M40A1 106mm recoilless rifle barrel set (AFV Club/Skybow )
LionMarc Model Designs 1:35th Scale Set: LM10037 / Passion Models Set: P35-045
M40A1 106mm recoilless rifle barrels (6) for Ontos (Academy)
LionMarc Model Designs 1:35th Scale Set: LM10038 / Passion Models Set: P35-046
Reviews by Terry Ashley

---

LionMarc Model Designs/Passion Models have released two barrel sets with the M40A1 106mm recoilless rifle barrel, set #LM10037/P35-045 with a single barrel for kit such as the AFV Club/Skybow U.S. M38A1C 1/4 ton 4x4 mounting the M40A1 106mm recoilless rifle and set #LM10038/P35-046 with six barrels the new Academy U.S.M.C. M50A1 Ontos. As the barrels in each set are the same only with 1 or 6 barrels in the sets we will look at both together with construction notes along the way.

This set has a single 106mm recoilless rifle barrel consisting of two barrel segments cleanly machined in aluminium the the muzzle drilled out and scribed rifling included inside the muzzle, there is no cleanup required before assembly. There is a large pin on the forward section that fits into the corresponding hole in the rear section for quick and easy assembly.

Metal parts and close up of the barrel rifling

The set is aimed at kits with a single 106mm recoilless rifle such as the AFV Club/Skybow U.S. M38A1C 1/4 ton 4x4 (kit #AF35S19) but as the barrels are specifically designed to fit the Academy U.S.M.C. M50A1 Ontos there is a bit of work required to fit the barrels to the AFV Club/Skybow kit gun.

Initially you should partially assembly the recoilless rifle buy gluing the barrel halves (parts D9, D12) together and attaching the .50cal mounting brackets (parts D16, d17) to the barrel and once the glue has dried cut away the barrel segments leaving just the brackets and rear barrel section.

Modifications to the AFV Club recoilless rifle parts
cut away the barrel sections marked.

You then drill a .8mm hole trough the forward bracket and fit the metal barrel sections the same as for the Academy kit, see below. The same basic process would be needed for other kits with the 106mm recoilless rifle if these are still available with the metal barrels adding nice improvements over the kit barrels.

The set has the same two part aluminium barrels as the single set but with six of them and again there is no clean up required before assembly. There is a large pin on the forward barrel section that fits into the corresponding hole in the rear section for quick and easy assembly.

Metal barrel parts and close up of the barrel rifling

The set is designed to fit the Academy U.S.M.C. M50A1 Ontos (kit #13218) recoilless rifles without any modifications needed for the kit parts. The metal parts simply replace the kit barrel parts (C32, C45) when assembling the guns at step 10 in the instructions.

Modifications to the AFV Club recoilless rifle parts
cut away the barrel sections marked.

You first slip the pin on the forward barrel section through the hole in the kit bracket (part C34) and attach the rear barrel section, you may want to lightly file the edges of the pin end as this allows this to slip into the rear section hole a little easier for a very snug fit.

The larger kit bracket (part C40) and part of the .50cal (part C19) are then added and you use the .50cal barrel to align the two brackets by making sure the .50cal barrel is perfectly parallel to the metal barrel. The plastic parts have small notches to ensure this alignment but you have to do it by eye with the metal parts and using the .50cal section is the best option for the alignment.

You simply repeat this process for the six barrels which is really nothing more than the kit assembly just replacing the plastic and metal barrel parts only requiring you to get the alignment right as mentioned above.

Assembly of the metal barrel and kit parts as above


These barrel sets offer an improvement over the plastic kit barrels without any cleanup required for a quick and easy update.

There is a bit of work required using the single barrel on the AFV Club/Skybow U.S. M38A1C 1/4 ton 4x4 kit gun but nothing too taxing for a nice improvement in detail.

In the case of the Ontos kit for which the set is primarily designed there is no alterations required for the simplest of updates while improving the appearance considerably, especially given the 6 barrels are the prodominent feature of the Ontos.

Highly recommended.

Thanks to LionMarc Model Designs for the review sets.