Herpa Wings metal models in 1:500 have been available since 1992, but the first attempts at plastic models in 1:500 – in addition to the large 1:200 plastic models of the Lufthansa Model Edition – were already made at the end of the 1980s.
However, these 747-100/200 plastic models (with flat red packaging) never made it past the prototype stage. Only samples of a few airlines were produced. According to information from Herpa there were 4 different versions, according to the DIMA database 9, but 5 of them without picture credits, in my collection there are unfortunately only 3 versions (see table).
According to Herpa, the molds from which these samples were made at the time no longer exist. They were converted for metal injection molding around 1990 and then used accordingly when Herpa started producing metal models in 1:500 scale.
JAL 747-200 – registration JA0000
World Airways 747-200C – no registration
Qantas 747-200B – registration VH-EBT
Thanks Filippo for the impulse on this topic! I would be very happy to receive further information or pictures on this topic 🙂