Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) specializes in white metal replacement landing gear parts for aircraft kits. This review is for the 1/72nd scale Hasegawa F-104 Starfighter from the 1989 original mold and its reissues (which there are several). Two full sets are in the blister pack, so two kits can have metal landing gear. These are drop-in replacements for the F-104 (parts D7, C12, B11 & B12) and TF-104 (parts F15, C12, B11 & B12). Attached pictures are for the F-104 comparison.

SAC products are a necessity when dealing with overly heavy builds or for the modeler who wants to keep his/her collection for the long term and don’t want the landing gear to “squat” or misalign over time. Also, for aircraft with a tricycle landing gear configuration, it adds more nose weight by replacing the kit part. The metal material is malleable (soft) which allows the ability to gently “hand bend” the parts in case some adjustment is needed upon installation. Plus, it can also be sanded.

Because it is metal, glue such as a cyanoacrylate (CA / Super Glue) or epoxy glue will be needed to attach the parts to the model. Priming parts is recommended after installation to allow a good bond after the glue cures.

I want to thank Scale Aircraft Conversions for providing their metal landing gear for review and to IPMS-USA for allowing me to review their product.

These SAC metal parts are Highly Recommended!