Detailed Mould Comparison - Boeing 747-400

[YesterAirlines]

Finally, it seems the 747-400 is getting some renewed attention in 400 scale and there are now 3 'new' moulds battling it out plus a couple of older versions too. Hopefully 2026 sees a better selection of releases using them and in preparation for that I thought I'd take a closer look at how the big 3 compare - so in this review its NG vs JC vs HX:

2025 Boeing 747-400 1:400 Scale Detailed Mould Comparison Review

A detailed comparison of the top 5 Boeing 747-400 moulds in 1:400 scale in 2025.

www.yesterdaysairlines.com

 

[planes_on_a_shelf]

Finally!

 

[aviation456]

The lack of fanfare following NG's modifications to its 747-400 made me think that it was still atrocious . The HX is def the best - and it's a good thing that other brands can use the mould -> means more releases!

 

[YesterAirlines]

The lack of fanfare following NG's modifications to its 747-400 made me think that it was still atrocious . The HX is def the best - and could thing that other brands can use the mould -> means more releases!

The issue with NG was the first releases were NG Lites using a version based off the original sample. The current mould is different, but has only been used for Air Chinas and the Boeing House schemes.

It has plenty of potential, but nobody is making a particularly interesting range of 747-400s at the moment.

 

[LeoMuse747]

The issue with NG was the first releases were NG Lites using a version based off the original sample. The current mould is different, but has only been used for Air Chinas and the Boeing House schemes.

It has plenty of potential, but nobody is making a particularly interesting range of 747-400s at the moment.

HX have been pumping out mostly Asian stuff but they tackled some Lufthansas and the nice Qantas specials, including that cool 5th engined 747-400. It seems they'll also release a Delta B744 soon! I just wonder if they plan to release more European stuff like KLM and British Airways. My wallet is getting ready for when a BA Landor 747-400 show up

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abou the NG 747-400, I still don't like the "forehead" area right above the cockpit windows...
HX is still my favorite of these three, although the gears still need to be adjusted in height

 

[YesterAirlines]

HX have been pumping out mostly Asian stuff but they tackled some Lufthansas and the nice Qantas specials, including that cool 5th engined 747-400. It seems they'll also release a Delta B744 soon! I just wonder if they plan to release more European stuff like KLM and British Airways. My wallet is getting ready for when a BA Landor 747-400 show up

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Yeah it's mainly been post 2000 stuff so far like the Qantas 5th engined or special schemes, for an aircraft that had its heyday in the 90s. Even the LH old colours had website titles on it. Typical of recent manufacturer behaviour.

abou the NG 747-400, I still don't like the "forehead" area right above the cockpit windows...

Make the cockpit windows bigger and better positioned and that issue vanishes

HX is still my favorite of these three, although the gears still need to be adjusted in height

Mine too. I don't want them to do a JC and shorten the gear too much. What they really need to do is make the geardoor smaller along with the leg behind the gear and that would sove the height issue too

 

[MIAv8Diecast]

I think the nose section looks far too wide head on with the NG vs the HX. I agree NG got the lines correct from the side but head on its far to bulky. Also, I do believe the winglets are far too small on the NG version as the 747-400 winglets are fairly large. Looks as though the HX may have too much dihedral wing flex compared to the NG.

 

[pommy80]

Surprised you did not mention the price difference which is a big factor these days. You can't get better value in this hobby in my opinion for what HX are charging for those models.

 

[planes_on_a_shelf]

Surprised you did not mention the price difference which is a big factor these days. You can't get better value in this hobby in my opinion for what HX are charging for those models.

I will have to agree - not sure about the Rest of the World, but in Asia, HX rregular livery models are priced at almost two-thirds that of NG's - except the special schemes - and that's a huge huge factor in their success

 

[1400_Aircraft_Models]

Good review, I wonder how the old BB mould would score in your new rating system as your old mould review scored don't go 1:1 with this review.

 

[YesterAirlines]

I will have to agree - not sure about the Rest of the World, but in Asia, HX rregular livery models are priced at almost two-thirds that of NG's - except the special schemes - and that's a huge huge factor in their success

Surprised you did not mention the price difference which is a big factor these days. You can't get better value in this hobby in my opinion for what HX are charging for those models.

Although price is a factor frankly outside of Asia the pricing is all over the place. Sometimes HX and YY are cheaper (and they are being sold separately and at different pricing to each other despite being the same product) but other times they are not. It is hard to do a direct comparison because finding stores that stock one of exactly the same product for all 4 brands is nigh impossible however looking at representative 747-400s at 4 major US / UK stores here is what I found:



While sometimes HX has an advantage, often it does not. I've also noticed that HX pricing varies quite widely dependent on livery whereas NG and JC pricing tends to be static for aircraft types.

 

[YesterAirlines]

Good review, I wonder how the old BB mould would score in your new rating system as your old mould review scored don't go 1:1 with this review.

I just went through the scoring using the BigBird Mk3 Canadian with aerials and the scores from the 2021 review and came up with this:

 

[pommy80]

Although price is a factor frankly outside of Asia the pricing is all over the place. Sometimes HX and YY are cheaper (and they are being sold separately and at different pricing to each other despite being the same product) but other times they are not. It is hard to do a direct comparison because finding stores that stock one of exactly the same product for all 4 brands is nigh impossible however looking at representative 747-400s at 4 major US / UK stores here is what I found:

View attachment 57343

While sometimes HX has an advantage, often it does not. I've also noticed that HX pricing varies quite widely dependent on livery whereas NG and JC pricing tends to be static for aircraft types.

Wow. I did not realise the pricing for HX models is that high in Europe. The equivalent for what I pay for them from China would be around 30-40GBP.

 

[Phantom]

looking at representative 747-400s at 4 major US / UK stores here is what I found:

But you better compare all of them at net prices. Your UK prices incl. VAT

 

[YesterAirlines]

But you better compare all of them at net prices. Your UK prices incl. VAT

Price is price. Everything in the UK gets the same VAT applied so the comparison of UK store prices is still valid. I wasn't comparing US to UK. You'd see exactly the same messed up pricing pattern on the EU mainland

 

[Phantom]

I wasn't comparing US to UK

You better not put those values into one chart then. Confusion is guaranteed, see #13

 

[YesterAirlines]

You better not put those values into one chart then. Confusion is guaranteed, see #13

UK is in Europe last I checked

And the prices are the same in mainland Europe anyway:

Aviation Megastore has JC Wings 747s for EUR54.95, HX 747s for EUR59.45 and NG for EUR62.43

If anything prices in Europe are worse than the UK despite VAT!!