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Buying metal landing gears.


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Hi Andrew, I'm currently building the Academy Hornet kit. Could you please elaborate on how I should attach the plastic gear to the wheel well? I have the G-Factor replacement set but prefer the quality of the kit part. Also how long has your kit been standing on the plastic legs?

Thanks.

Cheers

John

I have resisted the urge to buy the G-Factor gear for my 1:32 F-14s, although the temptation has been great; brass is beautiful, but it just doesn't make a difference! The Tamiya plastic gear with the metal core will outlive me. I don't think it matters on an F/A-18, either - the really important thing on a Hornet is the attachment to the wheel well. My Academy Hornet is still going strong with the kit gear, which I glued into the wells with Tamiya Extra Thin, plastic to plastic. Maybe on an F-105, but I think I won't...

Sorry, SAC - I got a few sets of your white metal gear for free and still am not using them!

Just my opinions...

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I have been building models for 40 years and I've never, never, ever had plastic gear break from the weight of the model. Now, I have dropped them, which precipitated the purchase of metal landing gear, but that's a different story. The thing about the SAC gear is that you can replace the Monogram F-18 landing gear the SAC gear meant for the Hasegawa kit. That gets rid of the nose-up look of the Monogram kit. Other than that, I've never seen the need to replace kit gear with metal gear.

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I used SAC gear on a 1/32 Hornet build. If they are copies of the kit plastic, so be it. I could have used the G-Factor ones, but they don't have the correct shock struts for a Canadian bird. Rather than cutting up more expensive brass gear, I opted for the easier option to use the SAC gear. I probably will do the same for my next 32nd Hornet as well. Other than that, I don't see a real need for metal gear at all, other than maybe with the F-105.

Edited by Colin K
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I find that I have had better results when I strengthened the plastic gear using a metal rod. I usually use plastic in kits that have both metal and plastic... mainly because they are better for painting and finishing.... but there are always exceptions... every now and again, the metal gear looks better... Like mentioned about the GWH F-15... those SAC gear are really nice. I just find plastic is much more forgiving and easier when it comes to glue... I rather use cememt on plastic than glueing CA metal to styrene...... as far as other AM..... I hate pre printed cockpits on anything lrger than 1/72..... but I usually spring for jet nozzles in resin

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I don't think it matters on an F/A-18, either - the really important thing on a Hornet is the attachment to the wheel well. My Academy Hornet is still going strong with the kit gear, which I glued into the wells with Tamiya Extra Thin, plastic to plastic.

You were lucky. The problem with the Academy F/A-18 landing gear is not the attachment to the wheel well, but the landing gear itself. There is a metal rod within the gear that can move and slip over time, if the rod is not glued to the plastic. This happened to me on my first Hornet build, which started to sag after a year. According to kit instructions, you slip the metal rod inside the plastic gear parts and glue just the plastic, which leaves the inside of the landing gear partly hollow which allows the rod to bend and slip. If you use CA glue inside the landing gear first to adhere the metal to the plastic, then glue the plastic parts together, I bet there is no need for metal landing gear. I used the G-Factor gear on my second Hornet build and it worked great, but I'll be using totally kit parts on my next build using this method.

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You were lucky. The problem with the Academy F/A-18 landing gear is not the attachment to the wheel well, but the landing gear itself. There is a metal rod within the gear that can move and slip over time, if the rod is not glued to the plastic. This happened to me on my first Hornet build, which started to sag after a year. According to kit instructions, you slip the metal rod inside the plastic gear parts and glue just the plastic, which leaves the inside of the landing gear partly hollow which allows the rod to bend and slip. If you use CA glue inside the landing gear first to adhere the metal to the plastic, then glue the plastic parts together, I bet there is no need for metal landing gear. I used the G-Factor gear on my second Hornet build and it worked great, but I'll be using totally kit parts on my next build using this method.

Thanks Chuck!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Nearest attempt at a quality aftermarket landing gear set i have seen is the Aires Avenger #7001 set. Has resin wheels (Big wow) and white metal oleos/legs...and a tailwheel?!

You`d be excused for thinking when buying the full detail set it would be included. Think again. This can be very confusing sometimes because it`s not always a straightforward

task figuring this out unless you have the set in question at hand. Another good example is the P-47 detail set. It does not include the Aires # 7052 control surface set.

Anyway, back to the original topic. I find it strange no one has stepped up and created a range of resin landing gears. As we have concluded, the white metal ones are no better

looking than the kit parts and therefore does not have a lot of potential. I like what Hawkeye Designs has done to their oleos, casting the resin with a strengthening steel rod inside.

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