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I heard a few model builders here, and at other forums, talk about a particular model they were working on being so heavy they were concerned the kit landing gear might might not be able to support the weight of the kit. Some comments I read mentioned that a metal landing gear would be needed to support the weight of the finished model, and they were speaking from experience. In some builds the plastic gear gave out and bent from the kit weight. Could we use this space here to talk about kits you might know about from experience, or other people's work, that needed metal gear. That would include the kit, the metal gear, was it suitable, or just as good as the plastic or resin gear. It could also include how the kit gear was strengthened if that was useful. And it might be good to remember that when a kit is used with resin "upgrades" the weight probably increases a lot. Perhaps this could be useful as a resource over time as more people comment here. Hope it helps in general. A few kits I am curious about for the landing gear being effective in supporting the finished kit: Revell B-1B in 1/48 Revell A-400M in 1/72 Your knowledge and experience with those two kits would be most appreciated. Thanks. Randolph

Cessna O-2A Skymaster Brass Undercarriage (for ICM) 1:48 Aerocraft Models To my immense joy, ICM have recently released their brand new tooling of the quirky Skymaster in 1:48, which we reviewed here recently. Immediately on seeing the main gear leg there were some concerns about strength, as the styrene part is scale-thickness, so necessarily thin. Ali at Aerocraft had the same feeling, and has been busy at work creating this set to replace the kit parts in tough brass to alleviate our concerns. The set arrives in an unassuming ziplok bag, with three parts inside, all made from brass. The main gear “bow” that supports the airframe, running under its width from one wheel to the other, the short nose gear leg, and a length of brass tube that forms the axle between the two sides of the yoke, holding the kit wheel in place. For this review I’m comparing the kit part with the replacement brass part, and as part of this I have nipped the kit part from the sprues, which showed just how flexible it is, and was something of a shock. The brass bow is immensely strong by comparison and of the same dimensions, with the curve captured exactly, as are the two pips on the top surface that locate it under the fuselage. While I was testing the styrene part, a mild flex led to it snapping in half, presumably at a weak-point where two wave fronts of hot styrene had met, the results of which you can see below along with the six sprue gates you'd have to remove and make good without damaging the part. Preparation of the brass part will involve removal of the casting gate with a file or a motor-tool at very low speed. The moulding marks on the top and bottom of the part should be similarly easy to remove using a small file with sanding sticks used to smooth it out once the task is complete. The little nose gear leg has its oleo-scissor moulded in, which is one of the benefits of brass casting. Again there are a few fine lines and a pouring stub to remove, then check the tubular brass axle will fit through the holes, which is 0.8mm across. You may need to gently twist the axles or ream them out slightly to ensure a good smooth insertion, which is best done before any paint is applied. Conclusion This is an absolute must for anyone that intends to rest their finished model on its gear, and even if you’re planning an in-flight pose, you should consider it for its strength during construction alone. It’s not expensive by any stretch of the imagination, and guarantees resilient gear legs for years to come, providing you use either super-glue or epoxy to attach it to the plastic. Extremely highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Hello to everyone. I have a few questions and need some help from you First i would like to know can you suggest where could I find some pictures of landing gear interior, cockpit, engine ?? I did try to google but for some thing I get like houndred different things (cockpit) so I don't know which one is most accurate, for some stuff I just can't even find the pictures of real airplane, just pictures of some finished models (landing gear interior) ...

Hi as title suggests i really could do with two pairs of vc-10 rear landing gear legs for the airfix kit any help greatly appreciated cheers Rob