Hi all,

I am working on Tamiya's old 1/35 Chieftain. I am trying to get rid of the seam on the base (breech?) of the main gun. However, my question is this, how would you replace the 'ribs' that are being sanded away to get rid of the seam? See photo...



Thanks.

Wow, that's a bummer when that happens. I use the back of a #11 blade or another suitably wide tool and chase the rings like I'm chasing threads on a bolt. I will admit I often don't exercise enough patience and end up cutting a groove off track quite often. It may not be the best way, but it does work.

The 'Concertina' part of the barrel is (sfaik) a canvas/wire construct to cover the recoil sliding section.

I glued the 2 parts together with liquid glue, then worked the parts together with my nails to get the grooves as well as I could, & allowed to dry.
Then I cut a clean edge in some 400 grade sandpaper & used that to work the grooves, & then used more liquid glue to paint the grooves, & repeat till satisfied...

I'd consider reducung the diameter slightly & wrap thin wire spirally round it.

Consider setting the barrel elevation to what you want, gluing in the pivot, & filling in the 'mantlet' space, to simulate the canvas cover, as below.
(not my work, btw): http://www.militarymodelling.com/news/article.asp?a=4997

Thanks for the ideas. I will post a picture once I get past this piece!

Well, I did some more sanding, then tried thin wire. I used a pin vise to create a couple small holes, inserted the wire, then wound tightly until near the other end of the ribbing. Then inserted the other end of the wire into the second hole and added super glue. How's it look?

Wow, that looks a lot better than the results of my approach would have. Well done!

Thanks. Now I have to do the 'whole' barrel... lots of seam.

I'd remove a few loops and spread the coil out a little more, as the grooves appear a bit tight. Maybe brush a little Mr. Surfacer or similar primer between the loops so it looks more like a canvas concertina rather than a spring.

Gerald,

Thanks for your comments. I don't know how easy that will be now, I got a little carried away last night and superglued it down. Also added the rest of the barrel parts and have started to clean up the seams. I see what you mean when I look at it and I think I will have to do that with the next time I run up against this issue.

Thanks again,

John

Just a last shot to show the Barrel primed and 'test fit' into the turret.

Here's a useful link to the tweaks list for building the Chieftain.
http://www.onepointed.com/dan/model/ChieftainTweaks/

Gerald,

Thank again. You are a fount of info! Lot to tweak on this kit, huh!

John