LVG C.VI Landing Gear (WW)

Published: February 1, 2019
Company: Scale Aircraft Conversions

This is the Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) white metal landing gear replacement option for the Wingnut Wings 1/32 LVG C.VI kit. If you have built in 1/32 scale you have probably wondered at some point if kit provided plastic landing gear will adequately support the model’s weight. These SAC items are primarily intended to address strength concerns but there are two other major advantages to using their white metal landing gear: First, it is possible to very slightly bend the strut pieces and attached wheels into perfect alignment once installed – to fine tune your alignment after gluing. With plastic, “once glued you’re screwed” so to speak. A second advantage of SAC landing gear is that oleos in white metal (although not applicable for this set) can be fine sanded to a very shiny… more

I-16 Type 24/28 Landing Gear (ICM/Rev/Has)

Published: February 1, 2019
Company: Scale Aircraft Conversions

This is the Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) white metal landing gear replacement option for the 1/32 I-16 type 24/28 (ICM/Rev/Has) kits. If you have built in 1/32 scale you may have wondered at some point if the kit provided plastic landing gear will adequately support the model’s weight. These SAC items are primarily intended to address strength concerns, but there are two other advantages to using white metal landing gear: You can very slightly bend the main strut into perfect alignment once installed, and oleos (if applicable) can be fine sanded to a very shiny and realistic finish – no need for applying bare metal foil or painting oleos if you’re working with white metal.

Observations

These I-16 landing gear pieces match very closely the kit molds. Clean up is… more

Yak-3 Metal Gear

Published: November 7, 2017
Company: Scale Aircraft Conversions

This is the Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) white metal landing gear replacement option for the Special Hobby 1/32 Yak-3 kits. If you have built in 1/32 scale you have probably wondered at some point if the kit provided plastic landing gear will adequately support the model’s weight. These SAC items are primarily intended to address any strength concerns, but there are two other advantages to using white metal landing gear: You can very slightly bend the main strut into perfect alignment once installed, and the oleo can be fine sanded to a very shiny and realistic finish.

Observations

These Yak-3 SAC landing gear pieces match very closely the kit molds. The main struts are slightly but noticeably shorter when compared directly to their kit counterparts, but it seems… more

Upgrading Your Early P-40

Published: November 6, 2017
Company: Master Model

Master-Model released these closely related aftermarket barrel + pitot upgrade sets for the early (i.e. B/C/MkII) 1/32 P-40 tool that exists. The two upgrade sets, designated U.S. Version and British Version respectively, are so closely related that it makes sense to review them both at the same time. I have the Hobby Craft kit (Trumpeter tool re-boxed with AVG decals) and a good friend of mine has the Trumpeter kit which sports the British markings on the box top – so I had a keen interest in looking at these Master-Model offerings and comparing the components to their kit counterparts. My sincere thanks to Master-Model for providing these sets for review through the IPMS USA Reviewer Corps.

Packaging

Both sets are well packaged. The contents are bagged in front of a… more