Small Scale Military Headquarters

i need a bunch of .50 cal machine guns, like those that were used in b-17's and b-24's (see pic below).

Anyone know of a source? The ones that 21c makes are different.

http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/G ... han/01.jpg

Yea, you get a ton just by collecting bbi's WWII guys (I must have 100) but you're right that the barrel is not air cooled the same, with the holes appearing earlier and the barrel itself being solid. I guess this is because on the plane you couldn't change the barrel like you could in the field.

Those with ideas, this is the photo Aferg linked to:

yes i've got lots of .50 cals but none have the barrel with the holes for cooling. I was hoping that maybe there was an inexpensive source for this type of barrel, as i need 10 of them.

If i have to i'll just find a bunch of suitably sized tubes, paint them gun metal and put the little holes on them with black dots but a barrel molded that way would be much preferred.

That waist gunner 1/18 scale?

No no no ... just for reference.

waist gunner is verlinden 120mm figure...

Hmm.

I think the best ( and most costly/time consuming) is to take an existing .50, find a .30 cal from the '95 Sgt. Savage line, exchage the barrels and then sculpt on that foresight.


Then ( ) cast that bad boy, Make the rear sight out of wire, or maybe mod the AAA MG-34 sight.

Huge amounts of hassle, i know, but that's the best i can think of until someone makes a gunner in the scale.

Another option Aferg maybe to make the barrels yourself & just use BBI,XD,Joe,PTE Main body .50s to attach the barrles too?

Failing that the verlinden is probably the better bet i would have thought for the 1/16th version.

Ja
Steel Bonnet

Both types of gun are listed as "Machinegun, .50caliber, M2", however there are differences as noted. The M2HB is the ground-mount version commonly seen on tanks and combat vehicles. It has a 45-inch heavy barrel. The barrel is exposed, except for a short area right in front of the receiver (the "body" of the gun) which allows quick changes. The type you re looking for is refered to as "aircraft type" which has a 36-inch barrel that has a perforated jacket protecting it almost to the muzzle.

The receiver is the same, so you could start with a ground type .50 from a 21C tank. Get some good photos and trim the "Heavy Barrel" off the gun. You can build a new barrel from brass bubing or plastic. The cooling holes can be drilled in the jacket (or of you are into photo etching, you can make brass jackets. Either read up on resin casting or find a friend who's into casting parts. Build your master very carefully, then cast a bunch of guns. The aircraft mounts varied, so work from photos of the aircraft you are depicting. The cradle and mount can be built from plastic shapes.