NG Models Airbus A330-700L Beluga XL F-GXLJ #4 1:400 Diecast Model

1:400 Diecast: Airbus A330-743L Beluga XL F-GXLJ #4 (NG Models). This is the fourth of six Beluga XL freighters built by Airbus. Registered F-GXLJ with manufacturer serial number 1985 and fleet code XL4, it's one of the most distinctive aircraft ever to fly. The fleet was developed to replace the original A300-600ST BelugaSTs, offering 30% more transport capacity to support Airbus's production ramp-up.

From paint shop to service: F-GXLJ was first spotted fresh from the paint shop at Toulouse-Blagnac in July 2021, undergoing its initial test runs. Its maiden flight took place on July 20, 2021, a three-hour-and-37-minute test over France conducted under the test registration F-WWCO. By October of that year, it was fully operational, photographed departing Toulouse for Broughton in Wales to pick up Airbus wings. The aircraft is powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 700 turbofans, with a maximum takeoff weight of 227 tonnes and a cargo bay designed to carry two A350 XWB wings at once.

A 2024 pressurization scare (sister ship): On September 10, 2024, a Beluga XL made headlines when it declared an emergency and diverted to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport due to a suspected pressurization issue mid-flight. However, the aircraft involved in that incident was actually F-GXLI, not F-GXLJ. It had departed from Saint-Nazaire Airport in western France heading to Hamburg-Finkenwerder when it descended rapidly from 34,000 feet to 10,000 feet over Belgium and squawked 7700, indicating an inflight emergency. It landed safely at Amsterdam at 14:57 local time. F-GXLJ itself was not involved in this incident, though it continues to operate alongside its five siblings.

Where it operates: Like its five siblings, the Beluga XL fleet shuttles between Airbus production sites across Europe—Toulouse, Hamburg, Bremen, Saint-Nazaire, and Broughton—carrying wings, fuselage sections, and other oversized components that would be impossible to transport by road or rail. The Beluga XL fleet completed its rollout with the sixth and final aircraft entering service in June 2024, making F-GXLJ part of a very exclusive club of just six operational whales.

About this model: NG Models released F-GXLJ in 1:400 scale capturing the aircraft's distinctive livery—white upper fuselage, blue lower section, and the iconic "smiling" design on the forward fuselage that was chosen by Airbus employees in a vote of nearly 21,000 participants. At 15.78 cm long with a 15.08 cm wingspan, it features the unmistakable bulbous nose that gives the Beluga its friendly appearance. For collectors of unusual freighters or Airbus logistics aircraft, this represents the fourth of only six whales ever built.

Age 16+ only. Not a toy.