Windward  | 23 Oct 2012 3:11 p.m. PST |
I'm building up some BattleFront M-10s with the plastic Sherman track sprue that contains a plastic long 76 barrel. I also have lead barrels, which should I use? |
| Gear Pilot | 23 Oct 2012 3:54 p.m. PST |
THin peives of plastic like barrels make me nervous (worried about durability), so I would go with lead personally. |
 Who asked this joker | 23 Oct 2012 6:44 p.m. PST |
Lead. Easier to replace if something breaks. |
Beowulf  | 23 Oct 2012 6:45 p.m. PST |
I used the platic one because:
-It does not bend
-Unlike metal, plastic does not warp
-Plastic is better molded. |
| Agesilaus | 23 Oct 2012 8:23 p.m. PST |
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 Pictors Studio  | 23 Oct 2012 8:38 p.m. PST |
I'm with beowulf. A lot of my metal barrels have had the paint flake off of them where they have bent a little bit. With plastic they won't bend as easily and whle they might break if forced enough they are more easily repaired. A better solution than either would be to find a piece of wire of about the same thickness, cut it to size, or at leas the size to where you could bury it into the turret, then clip off the plastic end of the barrel and glue it onto the end of the metal wire. Then you will have a barrel that is not going anywhere and with the plastic turret it should be a breeze to drill it to put the steel into place. |
| normsmith | 23 Oct 2012 11:23 p.m. PST |
less chance of damage to plastic if dropped etc. |
| Major Bumsore | 24 Oct 2012 1:56 a.m. PST |
-Unlike metal, plastic does not warp Just keep it away from excessive heat. |
 Martin Rapier | 24 Oct 2012 2:36 a.m. PST |
Plastic. I have zillions of plastic tanks, and I can't think of any that have bent barrels, unlike the metal ones. If you happen to snap one off (happens occasionally), just glue it back together again. |
| Poniatowski | 24 Oct 2012 5:10 a.m. PST |
Both… it depends on the situation/model. |
| mysteron | 24 Oct 2012 5:17 a.m. PST |
Use the plastic. Plastic is more durable than what most people think. Resin barrells are another matter . Keep the metals as spares |
 Charles Christy | 24 Oct 2012 8:04 a.m. PST |
Plastic = thinner and more realistic looking, easy to work with… And if you're buying PSC kits you get loads of spare 76mm barrels (unless you build the 76mm variant) but often will have spare plastics in case one does break. |
Hauptmann6  | 12 Nov 2012 8:14 p.m. PST |
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| hoosierclyde | 13 Nov 2012 11:53 a.m. PST |
I have used both brass tube and rod for various gun barells, and been very happy with the results. |
| Bandit | 13 Nov 2012 1:29 p.m. PST |
People make wargaming miniatures out of plastic? So weird. Cheers, The Bandit |
| Soldat | 16 Nov 2012 7:28 a.m. PST |
I agree with Hauptman replace with brass tubing. |
| spontoon | 18 Nov 2012 8:05 a.m. PST |
For a 76mm gun plastic seems fine. I tend to replace all plastic/resin barrels under that with wire. Theplastic or resin ones always snap off at the most inopportune moments. |
| John D Salt | 22 Nov 2012 11:54 a.m. PST |
"One word: Plastics'" All the best, John |
