a real love and abnegation for 1:400 world and this Is reflected on his reviews. Really beautiful! At 1:500 scale, we still need to be sure that all the essential details are present to call a model "acceptable," then we move on to deciding whether it's decent, fair, well-made, or wonderful.
Collecting in both 1:500 and 1:400 scales can be summarized in three main parts:
1) collecting to own a model, whether beautiful or ugly;
2) collecting with an eye for the type of model and how it's made (the majority of collectors);
3) collecting with aspirations for perfection. In this last area, those who collect only perfect or nearly perfect models don't manage to buy more than twenty models a year!
Thanks for the appreciation, stay tuned.

 

[Charter]

Here some of the "Strange Things" (really, like the Netflix series) happened in 1:500 scale and not only because of Herpa flaws and missing quality check.
Turkish Airlines A320 retro livery, the nose gear wheel not perfectly rounded


C&C was famous for "Frankenstein" models, like its B737-200 with -300 version engines and -200 version tail fin and, vice versa, -200 version engines and -300 version tail fin.
I have bought two decend OG easyJet B737-700.
(Photo by web)


Herpa Titan Airways Bae 146-200(QC) G-ZAPN. Herpa produced a couple of Bae 146-200QC (Quick Change = Cargo and Passenger) but both never producing a Bae 146-200 mould! The manufacturer used the -300 version producing a fantasy model. A real pity. (Photo by web)



There are minor flaws like typo errors on the box (Austrian)

or on the fuselage (Clipper Spark of the Ocean, Pan Am B747-100 N735PA)


not perfect registration (photo by web)

deleted door lines (photo by web)

 

[Charter]

Nose gear mounted backwards


wrong position of the exit doors and tail logo
(here RJ E190)



an awful Tu-204/214 nose section with everything wrong



lemon tree livery of the Saudia A330-300

 

[BubblesAviation]

Nose gear mounted backwards
View attachment 73204

wrong position of the exit doors and tail logo
(here RJ E190)
View attachment 73205
View attachment 73206View attachment 73207

an awful Tu-204/214 nose section with everything wrong
View attachment 73208
View attachment 73211

lemon tree livery of the Saudia A330-300
View attachment 73209
View attachment 73213

That Saudia is terrible!

 

[Charter]

Not only Herpa but also other brands delivered wrong models. Aeroclassics/Aero500 produced up to ten ANA, United Airlines, Singapore Airlines B777s "Star Alliance" livery with a shameful decals glued on the fuselage,
5Stars produced the TNT B747-400F OO-THA with the B747-300BCF top fuselage, Herpa answered with the Cargolux B747-400ERF LX-NCL "50th Anniversary retro livery" with the wrong top fuselage



Herpa put in commerce and Air China A330-200 "Forbidden Pavillon" with "Herpa" written and logo printed on the rear part of the fuselage (i got it!), Hogan produced nice models but without registration (why???), a KLM B787-9 delivered with the wrong KLM logo and written tampo print,
the dark grey of Qatar Airways B787-9


and the masterpiece of wrong model with the Qantas A220-300 special livery



This a panorama of the main errors, flaws, monsters, Frankensteins, missing quality check, nonsense, shames of 1:500 models.
For these models it is not possible to make a review simply because the models are rubbish.
My first review will be about Aether Model IndiGo B787-9.

 

[Charter]

Let me start with Aether Model IndiGo B787-9 LN-FNC.
This airplane flew with Indian IndiGo fleet from February 2025 to March 2026 wearing Norse Atlantic Airways livery but with IndiGo written. Now returned to Norse as LN-FNC in full Norse livery.
Here the model i am considering



1) Seat windows, doors, airline written Port side.
After the section with the written IndiGo among the first and the second exit door (see below) there are 23 seat windows, exit door and 14 seat windows, space, two seat windows + two more "closed" seat windows and the last exit door. All seems perfect. Norwegian flag and the registration LN-FNC are placed perfectly. The exit doors are beautiful and there are all the possible details. everything can appear "flattened" on the model fuselage but this is natural because of the small scale.




About the IndiGo written section on the fuselage two things are clear: in the real airplane the written seems "added" to the fuselage and the different shade of white paint is clearly visible. The second is that the seat window on the I of Indigo is not present while on the 1:500 model is present. While the slight different shade of white of the indiGo written applied on the fuselage is something really not important and extremely difficult to reproduce, the presence of the window on the I is a mistake! Then the windows disposition on the letters: if you look at the n d i G o the 3 + 3 + 1 + 1 - 2 + 1 (middle among G and o) + 2 windows are placed almost perfectly over the letters. A great hob! Even the written IndiGo is replaced almost perfectly. The blue could be too light on the 1:500 model even considering all the necessary things comparing different pics of a 1:500 model in my hand with natural sunlight filtered by windows, angle, focus etc. and pics of a 1:1 airplane. Considering everything and excluding all the possible "parallax" errors for me the blue seems too light. Great the reproduction of the fuselage details below the written.



(PART 1)

 

[Charter]

2) Rear part of the fuselage.
Starting from the light blue strip, representing the "dragon tail ornament from the stern of a Viking ship", all the structure of the strip is welle represented in dimension, unfolding along the fuselage and passing under the rudder, positioning along the fuselage with the "bow" that rounds slightly above the middle of the tail fin. Almost perfect even the light blue shade.
The blue section of the fuselage is well done with an almost perfect shade, Dreamliner written + logo perfectly placed horizontally, maybe too low respect the light blue strip but not noticeable. The blue section technically finishes on the belly section below the first window on the left (the first window after the exit door) so the result is good.
The little cargo door is well placed even if in the real airplane seems not to have white edges.



Looking at the blue section of the fuselage and at the exit door there are some problems. Considering the real aircraft it seems clear that the exit door on 1:500 scale model is moved backwards and there is a white horizontal line not existing in the real aircraft. On the 1:500 model the blue line going from the end of the tail to the conjunction with the light blue strip is too rounded while on the real airplane the curve is more harmonious and makes a natural continuation of the blue line that goes down from the front section of the tail fin. The disposition of the forur windows and especially of the second window of the four from the left is good (the window cuts the line) but for this error in the realization of the blue line curvature the manufacturer necessarily had to put the exit door backwords preventing the door from exiting the blue section.
Dark blue maybe too dark respect the real airplane? Just maybe. Tail cone perfect.



Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine: almost perfectly produced and even the small details on the engine are beautiful even if the red rectangle is too low respect RR logo.



Nose section.
The cockpit windows are well realized but placed too low and this creates a weird upper part of the fuselage. This is a mistake! The second mistake os a pinty nose: the radome radar section is not perfectly curved but the lower section of the fuselage, starting from the belly, is more a long, slightly curved line than a real continuation of the upper curvature of the fuselage. This creates a pointy end when the two lines join. No good, weird section and on the most important part of the model (in my opinion the nose section /cocpit windows is always the most important part of a model!).
The writtens Everglades and BOEING B787-9 are well placed and well realized, nice to see the radar section edge line.


Main landing gear.
The length of a B787 landing gear, or rather the space between the belly of the B787 and the ground, is 2 meters; 2 meters at 1:500 scale is exactly 4 millimeters, and the length of IndiGo B787 landing gear is precisely 4 mm. Perfectly right.
On general speaking this perfection makes it look strange, too low, almost "flattened" on the wheels. In fact Herpa lengthened the landing gear by 1 mm: it is now 5 mm long starting by Neos B787-9, which, at full scale, corresponds to 2.5 meters... so an incorrect measurement, the 1:1 B787 would appear too tall, but this, at 1:500 scale, makes the model appear more realistic.
This is just an aesthetics consideration, regarding 1.500 scale models. Apologize me.


(PART 2)

 

[Charter]

1) Seat windows, doors, airline written Starboard side.

As the Port side below the section with the written.
After the exit door at the end of the I there are two "closed" windows, 21 seat windows, exit door, 14 seat windows, space, two seat windows and two "closed" windows on the blue section of the fuselage. The registration and the flag are perfectly placed ( i took LN-FNB just as comparison).
The exit doors seem real even of the 1:500 model. Really well realized.




In both real airplane and 1:500 model there isn't a window on the I of IndiGo. The windows on the n, two windows on the d and NO window on the straight line of the d, one window on the i, five windows on the G, three windows on the o including the "closed" window: in this side of the fuselage the job is good. Beautiful even the details below the written.



Very nice the reproduction of the "closed" window at the upper right corner of the o



Well reproduced the RR engine (red rectangle too low even on this engine).

 

[Charter]

Wrong cockpit windows position, pointy nose. Everglades and BOEING B787-9 writtens well placed and well realized, details good.


Even on this side the problems still on the blue shade with the wrong shape line among the end of the tail and the conjuction with the light blue strip. here the exit door seems well placed, Dreamliner written well placed and well realized, the cargo door well placed even if in the real airplane hasn't white edges, the details on the fuselage below the cargo door are amazing. There is the horizontal line on the exit door not present on the real airplane.




FINAL CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT THIS MODEL.
Let me start with a general consideration: "1:500 scale don't allow perfection, too small, too difficult, too beautiful to be perfect". So referring to "perfection" in 1:500 scale means "as few flaws, mistakes as possible".

Positive things: one of the few hybrid models in scale 1:500, niche airline for 1:500 scale (even if IndiGo is the largest airline in India!), nice reproduction of Norse livery and IndiGo written, good reproduction of the livery even if, maybe, IndiGo written in a too light Blue

Negative things: on the port side there is an extra seat window on the I of IndiGo, horizontal line above the last exit door on the tail section not present in the real airplane, not perfect reproduction of the blue section of the livery (Norse livery is composed by light blue, blue and dark blue), misplaced cockpit windows (too low), not perfect curvature of the nose section shape (too pointy).

According to my extreme consideration of the nose section, in this case ruined by the cockpit windows place and the pointy nose, i give to this model a vote of 6/10.
Why I gave this model a passing grade despite the serious flaws of the misplaced cockpit windows and the pinty nose section? Because Aether Model is a very new brand, and finally, after 30 years of Herpa's almost unchallenged dominance, new competitors need to be encouraged and acclaimed; then because indiGo-Norse is an experiment, a rare hybrid for the 1:500 scale (Sky500 and Netmodels have tried to produce hybrid liveries but they are very few), and models with hybrid liveries are difficult because they have two souls: that of the airline that owns the plane and that of the airline that leases it and puts its name on it; then because this is only the third model I've received from Aether Model, and so I want to give it the benefit of the doubt. In the next few days, when nine of them arrive at once, I'll try to understand whether the nose section/cockpit windows problem is just a solitary unforeseen event or if it's a systemic flaw.