1:32 Lewis Magazines, two different types 5 + 5 pc.

The real subject

The Lewis was a light machine gun of 7.7 mm caliber which spread across the whole of Europe during the First World War and, in its aircraft form, stayed in service long afterwards. You can recognize it by the flat pan magazine fitted on top of the weapon, which rotated as it fired. The aircraft version was usually stripped of its cooling jacket and was used at the flexible positions of observers, where the crew held the weapon in their hands and had to change magazines in flight. Empty and full pans were therefore carried close at hand, in racks along the walls of the cockpit or loose in bins.

What the set contains

The package holds ten magazines in 1:32 scale, five pieces each in two different forms. The Lewis was used with pans in two sizes, a lower and a taller one, so the load on a model can be arranged to look worn and mismatched, as it tended to be on the real machine.

• Ten Lewis machine gun magazines in 1:32 scale
• Two different forms, five pieces of each
• Separate parts to place around a model and in a diorama
• Suitable for First World War aircraft and interwar equipment

Building and painting tips

Cut the excess material away with a sharp blade a short distance from the part and sand the remainder carefully, so that the shape of the pan stays circular. Wash and degrease the parts before painting. Choose the glue according to the material of the parts; on parts that are not polystyrene, ordinary modeling cement does not hold and cyanoacrylate glue (super glue) is used. It is worth setting the magazines off from the rest of the cockpit in color: dark metal with the edges lightly picked out looks better than a uniform surface.

Who it is for

For modelers who build in the large scale and want to fill an empty observer's cockpit, and for building dioramas. The paints and glue are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.