Introduction

LionMarc Model Designs offer quite a large range of products, with this review concentrating on their replacement barrel set for the popular Tamiya Char B1 bis in 1/35 scale.

The barrel set

The set consists of four items. First up is a 75mm aluminum barrel, which is destined for the lower hull. The second item is a 47mm aluminum barrel, located in the tower. For the 75mm barrel, there is also a new brass mounting. The last item in the set is a 7.5mm brass machinegun.

Little work is required to install the set into Tamiya’s Char B1 bis. The 75mm barrel in the lower hull, together with the brass mount, easily fits in the Tamiya kit. The 47mm barrel does require minor cutting and drilling to Tamiya’s original barrel, since the back part of Tamiya’s barrel needs to be mated to the new LionMarc barrel. Adding the MG posed no problems and should be an easy task.

conclusion

This set increases detail for Tamiya’s Char B1 bis very easily and quickly. The main 75mm barrel is a big improvement on the kit’s barrel, since it has “rifling” on the inside and a new brass mounting. The weakest part of this set, in my opinion, is the 47mm canon. There is not much improvement with regard to Tamiya’s barrel. Besides that, some extra cutting needs to be done. There is a slight bevel on the muzzle end of the barrel, but this can easily be reproduced on Tamiya’s barrel with a sharp knife. On the other hand, this barrel is 100% round. The MG fits perfectly, and the muzzle is drilled open.

Overall, this is a great AM barrel set for the Tamiya Char B1 bis. It is a relatively inexpensive and simple addition which increases the overall detail.