I’ve built two ICM AH-1Gs in 1/32nd scale. They are great kits, but the landing gear mounts can be fragile in the hands of a ham-fisted modeler like myself. On the two I built I had to pin and glue the gear back on a couple of times. It was frustrating as it was near the end of the build.

The difference between the early and late gear is the early gear has the fairing around the crosstubes. The late are just the round crosstubes.

Inside SAC’s typical blister pack are two white metal landing gear and four parts for the ground handling wheels. Mine were perfectly cast and were exact replicas of the kit landing gear, but stronger. This set does NOT have the aerodynamic fairings installed. Many of the later Vietnam era Cobras had the fairings removed to save weight but more importantly was they really didn’t help. They were a major pain to remove and reinstall.

As they were exact replicas of the kit landing gear, they also had the nubs on the end where the tow bar is supposed to go. This area is supposed to be a ring to hook the real tow bar in, however, the kit and SAC have the nubs. It is a simple operation to cut the nubs and drill progressively wider holes to replicate the real thing.

I do suggest that you lightly sand them with some 1000 grit sandpaper to ‘smooth’ them out. Then attach them with five-minute epoxy. Since they are molded off of the kit parts the fit is perfect. A quick coat of primer and paint and they are good to go.

I did not build up the ground handling wheels. I didn’t build up the kit ones or the SAC ones. They appeared to go together perfectly. They are only mounted on the helicopter to move it around and then removed.

This is another great set from SAC. Clean up was easy. The strength is appreciated during handling. As an added benefit much of the landing gear is forward of the center of gravity so this helps the helicopter sit solidly on its gear. Overall, it performed exactly as expected.

Highly recommended.