Re: [MIN] DS2 model/painting questions

>>2) Anybody got any good ideas about how to straighten the barrels of
>>GHQ/C&C type tanks/APCs?  The barrels are pretty close to scale, so
they
>>are really thin.  They are all bent to some degree, and my fiddling
has
>>just got them to look, well, less bent.  I would like to acheive a
nice,
>>straight barrel, especially on the tanks - that's where it's most
obvious.

>First: Why bother? They'll just bend again at the least touch,
>until they finally break off. Maybe you could clip them off and
>replace them with a bit of straight pin or piano wire.
>
>Second: If you *really* want to try to keep them straight, get
>a pair of "assembly pliers". These are the fine-nosed pliers
>used to assemble parts in printed circuit boards. The business
>end is about 3/4" to 1" long, 3/8" wide at the base, and 1/16"
>or less at the tip, with a straight taper (so they look triangular
>from above). They have a very flat, toothless grip, ideal for
>straightening wire (which is, in part, what they're designed for).
>

As an option, you could replace them.  cut them off, drill back into the
turret (with a very small dremel style drill bit, and insert the pin
portion of a standard push-pin.  It's small, generally very straight,
and
the metal is tougher and more bend-resistant than most model materials I
have seen.  You do end up with an entirely smooth barrel, however.
Depending on the size of barrel you want, small finish nails can also be
used, and they even have the larger ring around the end of the barrel.