sFH18/1 L/30 Barrel
Lion Roar set #LB3507
Review by Terry Ashley
This is another one piece aluminium barrel designed for the Dragon Hummel kits (#6150 and #6204) with another nine etched parts for the barrel retaining bracket.
The detail on the barrel is good with the muzzle drilled out to a depth of 20mm with fine rifling included which in this larger calibre barrel looks very convincing.
The brass parts are the usual good quality and thanks to the design of the Dragon kits there are no alterations required to the kit to fit the metal parts as they simply replace the kit parts.
Comparing the barrel to the 1:35 plans in the Panzer Tracts No.10 and Ground Power #70 shows the larger sleeve section of the barrel is 2mm too long meaning the overall length is also 2mm longer than indicated. While comparing a replacement barrel to the kit barrel it is to replace is usually meaningless, I have included such an image here as the Dragon kit barrel matches both the plans mentioned almost perfectly and this illustrates the discrepancies with the metal barrel.
It is interesting to note that the 1:35 plans in the Nut & Bolts Vol.10 show the barrel dimensions different by up to 10mm for the rear barrel sleeve and 2mm in overall length, but referring to actual photos shows these dimensions are not correct and the plans in the Panzer Tracts No.10 and Ground Power #70 and kit barrels are correct given the 2mm length issue with the metal barrel.
Fitting the metal barrel as mentioned is straightforward as it simply replaces the kit plastic barrel which is designed to fit into the separate gun breech and separate lower barrel cradle, no problems here.
The etched retaining strip is best annealed before forming into a curve around the barrel and using the BrassAssit Roller Set made light work of this. The ends of the curved strip are easily bent into place and then the strip is slipped over the barrel and the ends glued to the plastic cradle brackets with cyanoacrylate. The six separate etched bolt heads are then attaching into the recesses provided on the parts and it’s all done.
Conclusion:
Despite the minor barrel length discrepancy the good appearance of the deeply
drilled out and rifled barrel as well as the extra definition of the etched
retaining strip plus no join seam to deal with or kit alterations required
makes this a very viable option to add extra detail to the Hummel kits.
Recommended.
References:
| Hummel Sd.Kfz.165 Nuts & Bolts Vol.10  |
Artillerie Selbstfahrlafetten Panzer Tracts No.10  |
Ground Power No.70 March 2000  |
Thanks to Lion Roar for the review sample.
Page created June 5, 2006