Model Review - Air China Airbus A320 by Aviation400

[YesterAirlines]

The quartet of AV400 A320s hit the shops late last year with barely a whimper, partly no doubt due to the subject matter. Are more A320s needed? You could argue either way as several of the existing moulds are not great, but there have been a lot made. Anyway this new mould definitely has more in common with the better side of the A320 castings than the weaker side and there is still plenty of potential for new A320s too:

Air China | Airbus A320-232WL | B-8743 | Aviation400

Aviation400 have made something of a stir with their modern widebody moulds featuring nav beacons, and now magnetic gear, but until recently they have stayed away from narrowbodies completely. That changed in 2023 with the first quartet of Airbus A320s. T

www.yesterdaysairlines.com

 

[planes_on_a_shelf]

Nice read!
Been considering adding their CZ A320 to my fleet. And whether I should replace the JC/Hogan retro AF with this - probably not, on the latter.
The engines do seem large-ish, and the cockpit windows a wee bit large.
The line around the wing fairing is indeed a detail that's unique to this - and it's nice to see the moulded in intakes.

One big area of discussion on the A320 family moulds is the cabin window line location. Either one tends to see it wrt the cockpit windows, or wrt the horizontal stabs. If I see this particular one - it appears high wrt the latter, but correct wrt the former. This is something that I began noticing more clearly after the recent NG DL discussions. Each mould treats the interrelationship to these two differently

 

[YesterAirlines]

I got the China Southern too

 

[planes_on_a_shelf]

I got the China Southern too

Ah !! See the cabin window placement wrt the horizontal stabs - it's correct on the CZ, (!!!), and now if you see the CA again, you'll notice the window line printed higher, such that the rear exit drain strip squeezes into the rudder base.

 

[Phantom]

I find it amazing that ALL manufacturers deliberatly ignore the obvious artwork differences between a classic and an enhanced A320. AV400 is no exception.

There's something around the v.tail on this mould that sets my eyes on alert. There's something not looking 320ish there.

 

[Phantom]

Ah !! See the cabin window placement wrt the horizontal stabs - it's correct on the CZ, (!!!), and now if you see the CA again, you'll notice the window line printed higher, such that the rear exit drain strip squeezes into the rudder base.

Common problem to many moulds.
If either the nose (cockpit position) or tail (tailplanes) are not at their correct heights you inevitably run into exactly this problem of deciding which "wrong" to choose from. Too low, too high or crooked?

 

[YesterAirlines]

There's something around the v.tail on this mould that sets my eyes on alert. There's something not looking 320ish there.

I had the same thought but then I compared it to other A320s I own (especially the Panda one) and did some measurements (without calipers) and it was the same size. There is a lot less detailing on the vertical stab though.

 

[planes_on_a_shelf]

Common problem to many moulds.
If either the nose (cockpit position) or tail (tailplanes) are not at their correct heights you inevitably run into exactly this problem of deciding which "wrong" to choose from. Too low, too high or crooked?

Yes. What I observed in the conversations on this forum on this issue, is the predilection for seeing the cabin window line wrt the cockpit windows - thus