White Metal Landing Gear

[Sebastian Haff]

Hi, all

I'm wondering how many of you use white metal landing gear and why. I understand that they're good for supporting extra weight, but are there any other advantages? Are they any more detailed than the kit Gears?I'm building a Freedom Models 1/48 X-47, and the gears are very prominent on trt, so it got me wondering if I should invest in some. What say you?

Thanks

[82Whitey51]

I don't see any advantage. Unless you're talking a plastic gear that is particularly weak or troublesome (Monogram F-105, Czech Model F3D Skyknight gear come to mind) I don't see an advantage over a nicely molded solid plastic gear.

I have a Collect Aire F-86H with white metal gear, and every few months I have to take it aside and straighten out the main wheels. I recently finished up a Kinetic C-2A Greyhound, a pretty heavy model! I elected to use the kit gear vice the SAC replacements because they are solid and support the weight just fine.

As far as extra detail...I find that most of the SAC gear are simply white metal copies of the kit parts. G-Factor makes brass landing gear and their stuff usually has extra detail added.

[dnl42]

I agree with Whitey.

I built that kit a couple of years ago. The landing gear are quite robust, so you have nothing to worry about regarding strength. While fairly well detailed, detail can be improved a little.

What you do need to worry about is the fit of the spoilers, LG doors, and the wing folds. The spoilers and LG doors need trimming to close. Also note that the forward main LG doors should be closed unless the landing gear are retracting or extending. If you want the wings extended, be prepared to do some fitting, filling, and filing.

Despite this, it really is a nice kit, the decals go on quite nicely, and it will look great on your shelf!

Edited August 20, 2016 by dnl42

[Sebastian Haff]

Thanks Whitey. Pretty much what I figured. I'm going to check out G Factor.

dnl42-Thanks for the tips on the X-47. I'm going to do the wings folded. I wasn't at first, but after dry fitting...nah. Are you talking about having trouble with the LG doors in the open or closed position? Tonight I'm working on the bomb bay doors which I want closed but I'm running into the same thing you're saying about the other doors. They're just a touch too big. I'm worried about overdoing it on the trimming though.

[dnl42]

Everything in the closed position. Yeah, forgot about the bay doors--them too!

[yardbird78]

I am currently building the Monogram 1/72 B-36, which is a large, heavy model. I bought the S.A.C. metal landing gear at the same time that I bought the kit. The metal gear is an exact copy of the plastic gear supplied in the kit. It has a rougher texture which is not good. It is too rough to leave as is, but doesn't seem worth the effort to sand all of those intricate parts. It doesn't seem any stronger than the kit part.

Darwin

[Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy]

There are exceptions, as in most things. Here's one: the kit nosegear of the Hasegawa 1/72 F9F-8 Cougar is INCREDIBLY delicate and breaks without much help at all. The metal gear from Aeroclub is a perfect solution; much more robust, and, IMO, more accurate anyway. Did it for all 3 Cougars in my Jolly Rogers history collection (F9F-6, -7 & -8). Wouldn't do it any other way for that kit. Period.

[Snowbird3a]

Here is the SAC gear for a 1/48 F-86 Sabre, an exact copy of the kit gear;

here is what the nose fork is supposed to look like;

guess I won't be buying any SAC landing gear without some good reference material in hand.

Cheers, Tony

[mlicari]

There are exceptions, as in most things. Here's one: the kit nosegear of the Hasegawa 1/72 F9F-8 Cougar is INCREDIBLY delicate and breaks without much help at all. The metal gear from Aeroclub is a perfect solution; much more robust, and, IMO, more accurate anyway. Did it for all 3 Cougars in my Jolly Rogers history collection (F9F-6, -7 & -8). Wouldn't do it any other way for that kit. Period.

Indeed. Also, on occasion SAC does indeed make corrections to poor kit parts. The GW Devastator gear is one example. The kit parts are molded with the main oleos extended, which would only happen if the gear were down in flight. SAC's initial replacement set were just kit copies, with the mistakenly extended oleos; upon poor reviews, SAC changed their gear to be representative of a parked plane.

No affiliation with SAC, just noting that there are several SAC sets that do indeed correct mistakes in kit parts.

Mike

[Sebastian Haff]

Just checked out some SAC items on SB. Very sharp looking.

[Darren Roberts]

Except for a couple of exceptions, white metal landing gear is a waste of money. In over 40 years of building models, the only time I've had gear break is when I dropped it. Never has plastic gear broken sitting on the shelf.

[dnl42]

Except for a couple of exceptions, white metal landing gear is a waste of money. In over 40 years of building models, the only time I've had gear break is when I dropped it. Never has plastic gear broken sitting on the shelf.

They are useful when you, um, lose one of the landing gear...but really, who does that?

[Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy]

Well, I guarantee that aforementioned Hase 1/72 F9F-8 is the exception. That thing broke from just being shifted on the shelf. Attempts at repairs including running a dowel through it failed. It is ridiculously delicate, and when you look at the real thing you wonder how in heck they (Hasegawa) decided to make it as thin and scrawny as they did.

[Janissary]

They can be useful. I have found them particularly useful in two situations:

(1) Hasegawa 1/48 F-4E. I used metal MLGs in my latest model. The shaft that connects the wheels to the struts, combined with the 'C' shape the strut makes looking front to back is problematic. Under the weight of the model, the plastic strut bends inward making the wheels very difficult to get perpendicular to the ground if the struts are already perpendicular. I had this in three prior attempts and it always bothered me. The metal gears were the perfect remedy to this problem.

(2) Hasegawa 1/48 F-18. The nice thing about the white metal MLG is that you can bend it to shape after it has been glued in. The Hornet's landing gears are complex and again if you want the wheels to remain perpendicular to the ground, you will need some post-adjustments. This process is fairly straightforward with white metal gears. I have done this with plastic too (Tamiya F-16), but I used a hairdryer to aid the process, which is not ideal (can melt a part if not careful).

So in my experience, white metal gears are useful not for their weight bearing capacity or accuracy, but for their pliability after they have been attached.

[Ryan Hothersall]

I usually don't bother with metal undercarriage etc, apart from one kit, the 1:72 ICM MiG-25PD. Even in 1:72, a MiG-25 is quite heavy, and the kit parts are quite flimsy.

Only other time I'll be using metal undercarriage is when I get around to building my 1:72 Trumpeter Tu-95. What I have read about the kit is its another one with weak undercarriage.