Lion Roar

1/35 U.S. Navy 40mm Bofors AA Gun Barrel

Stock Number: LB3531

Reviewed By  Tom Moon, IPMS# 43192

MSRP: $10.95 Review Sample provided by Dragon Models USA: www.dragonusaonline.com Lion Roar has released a metal barrel for the 40 mm Bofors AA Gun. Since the title on the box says U.S. Navy but does not specify a kit for the barrel, I assumed that it would be for the Italeri 5602 ELCO 80’ Torpedo Boat PT-596. However, Italeri kit already includes a metal barrel. I could not see any real difference between the two. So I looked at replacing the plastic barrel on the Italeri 6458 40 mm Anti-aircraft Gun with Servants. (I have no idea why Italeri can’t use the word "crew" instead of Servants) This kit is a U.S. Army towed version of the Bofors 40mm AA Gun. There were no instructions with the barrel, but it is a straight replacement of the plastic barrel. If you have not mounted the plastic barrel, there is no modification to the kit. I had already built the kit with the plastic barrel, so I had to retro fit the Lion Roar barrel to the gun. To do this I sawed the plastic barrel off at the point where the metal barrel would mate with the rest of the gun. I then drilled out the left over plastic and made sure the pin on the metal barrel would fit and was centered. The barrel was primed with Testors lacquer primer and after that was dry it was glued to the gun using thick superglue. This type of superglue has a little longer setting time so I could adjust the barrel so that it was centered properly in both the vertical and horizontal plane. That is, I eyeballed and adjusted the barrel until it looked right. After painting and a small amount of weathering it, the model was ready to go again. Conclusion – This would make a good replacement barrel for the Italeri 6458 40mm Anti-aircraft gun if you want to make sure there is no seam on the barrel for a contest or museum piece. On the Italeri 5602 ELCO 80’ Torpedo Boat you don’t gain anything by replacing the metal barrel that comes with the kit. Thanks to Dragon Models for the review sample and IPMS/USA for the chance to review this part.