Scale Aircraft Conversions specializes in white metal replacement parts. Its line of replacement landing gear has been expanded to include a set for the 1/48 Bae Hawk and it can be used with all variants of that kit.

The set includes 7 parts with the following breakdown two main landing gear struts, plus actuator arms for the above and a tail wheel. The parts are finely molded in white metal. These parts are drop-in replacements for the plastic parts.

I should say that these parts are more than just drop-in replacements. Some of the white metal parts actually comprise the equivalent of a few plastic parts, so you get an easier job of assembling the landing gear as you have fewer parts to deal with. In addition, you don’t have to deal with cleaning seam lines.

Typically I tend to think of replacing a plastic landing gear by a white metal one when the model is large and heavy. For most single engine 1/48 scale models, weight is not an issue. However, if you have added a resin cockpit, resin engine, and other AMS goodies, weight could be an issue.

Even in the case of this particular model you will have to add “nose ballast”, so it is nice to see the white metal replacement, if you are concerned about the long-term effects of the extra weight in the landing gear.

Recommended to modelers of all skill levels.

I would like to thank Scale Aircraft Conversions and IPMS/USA for the review sample