For any modeler, but especially ship modelers, it is hard to achieve a realistic effect when gun barrels are out of round, warped or fail to have the right taper and shape; which is often the case with styrene injected or resin barrels. With smaller caliber guns and in smaller scales the barrels are often too fragile to handle. For these reasons turned metal barrels are an attractive alternative. Master Models continues to release well-priced brass barrels for the discriminating ship modeler.

While it is not my preferred scale, I have built ship models in 1/700. One of the greatest frustrations is the thickness of the barrels for the small caliber guns. They are just too hard to mold in that scale and so the ship’s guns look clunky and odd. Master Model once again has stepped in with their very prototypical and properly scaled 1/700 5in/38 barrels for US warships from the late 1930s until the early 1990s, when the last mounts went out of service. These are petite (and sharp) turnings that easily replace the kit barrel – just remove the old barrel and drill a new whole for the brass. You will likely need to do more clean-up since the old barrel will be so large.

I would like to thank Master Model and IPMS/USA for these review samples under their Sea Master line. Available directly from select distributors, more information is available at their website.