introduction

Designed solely for these special machines, this MG barrel and mount will surely improve the overall look as well as accuracy of your next “tsecheche” subject, in 1/35 scale.

For those readers who are not yet familiar with Armorscale, they are a new and growing manufacturer based in Poland, who are currently concentrating on producing high quality and accurate aftermarket accessory kits for many armour subjects. Top notch machining and craftsmanship are making these kits stand out in the aftermarket accessory kit market.

inside the bag

This simple but effective kit comes to the modeller in a heavy weight Ziploc plastic bag, card style packaging decorated with the Armorscale logo and company information. Inside the bag you will find another sealed bag containing the kits 2 parts, protected by a sheet of olive drab coloured thick cardboard. You will also find the kits instruction sheet folded and packed neatly within.

The kits parts consist of a cast resin MG ball swivel mount, and a machined brass MG barrel. One look at these two parts and you can visualize the impact of an additions such as these, as the detail is excellent! Looking first at the cast resin mount, you will find it a very clean and well moulded piece of resin, highly detailed and well made, which I might add, separated very easily from the casting lug with minimal cleanup required.

The machined brass barrel is quite a little marvel, and personally I could not believe the detail of this beauty, a replica of the 7.92 mm MG of this era and model. Great attention is paid to detail, from the flared muzzle opening to the barrels’ grooved “heat shield” that is machined into the brass…pretty cool stuff!

The two kit pieces fit together perfectly, as the barrel is designed to mount into the swivel mount and lay inside the cradle that’s moulded directly on the front of the mount itself. There is no listing of model kits that this would fit upon, but after examination I feel that it could be easily fit onto any 1/35-scale subject of its era.

A one-page single sided colour instruction sheet is provided, with clear illustrations of construction and mounting. There is also a tiny template provided for scratch building a front sight for the MG for added detail and accuracy.
Cyanoacrylate adhesive (super glue) is recommended by the company for joining its metal to resin parts together. After some minimal cleanup, finish, and alignment to your kit, I believe this to be a real cherry!

in conclusion

If you have built many model kit subjects of this type and era, I think that you will recognize the value of the addition of an aftermarket accessory such as this one; by greatly increasing the accuracy and overall looks (I’ve seen some of these “barrels” that are just a moulded plastic rod, just sticking out of a ball mount!), this new kit from Armorscale will make your model stand out from the rest. I definitely recommend this for your next Pzkpfw 35(t), 38(t), or Marder Tank Destroyer.

Many thanks to Armorscale for providing this review sample.