Introduction

The US Navy's third littoral combat ship (LCS), the USS Ft. Worth was just commissioned in late September, 2012 – a mere few weeks after Dragon released this kit. Designated LCS-3, the Ft. Worth is a single V-hull, and the second of the Freedom class LCS ship. LCS ships are sleek and fast, make a small radar target, and can maneuver close to the shore in only 20 feet of water. Dragon's LCS-3 Smart Kit is an excellent representation of the LCS class ship, in a small size and with excellent detail, that can be displayed just about anywhere.

SAC continues its prolific output of gear to handle the loads on our models Thanks to Russ at SAC for providing IPMS USA this set, and IPMS for sending it to me for review!

This set improves on Revell’s 1/32 MiG-29 Fulcrum A’s items in two ways – it has both main gear strut halves combined into one item, so there is no seam to fill (a bit of a swipe with wet/dry emery board after scraping the almost imperceptible mold line, and you are done), and it adds structural rigidity to a kit requiring it due to sheer size and weight. This is particularly true if you use a lot of resin aftermarket, which the Revell MiG- 29 needs to bring it up to standard.

Besides the main gear, three actuator struts and one nose gear with separate side braces are included, all necessary as previously noted.

Once again, no concern of collapsing gear within a year after I finish the model.

Highly recommended and well done to SAC for yet another winner!

Hot on the heels of the release of Kitty Hawk Models’ 1/48 F-35B is Scale Aircraft Conversions’ metal landing gear set. The set consists of 11 pieces of white metal to replace the entire landing gear structure on the F-35. There are three gear struts, three torque links, three retracting arms, and two retraction cylinders. As you can see from the pictures, the metal castings are excellent.

For review, I installed the parts on the kit (which I am in the process of reviewing) and they fit like a charm. In one picture, you can see the nose gear torque link has snapped and, thankfully, SAC to the rescue. All it takes is a little clean up and they drop into place, providing a sturdy base to the kit. You can also polish the metal where the silver parts are and leave them bare metal for a realistic look.

This is a set of lots of US weapons that will be useful for dioramas or as stowage on vehicles. There are two bags of weapons with a complete set in each bag, contained on three sprues. There is also a sprue of canvas bags.

I built up the M2 .50 cal machine gun on a tripod, the 60mm mortar, and a bazooka. The machine gun has 20 parts and most are pretty small. But we get a highly detailed gun and very nice belt- fed ammo. The mortar has 13 parts and a couple of rounds for it. The barrels are hollowed out, but a little more drilling is needed. The stowage is as good as resin pieces, and the M1 helmets are the best I’ve seen in plastic. The only problem I see is a bent M1 carbine barrel, since there are three sprues packed in one plastic bag.

Here is a listing of what you get:

New to the Scale Aircraft Conversions line is a set of gear for a Revell F-18E/F. The set comes in five pieces with the three main gear and two small retraction links all cast in sturdy white metal. I included pictures of the gear with its plastic counterparts and the detail is good. One issue I have had building F-18 kits in 1/48 or larger scale is there sometimes is a tendency to sag based on the way the main landing gear are configured. The attachment points on this gear have a key the attaches it to the fuselage via three points of contact and, being white metal, this should prevent any long term issues. I included some shots of them on the Revell kit for reference and fit is very good.

One thing to note – these are for the Revell kit. They could be made to fit the Hasegawa offering but don't bother, just purchase set 48005, the correct gear set for Hasegawa kits.