Another very welcome offering from our friends at Scale Aircraft Conversions is their white metal landing gear set for SkunkModel Workshop’s 1/48 scale MQ-9 Reaper. Since reviewing the Reaper kit back in June of 2011, my sample has succumbed to the insatiable pull of gravity against its spindly injection-molded main struts, settling into a “low-rider” crouch with the low-hanging vertical stabilizer all but dragging in the dirt.

Enter SAC’s aftermarket set! Patterned from the kit parts, the SAC struts are a perfect fit to the base kit. Although some detail is softened in the casting process, they are still convincing in appearance and a necessity to preclude the dreaded “low-rider” effect of the kit struts.

I highly recommend this set for anyone building the 1/48 SkunkModel MQ-9 Reaper with gear down.

The X-29 was built in 1984 as a test bed for the forward-swept wing concept. The result was an extremely maneuverable aircraft, but because the center of gravity was behind the aerodynamic center, the aircraft was inherently unstable. The solution was a fly-by-wire system which used a computer to make 40 corrections per second to keep the aircraft going where the pilot wanted it to go. Two test aircraft were built.

If the aircraft looks kind of familiar, the basic airframe was a Northrop F-5A and the main landing gear was from an F-16.

The Kit

Since it’s 1/144, it’s pretty simple. The parts are on 2 sprues, one for the clear parts, one for everything else. But simple doesn’t mean crude. The molding on this kit is very good, and the fit is really great. And it includes a cockpit and seat with choice of open or closed canopy, and a boarding ladder.

Originally designed as a nuclear response aircraft, the F-105 Thunderchief was always one of my favorite jet propelled fighter/bomber aircraft from the Vietnam war. Its sleek and aggressive lines and large presence were quite intimidating and left no doubt as to its mission in life. The Thud compiled a distinguished service record, flying over 20,000 combat missions by the end of the war and proving to be a rugged and capable aircraft in the Republic tradition. However, despite its durability, losses were heavy, with over 330 F-105s lost in the skies of Southeast Asia.

Osprey’s latest title in their Air Vanguard series is Republic F-105 Thunderchief. Although I refer to the Vietnam war above, it is just one of six sections of this interesting and insightful read:

This is a simple upgrade, consisting of four items (both struts and two steps); it improves on the kit items by a major factor in that you don’t have to glue what is a basic triangle with an angle as the kit would have you do – see the comparison picture below, where the kit-supplied oleo strut is separate from the torsion strut. On the real aircraft, this provides dual purpose action in that it dampens impact with the ground without causing the aircraft to rebound, which could result in really bad things with moving rotor blades.

(This was changed on some versions by using an “A” frame strut, replacing the torsion bar completely. This is the version Revell used for their release from 1987. I can’t vouch for the effectiveness of this modification, but it’s obviously a bit more sturdy.)

Thanks once again to Akiko at MRC for providing IPMS USA the opportunity to review one of their products…and IPMS USA for forwarding it to me to do the review!

This kit is a sleeper. The reason I say that is I would not have purchased it on a whim. It’s a cool-looking “Indigenous” production of the Korean defense industry, designed as an advanced trainer, and incorporates many design elements of aircraft already flying. Their display team, “The Black Eagles,” fly T-50s, and Academy produces a kit with their markings as well.

Molded in “true white” plastic (it almost glows), the part trees have a staggering amount of detail. Academy tends to design their kits with many details as separate items; this results in a bit more complex construction, but also provides kit fidelity in the final product. Take your time and produce an excellent model!