Aeroclassics, China Northern Airlines: B-2316

Even in 2026, as old airplanes from past eras are seeing plenty of attention and renewed interest from 1/400 scale model airplane manufacturers, the A300 remains largely ignored. Newer castings from the likes of Yu Models, and a rumored upgrade of the Phoenix mould provide hope that the A300 could return to the main stage, but for now, there are limited options for classic Airbus collectors. That often means settling for what the market brings, and in this case, we're settling for a China Northern A300 registered B-2316. Read on for more. 

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The real thing: B-2316, one of eight A300-600s operated by China Northern is seen on the tarmac at Shenyang in December of 1997. (Photograph by Rémi Dallot, Airliners.net).

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Notes:
I was fortunate enough to collect this China Northern A300 from JetCollector as part of last month's new release spread from Aeroclassics. According to one source, this is an extremely rare model with only 28 known pieces. China Northern is certainly a smaller, less known airline that only existed from 1990-2004. Their fleet, 52 aircraft strong was made up of MD-80s, MD-90s, A321s, and eight A300-600s. Each of these types have been acknowledged in 1/400 scale, and the A300 has been made three times, once by Yu Models in 2023 apparently on the Phoenix mould, and twice by Aeroclassics once in 2007, and now again in 2026. After twenty years, it's probably a good time for a rerelease, but on a dinosaur of a mould, I'm not entirely happy with this model. There are some typical production errors that will certainly impact resale value, and I think there's something truly wrong with the A300 casting. All that being said. It's nice to expand my China Northern fleet, and it's not all bad. 

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Sources:
-airliners.net
-modelaircraftdatabase.com
-Planespotters.net