Sukhoi Su-9 Landing Gear

Published on
October 13, 2015
Review Author(s)
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$16.96
Product / Stock #
48286
Product packaging

SAC has filled the niche of replacement landing cast in white metal. In most cases these are copies of the original parts cast in white metal. Some are upgrades that fix noted errors. These products are convenient for many multiple reasons:

  • Replace inherently weak landing gear (Pro-Modeler F-84G)
  • Add strength to a model that has a lot of resin aftermarket
  • Replace the poorly detailed landing gear (I used the Su-25 set for Revell on the OEZ/KOPRO kit)
  • Replace lost or damaged landing gear

This offering is intended to replace the landing gear on Trumpeter’s SU-9 and contains white metal copies of the assembled pieces. In the Trumpeter kit the pivot for the landing gear gets glued to the main strut. The plastic is not keyed for just one fit and the instructions are unclear. I had to make some changes to the gear so that the pivot looked like a pivot. Happily SAC got the alignment right and removed the guess work – a simple way to avoid frustration. The replacement fits tightly into the socket in the main wheel well, as good as the original. The nose gear fits equally as well and I think does add strength. I did not use this set only because I received it too late in my build and I already had the landing gear assembled, painted and weathered.

A word of caution: I shaved down the socket to reduce the “toy” effect and ended up with weaker landing gear as a result. The kit landing gear is not inherently weak, but the center of pressure is aft of the socket and causes the landing gear to want to bend back – exactly the issue I exacerbated with my modification.

My only quibble about the SAC products is that they are harder to clean-up than plastic landing gear. Unlike other white metal products, there appears to be no lead and the metal does not deteriorate with age like older white-metal aftermarket accessories. In case you were wondering, the landing gear on the SU-9 is far different than that of the SU-7, so this set cannot be used to improve the OEZ/KOPRO SU-7. I recommend this set.

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