1:48 B-17 Landing Gear (Loaded) for Monogram kit

B-17 loaded landing gear 1:48 (Kopecky Scale Models, for Monogram)

A resin replacement landing gear from the Czech brand Kopecky Scale Models. It is not an airplane model but a detail part for the Monogram B-17 Flying Fortress kit in 1:48 scale, which you have to have. This version has the tires flattened (loaded) on the contact patch, as on a heavy bomber settled with its full weight on the runway. The B-17 Flying Fortress is the legendary American heavy bomber of the Second World War.

Loaded versus unloaded: which version to choose

Kopecky offers this landing gear in two variants and it is important not to mix them up:

• Loaded (this version): the tires are flattened by the weight of a fully loaded aircraft standing on the ground. Choose it if you are building a realistic heavy bomber standing on the runway with a full load.
• Unloaded: the tires are round, as on an empty aircraft or a machine on hydraulic jacks. Look for that version if you are building an aircraft that is lightened or on jacks.

Getting the choice wrong means ending up with the wrong version, so think first about how the model is going to stand.

Why a resin landing gear

A resin landing gear tends to be stronger and better detailed than the plastic one from the kit; on a heavy model of the B-17 that is a practical advantage, because the legs carry a lot of weight. The realistic flattening of the tires also adds to the impression of the machine's weight.

Fitting and painting

• Wash the mold release agent off the parts, cut off the casting blocks and clean up the surfaces (sanding resin with respiratory protection).
• It is glued with cyanoacrylate glue (super glue).
• The legs are usually silver or metallic, the tires a flat rubber black; the flattening will come out with a wash and dust effects.

This is a part for a kit, not a model in its own right. The Monogram base kit, glue and paints are not included in the package.