Hello all,
I was just looking at the sprue shots of Meng's new M1A2 Abrams and it had a two piece barrel. I've noticed a "resurgence " of sorts in new kits having two piece barrels. The new Revell Leopard 1 in working on for instance. I was wondering why some companies are going back to this method? I certainly don't mind a two piece barrel as long as the detail is sharp and defined, but I find it curious in this day and age of slide molded this and turned metal that. Is it cheaper to mold in two pieces vs one? I'm just curious.

More and more manufacturers are moving onto model tanks with complex barrels incorporated mid-barrel excavators etc compared to WW2 barrels which were usually just tubes, so I guess 2 parts is the best way to capture that level of detail on a barrel.

Timothy,
That makes a lot of sense. I honestly didn't even think about that. Thanks for the input.