Iraqiw..;
Hi!
JUST the challenge I faced last winter when I finally completed my old Tamiya flakpanzer IV Wirbelwind (WIP since 1973... - those kit barrels had bent and there was not much to do with them. To add insult, I had a few decades back used my Exacto to shave the seams off... so there were these wonderful gouges and flat spots...
EASY to fix up!
First, I opened up those original flash-hider cones with the exacto to get thin walls and a drilled-out center. I did not bother with trying for the little holes or anything. IF you want all those great details, go on eBay and score one of those Griffon or other Flakvierling barrel sets. This build was to be of an old shelf queen and strictly on the cheap. (ha ha, as it turned out).
Once the muzzles were done, I cut them off right behind the brake, and put them aside. Next, I cut the barrels off the guns right in front of the final nut.
Now... what to use for a barrel? Turns out that those 2cm barrels are about 4 or 4.5cm in diameter. So, I bought some 1/16th-US inch white styrene rod, and gently sanded it down a little, being sure to keep things as round and smooth as possible. I then cut lengths of this for the barrels (measured against the cut-out pieces of original barrel. I glued my cut-off muzzle-brakes onto these rod pieces, and glued the lengths onto the guns! Presto! 10 minutes all-up and pretty nice barrels (of course without those tiny brake ports, etc.)! Paint them satin black and dust lightly to gray them a bit.
PS: Actually, the old girl went and became a pretty nice build- DIY zimm, Dragon magic tracks and sprockets, lots of scratch detailing on the gun, turret, hull, and only just last week I replaced those barrels...
Maybe give it a whirl!
Cheers!
Bob