This review will be for two different sets of machined brass and photoetch fro Master Models. Aside from appearance differences between the guns they were meant to mimic, assembly would be pretty much the same.

Master Models makes some of the nicest brass machining and photoetch I have ever seen. When I combined their barrel set for the German LMG-14 Parabellum with the breech and stock of the weapon in Wingnut Wings LVG C.VI, got them painted and added a touch of gunmetal and smoke pigment you could almost smell the hotgun oil and smoke.

I used CA and a touch of white Gator Glue in this assembly, along with Tamiya red-brown and Model Master Acrylic Gunmetal, with a light dusting and rub of Mig Gunmetal and smoke. I used Model Master Brass for the bullets and Stone for the belt webbing.

In all honesty, I have to say that I never have much luck using brass enhancements. It has nothing to do with the parts, but with arthritic hands and eyesight which leaves much to be desired. Here is where I find Master Models best selling points, and also their worst, (but in a good way).

The best part of Master Models barrel sets is the perforated cooling jackets. How they do it is beyond me but the jackets come as a tube, ready to use. They are not the usual flat sheet that you need to roll and use solder or CA to set. That is a big plus for me! Master Models makes parts set with incredibly fine detail and that’s also the best part. For example, as tiny as the gun barrel on the Parabellum is, look closely and you will see that the end of the gun tube has a hole for the 1/32 scale bullets to come out!

With tongue in cheek I say that the worst part is also the incredibly fine detail that Master Models is able to get from a thin sheet of brass. As an example, when I was assembling the front ring site to the Parabellum I noticed that the sighting pip in the center was so tiny that I almost missed seeing it to admire prior to it popping off. You may be able to see it in one of the photos of pre-painting. Naturally, when this part popped off, it hit the carpet and scooted off hand in hand with the carpet troll. I replaced it with a wire ring made up from very fine wire wrapped around a mandrel and CA’d to the barrel. (Our vacuum sounds like a hail storm when my work area is cleaned up.)

One of the jackets in the Spandau set was flattened in shipping but it was brought back to shape by expanding with a pointed toothpick and then progressively larger drill shanks. This was certainly not the fault of the manufactuer and easily rectified.

If you like working with brass machined parts and photoetch then you can not go wrong with any product from Master Models.

Thanks to Master Models and IPMS/USA for these sets for revviewing.