Over the past several years, metal gun barrels for AFVs (and the odd aircraft) have become all the rage, with a number of companies now producing them.  Eduard is one of the latest to enter the fray, and the 125mm Rapira 3 gun for the T-72 is one of their first offerings.

I am of two minds when it comes to the concept of metal barrels.  On the one hand, they look great, especially unpainted.  On the other, they are to some extent the lazy modeler's route, since sometimes these barrels offer little more than a way to avoid cleaning up an obvious seam.  There are exceptions, of course; the 76mm barrel in the Italeri M4A1, for instance, is pretty craptacular, with a step that just doesn't exist on the real gun, and so is a prime candidate for replacement.  Some aftermarket barrels also offer a way to convert a vehicle into a different variant; again, the various 76 mm barrels with and without muzzle brakes and caps for US AFVs come to mind.  But, as I said, I feel that often these metal barrels are a way for modelers to spend their way out of a potential problem, instead of working on it.

So where does the Eduard T-72 barrel fit?  Well, the 125mm gun is not a simple tube; look at the photo below of the Real McCoy, or the other photos on the T-72 reference pages, to see what I mean.  This barrel replicates that complexity well, with a number of photoetched pieces for the straps that hold the thermal jacket on the barrel.  The dimensions are identical to those of the Tamiya kit's gun (which it is designed to replace).  The photoetched pieces really enhance this product, and elevate it from an "isn't that nice" product to something that significantly enhances the model it's added to.  I wonder whether the etched parts might be difficult to glue to a metal barrel.  The seam running down the top of the barrel has a groove machined into it to help the parts line up on the gun, however, which should ease the process.

If I were to criticize this product, it would be for incompleteness.  One of the worst parts of the Tamiya kit is the atrocious representation of the canvas mantlet cover.  It just looks out of place and toy-like in an otherwise well-moulded kit.  I wish that Eduard had included a resin piece to replace this abomination.  Instead, you must cut the kit barrel off of the mantlet pieces, and insert the metal barrel.  The magnificent metal barrel seems to make the kit mantlet look even worse, if that's possible.

Despite this minor criticism, I really like this product.  I think it's worth almost $20 CDN, and I don't say that about just anything.  The quality is outstanding, the engineering and detail superb, and the overall effect on the model justifies the work and cost you might put into it.  Highly recommended for anybody tackling a T-72.

This photo shows the contents of the Eduard T-72 barrel, along with the parts from the Tamiya T-72 that this set is intended to replace.  Trust me, it's worth the price to replace these pieces.