Sea Harrier Landing Gear (Kin)
Once again, thanks up front to Ross at SAC for sending us another of your expanding line of metal landing gear, and thanks also to IPMS USA leadership for sending it on.
This is (once again) a basic upgrade to the kit plastic. The kit landing gear consists of two halves for the forward gear, a one-part aft main gear, and two outriggers with actuators and doors integrated as one item.
As usual, SAC gear replaced these. The kit nose gear requires taking care of a seam, after the nose wheel and tire is inserted. The kit wheels should be inserted carefully into the tire, but the plastic could possibly break or deform permanently. The SAC solution is more elegant. Superglue the upper strut and lower fork together, let it cure, then spray with metal primer. Paint gloss white or gray, BEND the fork out, carefully install the wheel and tire, then carefully close over the wheel hub. It stays in place and is a lot stronger.
The main strut is simplicity. Again, spray with metal primer, spray gray or white, and superglue the tires in place on the axle. Then superglue into the aft wheel well.
Another benefit of the SAC upgrade comes when the outriggers are installed. Harriers are notorious as a modeling subject for either having the outriggers too long or too short. Or the main gear is off a bit and you have one outrigger really high, and the other low and bending on the ground. With the SAC gear, once it’s in place, you can carefully bend the main gear slightly to fix “wonky” sit. And the other really cool thing on this kit; the outriggers FIT into the well, and being metal are more resilient. Most excellent.
Again, I believe the SAC gear is mandatory for many kits like this. Easy 10 rating, thanks again SAC for taking care of this modeling niche and IPMS USA for the forum to review such items.
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