Long-time supporter Ross and his team at SAC Supports IPMS/USA yet again with one of his gear sets to use and review!

This set provides a sound basis for replacing the more delicate parts of the Spindly (in real life and modeling world) Fairey Gannet AEW-3 landing gear. Designed for the newly-released SWORD kit, it definitely addresses the question on whether plastic or metal is better for this task. The metal gear, once carefully installed (it is NOT an easy Geometric construction) is definitely “go metal”.

Made up of eleven finely-cast metal parts, these bits are scale in size and flexible enough for initial installation, while work-hardening if required for additional stiffness. The truss angles and installation are a difficult design to address, and the idea the kit plastic would last was first in my mind. It’s a large aircraft, and unique in design and appearance.

The iconic Mitsubishi A6M Zero was the Imperial Japanese Navy’s primary carrier-based fighter plane from 1940-1945. Over 10,000 of these ubiquitous fighters were produced, with the A6M5 Type 0 Model 52 being the last and most effective model. Scale Aircraft Conversion has produced its famous white metal landing gear for the A6M5/5a Zero in 1/48 scale. As aircraft modelers well know, aircraft models displayed on their landing gear are susceptible to damage from the weight of the model, especially on styrene landing gear.

Scale Aircraft Conversion has had the solution since 1990. Their white metal landing gear is designed to bear the weight of the model and complement the detailed non-load bearing plastic parts. Their extensive range covers white metal landing gear from 1/144 to 1/18 scale aircraft.

During World War II, the concept of creating airfields in days, rather than months or years, came about with the use of what was called “Pierced Steel Planking”. These were segments of metal, linked together to form runways, taxiways, and parking areas, to name a few. Its modern day equivalent is the M8A1 Landing Mat.

This is a fairly simple, straight-forward kit. Six sprues, each containing one section of matting, comprised the entire kit. The instructions show two different ways of creating a rectangular mat, and I build the 2^nd version.

The only downside I have to mention is that when I assembled the kit, there was a minute gap down the center seam – although I cannot discount the possibility of an erroneous assembly procedure on my part.

Painted and weathered well, this would be a great little addition to any diorama in 1/72 scale. Best of all, each kit can combine with other landing mat kits for bigger aprons and parking spaces.

Scale Aircraft Conversions has been creating parts for modelers since 1990 and has long supported the IPMS-USA Review Corps with their items for review. The white metal parts are meant to replicate the original kit parts, but with the additional strength of being metal instead of plastic. There is also an advantage in that the metal gear can be slightly bent, if necessary, once installed to allow for improved positioning.

After reviewing the Scale Aircraft Conversions metal landing gear for the Fine Molds Ki-43 III I knew exactly what I was getting into with this set. My sample had castings that seemed rough along with mold part lines and parts slightly bent in the package. I cleaned up one main gear leg and the tail wheel leg as best I could. A coat of Mr. Surfacer black followed by a layer of Testors Steel Metallizer did not seem to completely cover some issues I had identified. A few layers of watercolors highlighted the details.

For us, geriatric modelers fixed on detailing some of the venerable kits of our youth, Scale Aircraft Conversions can be exceedingly useful in a number of circumstances. For many, this may be as simple as replacing fragile styrene components with sturdier metal items. In other cases, some extra features are added.

The set for the Hawker Typhoon Mk. 1b of classic Revell fame is a good example. This pack features both main landing gear legs as well as the tailwheel fork, replacement radio mast, and a nice set of 20mm Hispano-Suiza cannons without the early shrouds. In terms of modifications, the two-part tail wheel fork has been rendered into a single piece, and the shroudless cannons are a very nice alternative to the kit items. I’d been thinking of attempting this modest conversion myself anyway, but these eliminated the need for scratch-building.