Top Down View
From this angle, another problem with the Phoenix mold becomes apparent: The junction between the wing leading edge and the fuselage is streamlined like it was on the -400 (and late production -300s), which is incorrect for 747-100s and 200s. Honestly, this detail had not downed on me until it was pointed out by fellow collectors. Early Herpa 747-200s also suffer from this. I'm guessing Phoenix might have done this in favor of their 747-400F, which uses the same fuselage as the -100/200 (short upper deck), but the regular -400 wing. An unwarranted amount of laziness on Phoenix's part if my assumption is correct, but hey, at least Phoenix 747-400Fs (not BCFs) might actually be better than what we thought!
British Airways Boeing 747-136 G-AWNP Phoenix Models 1:400
British Airways Boeing 747-236B G-BDXO Phoenix Models 1:400
British Airways Boeing 747-236B G-BDXI InFlight400 1:400
There are as many different shades of the British Airways Landor pearl grey top as there have been models released with the livery.
At first glance, one can easily tell that the Phoenix ones look too light. This becomes evident when placed next to a GeminiJets -436 release from 2013 (G-CIVI), which is my favorite BA Landor model by the way.
British Airways 747-136 G-AWNP by Phoenix Models and 747-436 G-CIVI by GeminiJets. 1:400
However, when placed next to an NG Models L1011 that was released in late 2022 (G-BHBR), the recent Phoenix releases seem to be pretty much in line with NG, though not exactly the same tone.
British Airways 747-136 G-AWNP by Phoenix Models and L1011-200 G-BHBR by NG Models. 1:400
Looking at my full 1:400 collection of British Airways aircraft in the Landor livery the inconsistency of the pearl grey top is evident, even among releases by the same manufacturer in one case. The opinions among collectors as to which manufacturer got it right are equally as varied. I personally think that GeminiJets 747-436 G-CIVI is the closest one to the real thing, but in the end, they all look like scale models of British Airways aircraft in the Landor livery alright to me.
Collection of 1:400 Scale Models of British Airways Aircraft in the Landor Livery.
As far as I can tell, Phoenix did an excellent job researching the livery of
G-AWNP as it looked in the 1990s. This includes the Royal Mail logo located next to the reg. on the port side, and printing the correct aircraft name for that era "Hanningfield Water" on the correct position. The only thing that I noticed is that there is a mast on the far aft lower fuselage missing from the model. There is no hole for it either, so it is an omission by Phoenix and not a missing part. Thanks to Barison82 over at the Diecast Aircraft Forum for
this great article that helped me figure what where the correct livery details for this aircraft.
G-BDXO also seems to have had its livery largely well replicated, with the minor exception that, according to the only two pictures I could find of the aircraft wearing "The World's Biggest Offer" titles, the Royal Mail logo should have been under the port reg. and not next to it, as it is on the model. This one does have an additional mast on the bottom aft fuselage but seems to be in the incorrect place.
British Airways 747-136 G-AWNP and 747-236B G-BDXO by Phoenix Models. 1:400
You bet! As you can see, my British Airways Landor collection is limited to four general aircraft types. These are the British Airways aircraft that visited my home country, Venezuela, wearing the Landor livery, with the exception of the L1011s -1 and -200 and the 747-136. Out of those aircraft, the only ones that I got to see in real life (and have some pretty cool memories of) are the 747s, mainly the -400s. But because of the way things have unfolded in 1:400 scale, I ended up with a relatively high number of L1011s in my Landor collection, and while I loved to see all those Landor tails next to each other, it was odd to see the TriStar being the most prominent aircraft type given my particular connection with the livery.
In an attempt to add more 747s to my Landor collection, and make it more appealing to my eyes, I went ahead and purchased that very old British Asia Airways 747-436 by GeminiJats that you can easily find there. And then I also made a fantasy custom using a JC Wings blank 747-400 with GE engines.
With the addition of the two short-upper-deck Phoenix 747s my BA Landor shelf has become so much more pleasant to my eyes.
Are There Any Other Options?
Turns out that not many at this time. But let's see what else could I have done:
1) Pay $500 to this guy on eBay for a 19-year-old BigBird 747-40, which - with the erroneous font prominently displayed - doesn't even live up to its perceived status of being a premium model. Even if I was such a spendthrift, that will only get me one (1) more 747 for my BA Landor collection.
2) I could just abstain and wait until, if ever, a new top-notch British Airways 747s in the Landor livery gets released.
Turns out I don't find any of the options above exactly appealing. I am okay with waiting, but not with abstaining while at it - a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
The reality is that there are no good options for collectors wanting to add 747s in the British Airways Landor c/s to their collections, and the same is true for other airlines with iconic classic liveries. Too bad that this is largely because a certain brand is using its leverage in the industry to strongarm other brands and prevent them from releasing the very classics that we can't get enough of in 1:400 scale. Just because they get a boost on their ego when they see their ten-year-old releases go for absurd prices on the second-hand market. But I digress...
