More metal gear from Ross at SAC; another winner… THANKS VERY MUCH for sending IPMS USA another of your expansive line of metal landing gear, and thanks also to IPMS USA leadership for sending it on to me to review….

This is the SAC-standard metal landing gear improvement over the kit plastic. Roden, bless’em, makes kits nobody else does. WE NOW HAVE A 1/144 C-141B thanks to them! Buy them up so they can finance other models (Hint: a decent 1/144 C-5A next we hope… the “R” re-engined version with the CF-6 can come later!)

I’m impressed with this kit; fit is ok, few locator pins, but the exterior is definitely the right aircraft with the right appearance. The engine intakes are very well done, with positive installation for the nacelles into the wing. The ‘141B is a simple aircraft. I’m going to contemplate making an interior for this kit, as the clear cockpit windows scream for detail instead of a flat area painted black. We’ll see…

This set consists of three metal gear; both mains and the nose gear. The real C-141 gear strut extends through the top of the gear side sponson when extended, and this is faithfully duplicated. The SAC gear cements right in place, and looks like it should. It’s a direct copy of the kit parts, so the “sit” of the “lizard” is perfect. Same for the nose gear… cement in place and don’t be concerned!

Why use this set? Because the kit plastic is a bit soft, and over time your gear WILL fail. Give it a year or so… buy the SAC metal gear and avoid this.

As usual, “Du rigeur”, The photos tell the story; the SAC gear fits perfectly into place, and I know have a rough-field gear that will shrug off my attempts to break it. The other benefit is I can bend the gear into place to ensure appropriate camber and castor on the tires after installation if required. All around user-friendly!

SAC gear makes the difference for many kits like this. An easy “10” rating, thanks again to Ross at SAC for staying at the front of the landing gear requirements with all the new releases, and IPMS USA for providing the forum to review them…