Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) is a company that specializes in supplying stronger metal landing gear for just about every scale model kit there is. Their benefit can be seen when considering the weight of some finished models, especially where softer plastic is used. I have several models sitting on my shelves where the kit plastic gear legs were used and have, over time, started to splay outwards under the weight.

The SAC landing gear is contained in a compact clear plastic blister pack with a card paper backing to protect the contents. The kit name, manufacturer and scale are printed on a sticker at the top, front of the card. There is a typo spelling “Westlake” instead of “Westland”. There are some basic instructions on the back of the cardboard, but the modeler is expected to use the kit instructions for part placement.

The gear is made from white metal, that is slightly softer, but in my experience has been strong enough to support the models I’ve used them on. They are typically exact replicas of the original plastic parts they replace, and in some cases have been improved compared to the original plastic part.

This set replaces the already nice plastic main and tail landing gear on the fantastic 1/48 scale Airfix Westland Sea King helicopter. The metal parts are nicely formed with just a little seam and attachment point clean up needed. Several swipes with some medium grit sandpaper, or sanding stick usually takes care of the seams quickly. They are easy to work with and are designed to fit the same as the kit plastic parts using Superglue or Epoxy. As the metal is softer, any part that maybe bent, can be reformed easily.

This SAC landing gear set will be a welcome addition to the Sea King model that should prove to be a fairly heavy model.

I would like to thank Scale Aircraft Conversions and IPMS USA for the opportunity to review this metal landing gear set.