Scale Plastic & Rail

News: A40M 'Grizzly' undercarriage set from SAC

BREAKING NEWS – BREAKING NEWS – BREAKING NEWS
Scale Aircraft Conversions – White Metal Undercarriage Sets

1/72 scale Revell Airbus A400M

Our very good friend Ross at Scale Aircraft Conversions (www.scaleaircraftconversions.com) informs us that following the release by Revell of the huge (even at 1/72 scale) Revell Airbus A400M 'Grizzly' (see our review here) and the news that Revell recommend the builder to add at least 80gms of nose weight to prevent tail sitting - he is on the case.

The prolific producer of white metal sets – we review at least six sets every month – has been busy preparing a complete replacement set for the A400M that will be ready for release on 1st March and Scale Plastic and Rail will bring the review to as soon as we receive the sample. As I type, the final mouldings and castings are, as yet, unfinished. News of this forthcoming set will also be excellent news for modellers who have not yet completed their project. Anyone who has built multi-wheeled airliner/freighter models will know just how tricky it is to ensure all main wheels touch base evenly.

Ross has sent a photograph of the metal pre-masters. The production set will look identical. Note the difference between the kit's 'halved' plastic legs and the solid white metal examples. Impressive.

This set will have the main gear struts as just six parts so the modeller won't have to assemble the twelve kit parts and spend a load of time cleaning the plastic seams. Also, he is including the twelve main wheel hubs and axles, this will allow the modeller to easily 'adjust' the wheels in order that they all touch 'terra firma' together! Hoorah for that, and in respect of the 80gms nose weight the kit requires, the weight of this set will help.

I know I bang on about this company's products, but that last sentence sums up why I like them so much. The 'tweakability'! You just cannot do that will plastic legs without going to an awful lot of trouble. Having just built the Zoukei-Moura Ta 152 with its unique 'cam locking' u/c leg set ups, I was wishing they could have been made of white metal. As good as the ZM legs and system is, once in position, it was virtually impossible to adjust that 'gnat's whisker' of an angle I required.

Just one more thing: with the huge size of this model comes the weight, plus a further 80gms of nose weight. Whether the kit's plastic legs will stand up to it I just don't know, but why take a chance of spoiling what will make up into a very impressive model?

Price? As yet unknown. This will become available when the moulding/casting operations are finished and the costs computed but you will be the first to know.

Our thanks to Ross for the breaking news.

Scale Aircraft Conversions, 3795 Shady Hill Drive, Dallas, Texas 75229, USA

www.scaleaircraftconversions.com

Peter Buckingham