FIRST LOOK

The Model Point 2 cm Flak 38 gun barrel is designed for the old Tamiya kit #35102. It can also be used with the Tamiya Flakvierling 38 kit #35091, but of course you would need four Model Point sets, as each contains parts for only one 20 mm barrel.

In my sample in a single plastic zip-bag was fully assembled machined brass barrel. No instruction sheet was provided. The fact that my barrel came assembled does not necessarily mean that it was ready for use. The flash suppressor part in my set was pushed too far onto the barrel, to the point where solid end of the barrel rod was flush with the edge of the supressor cone. It was easy however to move the supressor to more correct position, even though the fit of this part and the barrel rod is rather tight. As no instructions are provided, the proper position of flash supressor must be found by comparing the metal parts to kit plastic barrel or better to some reference drawings. One more part that needs some attention before the barrel can be used is a small hexagonal nut that should be firmly attached to the base end of the barrel, but as supplied can slide freely along the brass barrel rod. Tiny drop of super glue is all that is needed to fix it in its proper position.

The main barrel part is a simple piece of machined brass and the hexagonal nut is also quite simple detail. What makes the Model Point barrel look really nice is a detailed flash suppresor part. The hollowed supressor cone has very thin walls with three rows of tiny holes drilled in it. Along the cylindrical base of the supressor are six rectangular depressions. These depressions are meant to represent holes in real gun muzzle brake, which were probably difficult to fully accurately reproduce in this scale. While the "see through" holes would look better, these depressions should also look good once properly painted. In my set the rim of flash supressor cone was slightly damaged near one of the holes (see photo), but it is probably fixable and even if left as is can quite convincingly represent minor battle damage.

The barrel in the Tamiya kit is molded integrally with the rest of gun body, so the installation of Model Point barrel will require small surgery to kit parts. The fact that Model Point included quite long cylindrical section of the gun body with the barrel makes fitting the brass parts to plastic parts in Flak 38 kit quite difficult, as some gun cradle details can be easily damaged during the removal of plastic barrel. The installation is easier in case of Flakvierling kit, as there are no gun cradle parts to worry about.

Model Point set is a very effective upgrade for aging Tamiya kits. I expect that it can also be used with models of other weapons and vehicles using the same 20mm gun - maybe even for just recently announced Dragon Sd.Kfz.251/17 Ausf.D with Flak 38.

Highly recommended.

Many thanks to Mikhail Putnikov of Model Point for the review sample!