Scale Aircraft Conversions has been around for quite some time providing excellent aftermarket options for aircraft modelers. In the case of this set released in June of this year, we have a selection of white metal parts to replace the kit landing gear strut parts from the ICM line of Hampdens. It provides a stronger, more durable alternative to the kit parts.

What’s Inside the Box

Inside the bubble plastic and cardboard container are parts to replace the main landing struts and tailwheel strut. In the comparison photo accompanying this review text, the SAC white metal gear is on the left and the kit gear is on the right. In inserting the gear wheel into the metal strut, the arms pushed away a bit, but the white metal is malleable enough to squeeze back into position. Upon installing the strut, I ran into an issue with the middle section being too long to where the two side posts didn’t reach their sockets, so I had to trim it down to get it to work.

In the Box

The kit comes in a sturdy 12” x 8” x 5” box with an illustration of the Tsubaki figure. Images of the finished model can be found on the box sides. Like Gundam kits, it comes molded in multiple colors so that a nicely finished model can be built right out of the box with minimal work. Both painted and unpainted images of the kit are shown on the sides of the box. The kit comes with thirty nine individually bagged sprues molded in eight colors. The engineering of the parts is designed to emulate the paint breaks of the figures complex color scheme. The runners are molded in POM, PVC and ABS and all the parts are designed to be snap fit. Regular solvent based glue will not affect these types of plastic. Figure kits are meant to be posable, thus tougher plastics are necessary so that the joints will both hold a pose and be durable.

When I built my Werner’s Wings MH-47E conversion from the Trumpeter CH-47D I found out something that almost made me shelf the model, the landing gear was crap. Not in that it lacked detail but in the fact that it fell apart. The metal was brittle to the point of breaking up into multiple pieces as I tried to assemble it. I tried pinning the metal, but it just shattered more. I finally won but I don’t know how. I would have killed to have this set.

Packaged in a blister pack with cardboard backing typical of SAC packaging you get TEN pieces of white metal landing gear. The gear are labeled for left and right. You get the forks, the struts and supports along with separate tie down rings. The tie down rings on the kit are incorporated into the strut. SAC gives you realistic say to display them. The detail is very nicely done and appears crisper than the kit parts. And thank God they are not brittle like the kit parts.

First off, a note of thanks to Revell for providing this kit to IPMS/USA!

I have had the fortune to build just about every major manufacturer’s” Battle Penguin” since the mid-2015 period (excluding Tamiya’s, I am a 1/48 guy as I get older), and this new release from Revell Germany is a great example of the lower-cost, simpler variant with an excellent final result… it was a surprisingly easy build, and some features just stood out for me.

(For the uninitiated, the official name “Lightning II” in my opinion is a lazy way to come up with a title, (same for “Beast Mode”, yeah, right) and the aforementioned “Battle Penguin” is what most people I know who work on the jet call it… There is another name that is less flattering in “FA” (look it up); I personally think it looks like a horny toad sitting on the ground, but whatever). Enough…

The non-profit UK based group known as the Great War Aviation Society publishes their journal, Cross & Cockade International, four times a year. Issues are available in English as printed [Softbound, A4 (8.27” x 11.69”), 80 pages plus centerfold] as well as digital copies (or both). A new magazine, Contact!, is now available in both print and digital download. The Society also provides a free newsletter (sign up on their website) and occasionally publish WWI themed books like the Sopwith Dolphin monograph I reviewed earlier for IPMS USA. This Journal is the sister of the US Journal, Over The Front. The Great War Aviation Society also hosts a lecture series available through Zoom. If interested, you will need to register early as the call is limited in attendance. The Great War Aviation Society also is on Facebook and on X [Twitter].