Guns and pitot probes on most plastic model aircraft leave a lot to be desired. There is often a mold seam down the center of the guns or pitot probe. Another set of problems are that the same parts, once cleaned up, are usually oval shaped in diameter, and the guns do not have that proper hollowed look of a real gun barrel. In some scales, such as 1/72, it would be difficult if not impossible to drill out these plastic gun barrels and pitot tubes.

Master Model has solved this problem with an aftermarket kit for the A-1 Skyraider. This kit consists of thirteen metal parts which will allow for two different gun barrel configurations, and a pitot probe to replace the kit’s pitot probe. Each gun barrel is realistically hollow on the inside, with the thickness of the barrel in scale with the model. Master Model’s parts are not unique to a specific A-1 kit, but are compatible with any 1/72 scale A-1 Skyraider kit, no matter which variant it is.

I used an old Monogram A-1E kit to test these gun barrels, and they greatly improved the appearance of the kit, even before painting. One tip that isn’t in the instructions is to mount the base of the gun barrels first, and then add the tips after the glue sets. Also, use a scribe or the tip of a #11 knife blade to mark where to drill the mounting holes for both the gun barrels and the pitot probe.

These aftermarket gun barrels and pitot probe really help to bring a Skyraider model alive, and I highly recommend using this aftermarket set on your next Skyraider project.

Thanks go out to Master Model for providing a sample parts kit for review.