Just received a DML Flak 36. It has both metal and plastic barrels for both Flak 18 and Flak 36.

I'm going to build a Flak 36, but which barrel to use.

I had assumed that this would be obvious (and probably still is) - the metal one.

But a couple of things are deficient in the metal one.

(i) The end of the barrel has only been drilled out 2 or 3 mm so it doesn't look hollow enough. The plastic one s hollowed out as far as you could normally see, so looks like a gun barrel. If I use the metal one, I guess I will have to drill it out myself which I'm not overly happy about.

(ii) The plastic one has more detail - for example the inside of the barrel shows rifling. The metal one being turned is smooth bore. Note sure whether you should notice this at 1/35, perhaps the plastic one is overscale.

So which would you use - pretty much expecting - "the metal one everytime" but thought I'd check.

Sould add that the plastic barrel is a hyrbid of two and one piece moulding. The front half of the barrel is a single moulding (presumably slide moulded). The rear half of the barrel is moulded in two halves.

Cheers,

Nigel

Hello

Lionmarc designs offers a metal barrel replacement that has rifling and is drilled out considerably more than the metal barrel offering in the kit. Here's the link

Use the plastic one I'd say. Just be careful when gluing the seam. Metal barrels are a recent entrant. People have been modeling nice looking cannon barrels for a long time before they came.

Many thanks.

Afraid buying another barrel is out of the question. I took long enough to convince myself that the price of the kit was justifiable.

I'll probably make up the plastic barrel and see what it look like. My skills are avrage so I might have trouble with the seam.

Cheers,

Nigel

Just hold the halves together, making sure your clamp or finger isn't on either seam. Apply a drop of liquid cement along both seams. Let set for a few seconds and squeeze. What oozes out, you clean up later with sand paper. By this method, you really don't need any filler putty. Just make sure everything is aligned perfectly. Good luck to you

A simple trick to sanding gun barrels is to always sand while you keep turning you barrel ...Start at the top and go all the way to the end and back ..This way there is no way you can creat a flat spot..

Rick