First flown in December of 1944, the Heinkel He 162 Volksjager (people’s fighter) was known as the “ninety day wonder” as it went from an Air Ministry requirement to prototype in a mere three months. Like the other jet fighters of the day, it relied upon the BMW 003 turbojet engine, which was highly demanded as the Second World War drew to a close. The plane was 29 feet 8 inches in length, had a wingspan of 23 feet 7 inches, and stood 8 feet 6 inches tall. The A-2 variant carried a pair of 20mm MG 151 cannons with 120 rounds per gun. Depending on the source, between 238 and 320 of these aircraft were built. Something that I found unique is that the Volksjager, which is often referred to as the Salamander, was built under the code name “Sparrow”, which is what the Heinkel company called the plane during construction.

This new release from Scale Aircraft Conversions is the first item that I have worked with from that company, although they have been in business for several years. The beauty of the white metal they use for their gear is that it will hold up to the weight of larger aircraft, and the metal is soft enough to allow for some final positioning if that is needed to square up the gear. Scale Aircraft Conversions does not use lead in the white metal mix, so the builder does not have to be concerned with that. In looking at the company’s web site, the intent is to provide stronger landing gear, not to make better looking gear, if the kit is already accurate. The site mentions that they do not always include nose gear, referring to my aforementioned comment on not replacing what is already accurate in the kit.

There are no directions contained within the set, you simply swap out the kit provided plastic parts with the new white metal items. I purchased the Revell of Germany He 162A-2 “Salamander” (kit 04723) when it was first released, as I have a fascination with the late-war aircraft that Germany was producing. Fortunately, bad leadership on their part, and mass production on the part of the allies brought the war to a close before many of the weapons could be used effectively. Anyway, it is relatively easy to find the corresponding kit parts for the eight items included in this set. White metal can be cleaned like plastic with files and sanding sticks, or your abrasive of choice. Although paint will adhere to white metal alone, it is recommended that you prime the parts first, and the parts will need to be installed with your favorite CA.

For my hits of this landing gear set, I will start by mentioning that it really will be nice to have a heavier duty landing gear beneath my He 162. The folks at SAC (Scale Aircraft Conversions) do a nice job with their level of detail, as it can be challenging to get reasonably crisp detail in white metal. All of the items in this set are clean and will provide no issue with being installed into their proper places on the Revell kit. For this review, I photographed the SAC parts next to the items that they will replace in the Revell kit to allow the reader (and potential buyer) to see how they vary.

I have no misses with this release from Scale Aircraft Conversions, as everything looked good coming out of the box. My two “v” braces were slightly narrow when compared to the kit parts but, being white metal, I will have no issue with correcting this.

In conclusion, I would highly recommend this landing gear set from Scale Aircraft Conversions to anyone owning the Revell of Germany or MPM releases of the Heinkel 162A-2. The white metal will provide a stronger base for the aircraft to rest upon for years of viewing enjoyment. The ease of installation should make the set user-friendly for nearly any model builder wanting to add landing gear with improved strength to their project.

I would like to thank the folks at Scale Aircraft Conversions for providing this detail set to IPMS/USA for review, to Steve Collins, who runs the review corps, for selecting me to assess this detail set, and to you for taking the time to read my comments.