Small Scale Military Headquarters

My FOV 1/18 M1 Abrams has a problem with a severely drooping 50 cal machine gun. The problem appears to be the left-side mount which has the round pivot joint on it.
Has anyone else encountered this problem and, if so, how did you fix it?

Thanks for any suggestions.

I actually took the .50 that came with one of the tank commander figures, trimmed off the peg that mounts it to the tripod base and glued the gun onto the MG mount on the Abrams. The guns are the same color, but the MG that came with the figure has better detailing and is stiff plastic. At worst, you could always hold the gun under hot water to straighten it out and then dunk it in cold water to harden the gun into the correct shape.

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On a somewhat related note, I was able to straighten out the severely bent turret stowage rack on my FOV Abrams using the same hot water method, but with a large casserole dish filled with hot water

I did the same thing tman did for the same reasons. Worked out great!

I have the same issue, but it is not with the gun but rather the mount which is off center so the gun sits at an angle. I haven't tried the hot water method with it but should some day.

To clarify my original post, I have a similar problem as Olifant---the 50 cal. droops because the MOUNT is off. I guess I'll try holding the entire tank upside down and dipping the mount in hot water to see if that works.

(Also, I tried hot water about 12 times on the 50 cal's bent barrel---within an hour it's bent again---so I gave up).

I also did the hot water/cold water thing with those guns...they straightened out but slowly devolved back to their original curvature...guns are often the QC weak link in vehicle & figure releases, but to FOV's credit the mg's on the Shermans I got were all straight...

I soaked my machine gun mount in hot water for 5-10 minutes three times. Within hours, it had returned to its drooping state.
If anyone can reveal the secret of their success in straightening out crooked plastic parts, I would appreciate it.

I'd still appreciate any info on how to permanently straighten out my Abrams' drooping 50 cal. gun mount.

TMANTHEGREAT:

The 50 cal. machine gun on my FOV 1/18 Abrams droops down because of the gun MOUNT. I've tried to straighten out the mount by soaking it in hot water for about 10 minutes, then bending the mount's 2 arms upwards, then pouring cold water on it. After an hour, the 50 cal droops again---I can't get the mount to straighten up.

Can you give more detail on how you used hot water to straighten your Abrams' rear stowage rack?

Have you guys tried freezing. I read some where that it works . Give it a go , you have nothing to lose.

Re: freezing...tried it in the past, not much in the way of success...I've heated & chilled FOV MGs (and TSSD figs, among others) in the freezer & left out in sub-freezing weather for a spell...mileage varied, but some plastics just don't wanna follow the rules...

I soaked my 50 cal mount in very hot water at least 8 times. The last time, I soaked it for about 5 minutes, then bent both arms back so that they were literally facing the rear of the tank. Then I ran cold water on it and let it set for several hours. Then I attached the 50 cal---within an hour the 50 cal was drooping again.

Finally, I used Elmer's glue to attach the 50 cal to the mount---it is now straight.