Thanks again to Ross at SAC for providing IPMS USA this review set, one of what must be by now hundreds of sets he provides for the modelling community. I’m a prolific convert to them!

The Italeri B-57 series, released in the late 1980’s, was a serious jump forward for the modeling community. The only other kits at the time were modified from existing British Canberra kits with the “fish bowl” canopy. The introduction of the B-57 with it’s front and back canopy for the U.S. variants was most timely.

The only problem with the kit was the nose gear was a bit too far extended for ground operation, as the B-57 has a “nose down” attitude when at rest, loaded or not. In order to correct this, one had to cut part of the oleo out, and re-glue the gear together with epoxy or superglue. Some even resorted to installing a pin through the strut, which worked well.

SAC gear provides a better option with full-metal gear. The kit gear has been meticulously duplicated, and you have the choice of either leaving the nose gear extended, or shortening the oleo without compromising the strength that would be done with a plastic version. Included are retract braces, nose gear, and both main gear.

You can see in the side-by side the fidelity of detail is retained; actually, the SAC gear appears sharper than the Italeri gear. As usual, the SAC parts fit perfectly, installation is flawless, and matches the kit items.

Full marks and thanks again to SAC for this most excellent upgrade!