[aki]

The lower part of the nose gear was cut off and the steering pivot which was made from a 0.3mm dia. stainless steel rod was attached to the one.


The hole for the steering pivot which has a 0.3mm dia. can be seen on the nose gear strut. The landing light has been attached on the strut though it doesn't look good.


The edges of the main landing gear doors have been painted in red. (The ones on the nose doors only have been done by Hogan.)


Up close shots. Enjoy!

[firefighterpilot1]

I REALLY wish I knew what you use to cut the nose gear so precisely. This is a mod I really want to try. Looks great, as usual!

[aki]

Originally Posted by firefighterpilot1

I REALLY wish I knew what you use to cut the nose gear so precisely. This is a mod I really want to try. Looks great, as usual!

Thanks for the comment. As all the landing gears of this model are plastic, an ordinary knife which has a sharp blade would work well. The steps that I did are as follows.

1. Drill a 0.3mm dia. hole which is to be a steering point with a hand drill tool.
2. Insert a 0.3mm dia. stainless steel rod into the hole. It's gonna be a supporting stuff while cutting the gear.
3. Put a knife blade on the LH side of the gear strut and make sure that the blade is at the right angle to the strut.
4. Push a blade gently concentrating on the angle of the blade to make a groove.
5. Repeat step 4 & 5 on the other sides (RH, FWD & AFT).
6. Trace all the grooves with a knife.
7. Twist (steer) the lower part of the gear (tires & wheels assy) only when the depth of the groove is good enough to remove (cut off).
8. Remove the stainless steel rod from the gear.

That's easy! Give it a go!!!

[firefighterpilot1]

But you've cut metal landing gear as well, correct? Surely you can't use a knife and get such a smooth cut. That's very impressive for 1/200. Where do you find these steel rods?

[aki]

Originally Posted by firefighterpilot1

But you've cut metal landing gear as well, correct? Surely you can't use a knife and get such a smooth cut. That's very impressive for 1/200. Where do you find these steel rods?

I got various stuff, i.e. metal/plastic rod/pipe/board and so on at
“Œ‹}ƒnƒ“ƒY–¼ŒÃ‰®“X
and I believe that all those stuff are available at a hobby shop in the States as well.