I was put in touch with these chaps by James H, and had already seen some of their work from my general obsession with aftermarket items (with a bit of help from Dan, Dads203).

This review concerns their 1:32 range, and I'll update it later with the 1:48 output, which I believe are on the way.



These barrels are really quite stunning, and have to be seen to be believed. The perforated cooling sleeves are all separate items, turned from brass and fully perforated for ultimate realism. The barrels within the sleeves are also realistically portrayed, with detailed muzzles and a healthy realisation of the barrel where all the dangerous stuff issues from. Those items without shrouds are again superdetailed and beautifully turned, even down to the tiny conical flash hiders on some of the Japanese items.



1) German MG 131 2) Japanese Type 97 3) A6M5 Zero (inc pitot tube and set 2) 4) P-47 Thunderbolt 5) Japanese Type 99 6) Browning M2 Aircraft 7) German MG17 8) Bf 109 E3-E9

Now here's where they really win out over other turned barrels. They come with detailed instructions, with caveats and useful tips pointed out. Typical of the level of detail is the Bf 109, which shows the offset of the two cowling mounted machine guns. Something not often seen with other manufacturers.

Conclusion
It's the small details that bring a model to life, and I think that these sets will raise that level nicely, with very little cutting and almost no effort from the modeller. I'm really looking forward to seeing the 1:48 parts.

Availability

In the UK Master Model barrels are available from White Ensign Models, where you should also find their range of barrels for your warship needs. In the US, Sprue Brothers carry their range, amongst others. Other distributors and retailers can be found here on their website.

Thanks to Master Models for the review samples, and James H for the introduction.

WOW!!

Those look pretty darn awesome!! I can't wait for the 1/48 line!!

Thanks for posting

Mike

I shall sort you with some 1/48 very soon I'll also bundle you some Sea Master barrels from the same manufacturer.

I can understand how they would turn those beauts, but how would they do the perforations?

Look sweet.

Bob

I saw these last week when Mike popped over for a brew, they are very nice bits of kit,
probably the best i've seen in this scale, stunning!

Thats good to know as i've just ordered some from WEM for my Spitfire vb for the Red Stars GB

I've seen 'em close up, and the only suggestion that I can make is that they are drilled out by some kind of computerised drill. When I pushed the barrels into the sleeves, some bits of swarf came out the other end onto the desk. The drills used must be bloody strong to withstand continued use though

Good old CNC machining, they can knock thousands of these out all day long.

Paul

I've bought a few sets of Model Masters 1/350th barrels for variuos ships and they are brilliant.