Introduction:
ABER released their original set of replacement Cal.30 barrels with set #35 L-54 a while back consisting of thin etched metal cooling jackets that required careful bending to form the jacket and the end result very much depended on the modeller's skill.
While the thin etched cooling jackets looked very good the extra work and prospect of disaster along the way may have dissuaded some from using these barrels in light of the easier options available.
The Set:
To elevate the work needed ABER have now released a second Cal.30 barrel set which contains two barrels per set done in what may be considered the "conventional" way for barrels of this type with finely turned perforated brass cooling jackets and the inner barrel also in brass that simply fit together to form the barrel.Dimensionally the cooling jacket is the correct length and the holes visually match the actual jacket as well as the notched muzzle cap as mention for a well proportioned barrel.
The inner barrel has the muzzle drilled out slightly and also includes the two small notches on the muzzle tip so typical of the Cal.30 while the cooling jacket is done in quite thin brass with cleanly drilled holes to give a very good appearance with minimal work.
There was a little excess brass inside the cooling jacket but pushing the inner barrel through the jacket removed this without any trouble and that is all the cleanup required.
Fitting the barrel to any available Cal.30 MG is very easy and I have used here the gun from the recent Dragon kits for uniformity and you simply cut off the kit barrel, drill a small 0.8mm hole and insert the pin on the end of the brass barrel, nothing could be easier. There is a small raised ridge around the received end of the barrel that ensures the cooling jacket sits evenly over the barrel for a better appearance.
needed to fit the barrel and the barrel fitted to the Dragon Cal.30 receiver.
Conclusion:
This new Cal.30 barrel from ABER is in my view the best yet released with the correct dimensions, virtually no cleanup and simply assembly when fitting to any gun. The barrel can also be used as a co-axial MG for vehicles such as the M3/M5 Stuart, M4 Sherman, M8 Greyhound, Staghound and any other vehicle armed with the Cal.30 and that list is almost endless.
The two barrels per set is handly when using for a particular vehicle and make the set good value.
Highly recommended 9/10
See the full comparison of available metal .30cal machine gun barrels. Thanks to ABER for the review sets.
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