Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) manufactures white metal landing gear that is a direct replacement for a kit’s plastic landing gear. The metal landing gear offer greater strength over the kit parts as well as having most of the mold lines removed. At times the metal will be bent out of shape but that is easily corrected by bending it back to the correct shape.

This set includes four parts; main gear, nose gear, oleo strut for nose gear, and nose gear bay. SAC gear does require some clean-up for the rare cases there are still seam lines. You many also sand and prime the struts to remove some of the rough texture that appears in some areas. Installing the new gear requires CA glue or non-traditional modeling adhesives. SAC recommends that the gear is for experienced modelers that are used to working with metal gear.

In what appears to be a never ending stream, ICM Holdings offers the modeling public another variant of the B-26 Invader, Medium Bomber. This latest novelty is the 1/48^th scale B-26 C-50 with markings for three separate U.S. aircraft employed during the Korean War.

This plethora of variations of the 1/48^th scale B-26 that ICM Holdings is releasing is most welcome as it gives all the opportunity to build the Invader of our choice. I for one hope they continue and a 1/48^th scale B-26 K Counter Invader is in our future.

Marking options included with this release are:

The AH-64 Apache helicopter is very recognizable from its unique shape and visibility from both Gulf wars. First flown in 1975, over 2400 have been produced. Academy has released a kit of the AH-64A Apache in large 1/35^th scale. Based on the instructions, this a rerelease of the Kangnam kit as the instructions are very similar. That’s not a bad thing either as all new decals for the South Carolina ANG are included in an overall gray scheme.

Inside the box, there are five flash free gray sprues with nicely engraved or embossed detail. The rivet detail is especially nice. There is one clear sprue, a rubber fret with the tires on it, decals and a complete set of masks. Markings are included for:

Whew, this was a strange one and I apologize up front to Kitty Hawk. They were nice enough to send us a sample and somewhere between them and us, the USPS lost the kit. Every effort to find it or get it back failed. In the end, I bought the kit as I really wanted it. More importantly, let’s look at the kit!

The FJ-2 Fury was the result of an effort to convert the USAF’s F-86 Sabre to a carrier-based plane. It included folding wings and a longer nose gear strut. Kitty Hawk has come out with kit KH80155. Inside the box, you will find three well-made gray sprues with recessed panel lines, a clear sprue, a small photoetch set for details and seat belts plus a decal sheet. With this initial release, Kitty Hawk also included two resin figures which are very nicely done. Looking at the kit, the build is separated into front and back as the plane can be posed with each portion separate. I wanted a buttoned-up plane, so all the access panels and engine panels are closed off.

For one of their latest releases, Brengun has issued a pair of AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles in 1/48 scale for arming your latest modern aircraft in this scale. This is a relatively easy upgrade for modelers that have some experience with resin and photoetched parts. Assembly is straightforward, which adds to the ease of using these replacement missiles.

The AIM-9X is the latest development of the venerable Sidewinder missile, and manufactured by Raytheon, it is currently in use by the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and more than two dozen NATO countries and U.S. allies. The missile uses infra-red tracking and actually maintains the rocket motor, warhead, and fuse of the predecessor AIM-9M. The big change with the X is the use of thrust vectoring to allow the missile to quickly change direction during flight. The AIM-9X was first tested in 1999 and was in full operation in 2004.