SPA Modeler

KSaarni wrote:Will be an interesting project !

The P-40 seems to be a little bit "hot" at this moment in the modelling world. Or then I just happen to see posts of it.

Looking forward to the build, popcorn ordered already!

- Kari

I think that the recent Hasegawa kits, along with the new Airfix and Bronco kits have something to do with that. Before those great kits came along, the choices were not so wonderful. Yes there were plenty of options, but they all needed a little something or correction here or there...

And most recently, Trumpeter came out with a new tool 1/32 P-40F.

For me, it’s all about the airframe with the Warhawk. I love it. Always have. And I like this Hasegawa kit. The 1:48 was a joy to build, and I’m anticipating this 1:32 will be too.

Oh! The first of the aftermarket stuff came yesterday! Brass undercarriage:



I also ordered Eduard’s resin wheels for it.

Just to clarify, SAC stuff is white metal and not brass. There are reviews on SAC replacement gear and not all of it is positive. Some have commented on how soft the white metal is.

P-39 (Kitty Hawk)
https://www.largescaleplanes.com/review ... p?rid=1804

P-51D (Hasegawa)
https://www.largescaleplanes.com/review ... p?rid=1037

I'm sure it'll work fine but I thought I'd give you a heads up.

Ah! Duly noted John. Thank you.

I feel like a dummy too. Why’d I even say “brass” LOL, it ain’t even yellow.

I haven’t had enough coffee.

Yup—I thought you were going with G-Factor, which is brass. I bought a 1/48 SAC for my P-47, then returned it in favor of the kit’s versions.



Also I am not repping G-Factor. Just when you wrote “brass,” my ears perked up. I don’t know anyone off hand here who has used G-Factor brass!

I have been perusing the reviews that John posted, and reading up a bit more. The softness issue seems to be a big complaint. These were an eBay score that didn’t set me back but five bucks. I’ll look into those you shared, Bruce. *cough* I’ve had back luck with soft/brittle landing gear in the past *cough*


Fool me once, landing gear...

I hear ya. You could always build the central section out of tubing, using a *cough cough cough* Zona saw and mate that to the additional fuselage / wheel posts... not the saw... heh the posts.

Well aloha, Mr. Hand!

And that ain’t a bad idea! I’m ordering one of those today as a matter of fact...

I picked up a set of G-Factor brass legs for a 1/48 MiG-23 but ended up not using them. I didn't know how to work with the metal in terms of cleaning up the surface texture and mold lines. Plus the MiG-23 gear is really complicated with lots of interlocking parts... I felt more comfortable working with the plastic-to-plastic kit connections.


For my G-10 build, I used Eduard metal legs, which are brass. The Revell kit has a very thin connection at the base of the landing gear, where I was afraid of a failure. It wasn't a perfect solution either as I ended up grinding off the molded brake line and putting in my own.


Unless there is a specific strength issue that needs to be addressed or if the metal gear offers a significant increase in detail, I'll usually go with the kit gear. From what I can tell, the SAC stuff is molded directly off the kit parts so you're not gaining any detail.