Barrels-we all hate them!

Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Barrels-we all hate them!

Posted by Anonymous on Monday, March 15, 2004 4:32 PM

I was just wondering who actually uses the kit's barrel. I know there's Jordi-Rubio and all those other companies that sell aftermarket barrels, but I wanted to know who actually uses the kit's barrels. And if you do use the kit's barrel, it would be nice to see pics of the seam job. I use the kit's barrel and use super glue to seam it up because of the expense of the aftermarket barrels. Thanks everyone! Cool [8D]

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beav

Member since
May 2003
From: Ft. Sill, OK

Posted by beav on Monday, March 15, 2004 4:35 PM

I use kit barrels-but I don't have the funding for the AM barrels. also, it's not all that hard to reduce seams-just use some fine sandpaper on it.

"First to Fire!"

Steven

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Monday, March 15, 2004 4:42 PM

I build using kit barrels about 80% of the time.

The best way to make the seam disappear, is to use more glue on the halves than necessary. I don't use CA but regular Testor's. When you put the halves together, press them so the glue gets squeezed out.

I then let dry overnight and use a fine sanding sponge (not the ones that look like a brick but the thinner longer ones) I use these because they conform to the shape of the barrel and won't flat spot it.

Once lightly sanded, TA-DA! A seam filled barrel. If your not sure you have the seam totally invisible, you can shoot a quick Grey primer coat on it and fill if necessary.

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Monday, March 15, 2004 4:47 PM

I can only ditto what Erock said.

The only thing I will also add is that when the glue trick is not enough, I use filler putty. It may take a couple of times to get the curve right and make the seam dissapear, but it's not that bad. There is always something else to work on while the putty is drying.

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zokissima

Member since
July 2003
From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Posted by zokissima on Monday, March 15, 2004 5:07 PM

I use the kit barrels, mainly because I'm not much of an AM fan, plus the price is allways a factor.
I just pretty much do what Erock said, then use my gf's nail polishing sticks to sand it smooth

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wipw

Member since
January 2003
From: Utah - USA

Posted by wipw on Monday, March 15, 2004 6:11 PM

Oh, I'll bet she loves that!! lol

I use AM barrels as much as possible (because I'm lazy!) and I think they look nice. But I use a kit barrel occasionally using the same method as Eric described.

Bill ==========================================================

DML M4A2 Red Army ==========================================================

========================================================== -- There is a fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness". (Author unknown)

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jkeller

Member since
December 2002
From: Grand Blanc, MI USA

Posted by jkeller on Monday, March 15, 2004 6:16 PM

Has anyone had any trouble with the Jordi Rubio barrels? This is the first time I bought one and the muzzle brake has flash and a parting line that needs to be sanded. The muzzle brake doesn't even fit in the end of the barrel I need to sand that down. I might as well used the kit barrel. Angry [:(!]

Joe

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Dwight Ta-ala

Member since
July 2003
From: Philippines

Posted by Dwight Ta-ala on Monday, March 15, 2004 6:18 PM

I have never used any AM barrels. Quite rare and expensive here in Manila. I have to do with what the box offers in my models.

Well, gotta make the best of what you have.

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Spamicus

Member since
April 2003
From: Central Wisconsin

Posted by Spamicus on Monday, March 15, 2004 6:37 PM

I use kit tubes about 90% of the time. I glue them together with Testor's liquid cement and sand them down with a set of Flexi-files. The Flexi-files are the magic tool for this, they even solved my "square" tube problem on my T-55 from Linberg. Can't show you any pics, my camera is a pile, but the Flexi-files are the key.

Steve

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 12:28 AM

I would like to try AM barrels at some stage, but I haven't had too bad a run with barrels as yet, and my methods are more or less as above. If I do a larger kit I may try the AM barrels. I am doing a Wirbelwind quad 20mm soon, and thought long and hard about getting turned barrels, but it would have cost 1 1/2 the price of the kit!

Matt

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wildwilliam

Member since
December 2009
From: West Grove, PA

Posted by wildwilliam on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 5:59 AM

has anyone else ever tried:
taking the barrel (after gluing the halves together & letting it dry)
and wrapping a small square of sandpaper completely around the barrel,
then twisting the barrel inside the sandpaper 'sleeve' ?

i did that on my quickie T-34/85 and i thought it did a good job eliminating the seam
while leaving the barrel round.

EDIT
forgot to mention:
the Eduard turned aluminum barrel is simply amazing!
worth every penny!

ed.

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spector822002

Member since
December 2003
From: Southern Maine

Posted by spector822002 on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 6:25 AM

I generally use AM barrels now ,( lazy here too !) but the kit ones are usually just fine , they just take more work , I usually glue em thickly like erock said and then use scotch tape wrapped tighly to hold it together until the glue sets up , I then take a small piece of fine sandpaper wrap it around the barrel and sand it , to avoid the flat spots .

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 6:31 AM

QUOTE:

has anyone else ever tried:
taking the barrel (after gluing the halves together & letting it dry)
and wrapping a small square of sandpaper completely around the barrel,
then twisting the barrel inside the sandpaper 'sleeve' ?

Yep, I have tried it. It is a great technique.

I forgot to mention that, you can pick these sponges up and any department store, usually in the paint-thinner-tape section. I have the fine and extra fine grades.

They also work well on larger, flat parts. I lay the sponge on the table and run the part over the grit. This way, the edges get sanded in uniform fashion.

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J-Hulk

Member since
February 2003
From: Tochigi, Japan

Posted by J-Hulk on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 7:50 AM

If there's nothing crazy wrong with the shape or detail on the kit barrel, I'll use it. It doesn't take much sanding at all (I like the sleeve method, too) to produce a smooth, round, seamless barrel.

Here's the kit barrel (well, from the Maus kit!) on my ol' Dragon E-100. Other than a lack of rifling on the inside of the barrel, I think it turned out just fine, and I only spent about ten minutes getting it that way.

E-100:

I did use an Eduard 75mm barrel for the coax cannon on this model, but that's because I wanted a longer cannon than the short 75mm that's in the kit.

But hey, if you hate sanding, go with the metal!

~Brian

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zokissima

Member since
July 2003
From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Posted by zokissima on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 8:20 AM

I'm very much looking forward to the Morser Karl from Trumpeter, so if ever, I think maybe that'll be a good time to consider an AM barrel for me, although I imagine it will be worh a fortune.
The one thing I"ve tried before is to make my own. My father's company manufactures all kinds of machinery, so they have all sorts of stock rod. I've given him dimensions and he has one of the mechanics there turn a barell for me. Only did it a few times for my larger kits, but they looked very nice, and it was great because it was FREE, unlike the AM ones, which are just too expensive

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 9:27 AM

I just finished the barrel on my Trumpeter Leopold ( that is a large barrel ) and I pretty much gave it the treatment that Erock68 describes. After a coat of primer I filled any spots with putty, sanded it down and primed it. The result is good, time consuming, but good. Moddeling isn' t about making it fast and expensive, its about having a good time while your doing it.

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 9:28 AM

I use the kit barrels exclusively (i'm cheaper than I am lazy) and sand with the "sleeve" method. the seam never is much of a problem but the bent ones can be a bear.

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wipw

Member since
January 2003
From: Utah - USA

Posted by wipw on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 10:29 AM

QUOTE: Originally posted by jkeller

Has anyone had any trouble with the Jordi Rubio barrels? This is the first time I bought one and the muzzle brake has flash and a parting line that needs to be sanded. The muzzle brake doesn't even fit in the end of the barrel I need to sand that down. I might as well used the kit barrel.

Joe

Yep, I bought a JR Panther barrel and it was exactly the same. They turn the barrels, but use a white metal casting for the muzzle brake. Eduard's barrels have turned muzzle brakes that are beautiful and are a part of the barrel so you don't have to glue and align them. Take a close look at the barrel on my Pz II G (below). It's a JR barrel and you'll notice it's "stepped". Every picture I've ever seen of a Pz II, the barrel has a smooth taper, no steps at all. In this case, the kit barrel would have been much more accurate than the JR barrel.

Bill ==========================================================

DML M4A2 Red Army ==========================================================

========================================================== -- There is a fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness". (Author unknown)

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 12:17 PM

I have always used the kit's barrel due to price and I seam them up with super glue. I glue the barrel halves together with super glue and I let it dry. I apply super glue to the seams and then whipe most of it off so that there is a thin layer of almost dry super glue over the seam. I then take a sanding stick and sand the almost dry layer of super glue and keep sanding the barrel all around so the whole thing is round and it doesn't look like a square when you look down it. Works pretty good.

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nmayhew

Member since
July 2003
From: Kent, England

Posted by nmayhew on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 3:03 PM

QUOTE: Originally posted by jkeller

Has anyone had any trouble with the Jordi Rubio barrels? This is the first time I bought one and the muzzle brake has flash and a parting line that needs to be sanded. The muzzle brake doesn't even fit in the end of the barrel I need to sand that down. I might as well used the kit barrel.

Joe

jordi rubio are a major rip-off in my view!!! Angry [:(!]

all that money and you still have lots of flash! you gotta be kidding me!!! Angry [:(!]

i got a JR panther barrel and the separate muzzle doesn't even fit the barrel!![:0] Angry [:(!]

yes i do actually like aftermarket barrels though, and have only one word to say on the matter:
EDUARD!!!!

how anyone can buy anything else is just beyond me...they are all one piece and have no flash with awesome tooling...i just got the ISU-152 barrel and it's a peach!!

SoapBox [soapbox]

just my

...

regards,
nick

Kind regards, Nicholas

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 3:59 PM

Whoa, theres some hidious anger in that post! I guess I'll do eduard for an AM barrel then! Laugh [(-D]

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 4:59 PM

Uh yeah, especially with my allowance Disapprove [V]

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 4:59 PM

I only use kit barrels, b/c I'm not that advanced, and still learning. Also b/c of the price

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jkeller

Member since
December 2002
From: Grand Blanc, MI USA

Posted by jkeller on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 5:39 PM

wipw, nmayhew: Man I guess I should of asked you guys before I bought the JR barrel. I would of saved my money for the Eduard barrel. Banged Head [banghead]

I'll only make that mistake once.

Thanks, Joe

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nmayhew

Member since
July 2003
From: Kent, England

Posted by nmayhew on Wednesday, March 17, 2004 5:14 AM

QUOTE: Originally posted by jkeller

wipw, nmayhew: Man I guess I should of asked you guys before I bought the JR barrel. I would of saved my money for the Eduard barrel. I'll only make that mistake once.

Thanks, Joe

jkeller hi Smile [:)]

my apologies for not getting on my soapbox earlier in that case! Disapprove [V]

but like you said, you only make that kind of mistake once.
here's a taste of what eduard do, and by the way, no i don't work on commission from eduard [:0](although my other half is czech, so does that count?! Tongue [:P]

)...

ISU152:
http://www.eduard.cz/./products/card.php?id_product=3099&name=&catalogue_nb=&type=8&pgroup=2&scale=4&product_month=&product_year=&page_start=0

panther:
http://www.eduard.cz/./products/card.php?id_product=2616&name=&catalogue_nb=&type=8&pgroup=2&scale=4&product_month=&product_year=&page_start=0

i could go on...

regards,
nick

Kind regards, Nicholas

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17, 2004 11:57 AM

Hi there
Kits alone r rare in this household let alone aftermarket barrels. I dont even think we get that stuff in this country. Zzz [zzz]

We get Verlinden Products but that is 600km away.
Ah well uve got 2 do what uve got 2 do.

Keep well.

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17, 2004 2:47 PM

I use the kit barrels, cause i dont have the funding either but I have found ways around the seam lines and stuff. SUPER GLUE FIXES ALL!!! and ur fingers if ur not careful.

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17, 2004 2:48 PM

ps if u do find ur fingers fixed together, use force to get them apart in 2 seconds or less lol sounds weird, but u will b very happy when u can move ur fingers

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, March 17, 2004 3:02 PM

I usually use kit barrels also. The 'assembly' is just one of those things you have to take a bit more time on to get it to look nice. I did have a 155mm howitzer barrel that was just TOOO far gone and turned a new one on a lathe from aluminum.
I do like the turned barrels AFV puts in with their kits (especially that 'toothpick' main gun on the Stuart)

Ron

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jkeller

Member since
December 2002
From: Grand Blanc, MI USA

Posted by jkeller on Wednesday, March 17, 2004 6:15 PM

Nmayhew: Thanks for the links. Now that's a good looking barrel. I ought to kick myself. I bought their PE set but I failed to look at their barrels. Black Eye [B)]

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