Scale Aircraft Conversions 1/48 Lancaster Landing Gear First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) produces an impressive array of white metal replacement landing gear for a variety of models. Some of these sets correct different issues that appeared in production kits, while others are simple common sense replacements to have stronger landing gear on your model.

This release is one of more than 60 landing gear sets available in 1/48 scale and is targeted for the Tamiya releases of the Avro Lancaster. This white metal set is a direct replacement for the kit parts, but offers greater strength over the kit's styrene gear. This set works with the original Lancaster B.I/B.III, Lancaster Dam Buster, and the more recent motorized Grand Slam bomber. One interesting twist if you do have the Grand Slam release and don't want to mess with the funky battery compartment and sliding bomb power switch, you can mount the bomber to a base and run power up the metal struts rather than trying to hide wires. Simply run wires up through the wheels to the axles, then from the top of the struts out to the wiring harness for the motors.

One nice aspect of aftermarket landing gear like these from SAC is that you can make the change anytime, even after the kit's gear buckles for whatever reason. Unlike an aftermarket cockpit or other details that need to be incorporated during construction, you can easily extract the old styrene gear and plug in these replacements once you've got them primed and painted. Of course you can plan ahead and use them during your build-up and avoid the problems in the first place.

You can obtain SAC landing gear from your favorite hobby retailer or online hobby shop. If your retailer can't get these for you and you can't this set at your favorite online retailer, then you can get quick service from Scale Aircraft Conversions directly.

My sincere thanks to Scale Aircraft Conversions for this review sample!