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Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$17.95

Thanks to Ross at SAC for yet another outstanding metal gear set; IPMS USA continues to appreciate the support from your contributions!

This set is, again, a simple drop-in replacement gear the new 1/32 Italeri F-104G/S. The set contains the entire main gear beam as one casting, with a nose gear; both are perfectly cast and directly upgrades the kit parts.

Installation is super easy; use superglue and press the SAC gear in; they fit perfectly, and impress with strength and “peace of mind” with attaching wheels/tires to the axles.

As usual, SAC landing gear are an excellent investment. As the kit plastic is a bit soft, the F-104 nose gear, being of the offset fork variety, will over time flex and you will have the toy-tricycle look to the nose. The main gear probably will also splay out… With SAC metal gear, the problem is solved, as the metal will hold up.

Review Author
Scott Hollingshead
Published on
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$16.95

This is the fourth landing gear set that I have reviewed from the folks at Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC), and once again, they have provided an excellent metal option for kit-supplied landing gear. This set is for the first 1/48 scale aircraft released by Zoukei-Mura in the Super Wing Series, the J7W1 Shin Den (kit Super Wing Series 1/48 1). The purpose of this replacement set is to provide stronger landing gear that is adjustable if necessary to obtain proper angles. Even with no previous experience in using white metal parts, this set will provide an upgrade that most modelers will have no issue installing.

Review Author
Scott Hollingshead
Published on
Company
Master Model
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$4.00

This is the tenth item that I have reviewed from Master Model, a Polish company that specializes in brass detail parts, typically in the form of gun barrels, antennas, and pitot tubes. This new 72nd scale release is designed for the Israeli Aircraft Industries (IAI) Kfir (lion cub), and replaces the kit supplied Pitot tube as well as providing an angle of attack (AOA) probe missing from the kit. No kit is mentioned for installing these parts onto, so for comparison purposes, I have put the Testors/Italeri release (kit 630) to use. As with the other releases from Master Model, these parts will dramatically improve the appearance of your plane.

Review Author
Bill O'Malley
Published on
Company
MiniArt
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$69.00

Part 3 Review – Turret & Final Completion

This is the third, and final, section in a series of reviews covering the MiniArt AEC Mk. II Armoured Car kit. Previously, Part 1 reviewed the kit contents and assembly of the driver’s compartment and Part 2 reviewed the chassis, engine, and exterior. This review covers construction of the turret and final completion of the model. Thanks to Model Rectifier Corporation (MRC) for their generosity in providing the review sample of this kit and for their continued support of the IPMS review program.

Introduction

This is an excellent, highly detailed kit. The molding is very crisp with great detail, and the fit is excellent. There are a few difficult areas that will make the kit challenging for less experienced modelers, but it is a complex kit that builds into a fantastic model for more advanced & expert modelers.

Review Author
Chris Gibson
Published on
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$12.95

Scale Aircraft Conversions has a metal landing gear conversion set for just about every aircraft you’d want to build. The Revell 1/72 F-101B Voodoo is no exception. I just happened to have the Revell kit in my stash, so I pulled the model out and retrieved the kit landing gear to compare with the SAC landing gear.

I was surprised by the kit gear. It’s relatively nice, clean, and detailed. The SAC gear is almost exactly the same as the kit gear. The casting on this set was not that clean. There were offset mold lines on all the pieces; it looked like the casting had shifted which caused the mold lines to be very prominent. This meant lots of work to remove the lines to make the gear look good. I have reviewed other SAC 1/72 metal gear and not had the same issues. Maybe it is specific to 1/72 scale due to the small size of the gear making it difficult.