Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) is a company that specializes in supplying stronger metal landing gear for just about every scale model kit there is. Their benefit can be seen when considering the weight of some finished models, especially where softer plastic is used. I have several models sitting on my shelves where the kit plastic gear legs were used and have, over time, started to splay outwards under the weight.

The SAC landing gear is contained in a compact clear plastic blister pack with a card paper backing to protect the contents. The kit name, manufacturer and scale are printed on a sticker at the top, front of the card. There is a typo spelling “Westlake” instead of “Westland”. There are some basic instructions on the back of the cardboard, but the modeler is expected to use the kit instructions for part placement.

Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) has provided the IPMS reviewer corps a set of 1/48th scale metal landing gear for Airfix’s Vampire F.3/FB.5/FB.9. These parts are drop-in replacements and provide a more robust landing gear set given its metal properties.

In the Package

The metal pieces are packaged in a clear blister package with cardboard backing. No instructions are provided.

Review Process

The metal landing gear set is used as drop-in replacements for parts C8, C14, C26 (nose wheel), C29 & C30 (main landing gear for F.3), and C27 & C28 (main landing gear for FB.5/FB.9). The metal used is malleable and has some give to allow for any minor bending if needed. Also, seam lines will need to be cleaned up prior to painting just like the plastic kit parts.

When comparing the parts to the instructions, the oleo arms are missing on the SAC parts. So, removing those arms off the kit parts or scratch-building may be necessary.

Iliad Design has provided IPMS/USA reviewer corps with a wonderful decal set for the WWII Supermarine “Silver” Spitfires in service for the Royal Air Force, USAAF, and RAAF. There is no specific mention of a preferred model company for this decal set.

This 1/48th scale decal sheet covers five schemes:

1. Spitfire LF IXc, No. 601 Squadron, Italy, 1943.
2. Spitfire Mk. IXc of Lt. Col. E.P. Allen, XIX TAC, St. Dizier, France, October 1944.
3. Spitfire Mk. Vc, No. 85 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, Pearce, Western Australia, February 1945.
4. Spitfire Mk. VIII, used as a “hack” by the 307th FS, 1944.
5. Spitfire LF XVIe of No. 1 (Pilots) Refresher Flying Unit, 1950.

In the Package

There is one decal sheet and one page of instructions (printed front & back). It has all the individual markings and roundels for all five aircraft. Stencils will need to be provided by the kit’s decals or an aftermarket source.

The non-profit UK-based group known as the Great War Aviation Society publishes their journal, Cross & Cockade International, four times a year. Issues are available in English as printed [Softbound, A4 (8.27” x 11.69”), 80 pages plus centerfold] as well as digital copies (or both). A new magazine, Contact!, is now available in both print and digital download. The Society also provides a free newsletter (sign up on their website) and occasionally publishes WWI-themed books like the Sopwith Dolphin monograph I reviewed earlier for IPMS/USA. This Journal is the sister of the US Journal, Over The Front. The Great War Aviation Society also hosts a lecture series available through Zoom. If interested, you will need to register early as the call is limited in attendance.

According to the blurb on the back cover, the F-35 was developed under the largest weapons program in history. After reading this book, I can probably agree that is true. In fact, you could add the words “most complex” and “relentless shortcomings” to the above description too.

This in-depth text looks at the F-35 program from a critical standpoint and reads more like a collegiate textbook or government briefing paper. The F-35 program is described in intense detail from its origins, technological trends that have influenced the development, testing, capabilities, global implications, deployment, and the future of the F-35. The text is arranged into eleven chapters, and each chapter is divided into multiple sections via headings.