Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) produces white metal replacement parts for kits in a variety of scales. Some of their landing gear sets are for a variety of kits and some sets are designed for a specific model. The sets are designed to support the weight of a specific model without warping that can sometimes be seen with kit styrene landing gear supporting a model’s nose weight.

This landing gear set is for either the Wolfpack, Italeri and Testors 1/72 scale model T-45 Goshawk. I had to add a good amount of weight in the nose to get the model to rest on its nose gear and the gear supported the weight without any problems. The aircraft with all the weight in the nose is quite steady sitting on the SAC gear set.

The parts were well cast and had no flash or other areas that needed to be sanded. The gear set had a good amount of detail molded into them. The kit comes with front strut, two main landing gear struts and two support bars for the main gear set.

History

The Bell P-39 Airacobra was one of the principal American fighter aircraft in service when the United States entered World War II. The P-39 was used by the Soviet Air Force and scored the highest number of individual kills attributed to any U.S. fighter type in the Eastern European theatre. Other major users of the type included the Free French, the Royal Air Force, the United States Army Air Forces and the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force. Designed by Bell Aircraft, it had an innovative layout, with the engine installed in the center fuselage, behind the pilot, and driving a tractor propeller via a long shaft. It was also the first fighter fitted with a tricycle undercarriage. Although its mid-engine placement was innovative, the P-39 design was handicapped by the absence of an efficient turbo-supercharger, preventing it from performing high-altitude work.

About the Author

Historian and author Alexander Lüdeke's main interests are the military and the history of technology. He has an extensive image library, which includes numerous illustrations, a selection of which can be found in this Fact File.

Overview

A great upheaval in tank construction took place in the 1970s, as new combat techniques, helicopters, weaponry and new types of ammunition reduced the value of a conventional combat battalion. Nevertheless, complete new developments are rare and in this book, Alexander Lüdeke looks at the most important developments that have taken place since 1970.