New to the Scale Aircraft Conversions line is a set of gear for a Revell F-18E/F. The set comes in five pieces with the three main gear and two small retraction links all cast in sturdy white metal. I included pictures of the gear with its plastic counterparts and the detail is good. One issue I have had building F-18 kits in 1/48 or larger scale is there sometimes is a tendency to sag based on the way the main landing gear are configured. The attachment points on this gear have a key the attaches it to the fuselage via three points of contact and, being white metal, this should prevent any long term issues. I included some shots of them on the Revell kit for reference and fit is very good.

One thing to note – these are for the Revell kit. They could be made to fit the Hasegawa offering but don't bother, just purchase set 48005, the correct gear set for Hasegawa kits.

This book looks at the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver in French Service. In need of aircraft after WWII, the French Navy received the first 56 of what was to be a force of 110 Helldivers in 1949. Already considered obsolete by the US and not so affectionately nicknamed “Son of Bitch 2nd Class” by US personnel who operated it, the French Navy set about putting it to use in Indo-China.

This book is a brief overview of Helldiver operations by the three Flotille so equipped. Each is presented in a short “newspaper article” style, followed by some very brief coverage of Helldiver use by second-line units. The text section concludes with a listing of aircraft and personnel lost on operations.

The RQ-7 Shadow is a UAV used by the US Army and Marine Corps for surveying the battlefield for damage assessment and just about anything else. It is made to be compact and portable. It is launched by a pneumatic track and recovered with arresting gear similar to what’s used onboard aircraft carriers. Academy has offered a great diorama of this UAV. I could call it a kit but it comes with a base, two choices of pneumatic launchers, and two complete figures, so the term diorama is accurate. Also included are two sheets of decals – one with markings for the UAV and the second with digital camouflage for the figures.