Browning M2HB GP Machine Gun Basic Upgrade Set
Voyager Models 1:16 set #PE16042
Review by Terry Ashley
Introduction:
Voyager Models have released this 1:16 scale metal Cal.50 M2HB Machine Gun Basic Upgrade Set that includes the barrel, barrel support and firing handles in turned brass plus a small etched fret with additional details along with some thin wire.
Etched fret
The Upgrade Set:
The quality of machined and etched brass is excellent but unfortunately that's where the good news ends. In short this set is a mess, the inner diameter of the support is larger than the outer diameter of the barrel by some margin which means you can't actually attach the support to the barrel without adding some form of filler gasket or the like to hold the support in place. On the barrel itself there is a step about 1/3rd the way down the barrel, where this has came from is anyone's guess and lastly the bore hole is way oversized, like I said, a mess.
As ABER also do a similar 1:16 Cal.50 M2HB Machine Gun Set (16 L-04) I'll include these parts in the images for a comparison. The ABER set isn't without some small issues but they pale into insignificance compared those with the Voyager set. The ABER barrel support is slightly undersized in diameter but not by a lot while the barrel and bore hole are correctly depicted. The details on the etched parts in the ABER set are also more finely rendered than those in the Voyager set. The ABER barrel includes collars for a snug fit of the support without any additional work needed.
The support images show the larger sized inner diameter of the Voyager items which prevent it from fitting to barrel without additional work.
Image 2. The supports fitted to the respective barrels showing the fit as mentioned with Image 1.
Image 3. Close-up of the bore holes and again the phantom step in the Voyager barrel.
Instruction Sheet
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Conclusion:
As mentioned the Voyager set if simply not usable as it is and one would hope they go back to the drawing board and redo this with more accurate details and proper fit of the barrel support. In the meantime if you want a metal barrel update for any 1:16 Cal.50 then ABER is still the way to go.
Very Disappointing 2/10
