PAINTING PE MACHINE GUNS

[george southgate]

Hello,
My question concerns making and painting a PE machine gun barrel or rather that support surrounds the actual barrel. 
Once the casing is formed around a drill bit or dowel, is it CA'd along the length of the casing?  Then, on to painting. Is the inside of the casing primed and painted before forming it around a drill bit or dowel?  If so, doesn't the paint tend to chip or crack? Do you spray or brush into the finished tube?  Or, do you use something like "Blacken It" to color the brass?  I would assume this is done before attaching it to any plastic or resin parts.
Thank you
George

[bobs_buckles]

Give Alex  (Uschi van der Rosten) a shout. Link below.
Good luck.
BVB

http://www.uschivdr.com/products/uvdr-1-friul-burnishing/

[Chris Johnson]

I struggle with forming these PE MGs at the best of times. I never seem to get a good round shape to the casing and then I inevitably make it worse by crushing it when handling it during the gluing and painting processes. Out of frustration, I tried Master MGs for my German aircraft as the casing is preformed and much sturdier, which makes the whole process trouble free. They look much better too, in my humble opinion. Have a look at them here:

http://www.ultracast.ca/products/Master/32%20Scale/MAM-32-023/default.htm

Cheers,

Chris

[IanB]

Thanks for that link Chris! Just had to spend a small fortune on extras for the 1:24 Stuka in my stash....

Ian

[lcarroll]

I've found the Masters Guns offer the best solution as well, I use the kit supplied PE jackets as spares or for less visible additions. Painting is a different issue, my results are varied and inconsistent to say the very least! von Buckles recommended "blackening" solution looks fascinating. Someone suggested trying actual Gun Bluing liquid which I want to experiment with, will post the results when I get "aroundtuit".
Cheers,
Lance

[gcn]

If I'm using the WNW PE ill roll it around a 2.5mm drill bit to form the shape but I won't glue it as I'm a slob and the underside won't be seen anyway. 

As far as painting is concerned ill prime it first and then black with a tiny bit of silver added for the finish. All paints airbrushed, I may drybrush if I want to highlight it a bit more.

Master guns are better but it's more money so it depends how tight you are 

[Trackpad]

I currently use the Master guns. For painting, just a thin spray of Xtracolor Exhaust or Tyre Black does the job: the cooling jacket perforations allow enough paint through to cover the barrel. Here's an in-progress shot of my Group Build 1/48th Triplane. guns look all right-ish:



I'll use the same technique on 1/32nd scale WNW kits when I get to them, plus a bit of dry-brushing of Rub N' Buff Pewter to pick out the finer details. Hope this helps!