Thanks again to Ross at SAC for providing IPMS USA this review set. Keep the production line up, many of us will continue to buy them!

Pardon a quick interlude on the relative merits of Metal gear over plastic. About three years ago I built one of the new 1/32 JU-88 kits on the market. The proprietor of a now-defunct, not-so-local hobby shop asked if I was interested in SAC metal gear for the kit. I said, “naaa”… I was not convinced of the merits. He purchased one of the Junkers for himself, and asked if I would build it for him.

“Certainly” says I.

The kit, once completed, looked good in the display case in the shop. However, on my next visit in two weeks, there sat the model with a main wheel broken off, and a sad owner. The plastic axle had failed when a customer lifted the model and then tried to put it back in the case. As the model was basically complete, I was able to drill and insert a metal rod into the gear leg, and the wheel fit over it with no problem. But I realized at the time an integral issue was the strength of the plastic gear. Later the tail wheel strut failed, and that’s one you can’t just insert a rod in. I went out and purchased two sets of SAC JU-88 gear for my personal builds, and so far they have held up to pounding, scraping along the shelf, and general hangar rash. Not to mention Orangutans who pick up models for a better look. It’s up to you, but I consider metal gear an investment and have bought many others over and above the review items I have been fortunate enough to examine and report on. They are worth it!

Back to now; once again SAC’s prolific output provides a timely set of landing gear to address the increasing weight of our models; in this case, the Kinetic Kfir. As many know, the Kfir was an Israeli improvement on the Mirage III airframe, and therefore has systems and basic components in common with the Mirage III.

One area of weakness on most Mirage III kits is the nose gear (which seems to plague most scale nose struts made of plastic these days; T-28, T-38, etc.). The SAC gear handles that, plus the mains in one more of Ross’ simple upgrades to the kit items. In my particular case, I have the “Wingman” Kfir C2/7 kit which has a lot of resin upgrades to the basic Kinetic kit. This additional detail weight makes for a lot of stress on that spindly plastic gear. With the SAC upgrade, this removes the issue of splayed gear, axles breaking off, etc. within a short period after the model is completed.

You can see in the side-by side the fidelity of detail is retained; actually, the SAC gear appears sharper than the Kinetic gear, and there is a bit more detail on the nose gear in particular (where the fork mounts). Also, as shown, the SAC parts fit perfectly; installation is flawless and matches the kit items. I know once the model is finished and standing on its legs I’ll have a strong model with the SAC gear on it.

Full marks to SAC once again; Ross continues to provide excellent service and a fantastic product… 10 of 10!