This particular set, contained in the familiar SAC blister packaging, is a perfect match for the SAC metal Landing Gear set 48472 for the F-35 C. See the excellent review by Rod Lees.

There are two parts — each representing the right and left-wing hinges. Upon inspection, no flash is detected, and they are cleanly cast. As with all SAC products, the pewter is pliable and can be adjusted as needed for a perfect fit. The two SAC parts are designed to replace kit parts EE39 and EE38, discussed in steps 61 and 62 within the Tamiya instructional guide.

Although I am a fan of metal landing gear for increased strength and stability, replacing these particular kit parts is negligible, in my opinion. Viewing the kit parts side-by-side with the metal parts, I found the kit's parts to be crisper. For this reason, I would be more inclined to stick with them, especially since the wing hinges are not parts which really require increased strength.

HobbyBoss issued a new and more modern F-111 kit a while back (2010 I think) replacing the aging Academy kits. It had a lot of features and for styrene, a decent but simplified cockpit. It was missing seat belts, detail on the instrument panel and other parts. Reskit for Kyiv, Ukraine to the rescue with a magnificent, highly detailed multimedia cockpit. Opening the box, there are 42 3D printed parts, 4 injection molded parts (the canopy and windscreen), a masking set and a fret with dozens on photoetched parts. Preparation starts by removing the supports on the 3D parts. I warmed mine a little with a hair dryer and used a hobby knife and sprue nipper and the part were free quickly. I used a sanding stick to remove any nubs and we were good. One note here, there are instructions to assemble and build the seats and add photoetch belts. In the kit, I found two perfectly printed seats but no mention of them. I used them as the seat belts looked better than the photoetched.

Helion is a UK-based company that produces books on many aspects of Military History from the Late Medieval period through to the present day. Helion was established in 1996 by University of Warwick graduate Duncan Rogers. Since then, they have published over 1,200 books, with 100 or more new titles coming out every year, for readers around the world.

Hélio Higuchi hails from São Paulo, Brazil, where he was born in 1953. A hotel manager, he has degrees in Architecture and Urban Design and Marketing. A researcher of Latin American military subjects, he is a regular contributor to Brazilian periodicals Asas, Flap and Tecnologia e Defesa. He is the author of A Serviço do Generalíssimo – Os Pilotos Brasileiros na República Dominicana (In the Service of the Generalissimo – Brazilian Pilots in the Dominican Republic, 2014) and Cuban MiGs: The Defenders of Castro’s Air Force (Harpia Publishing, 2023).