I agree the factory muzzle brake is horrid. I have already re-contoured it to look more U.S. vs. German. IMO it looks much better now than stock. I will make sure to show it in my next photo up load.

The problem I see with making an aftermarket brake for the Hooben “Easy Eight” is the factory one is a molded part of the very flimsy plastic barrel. Also the flash LED is glued into the front of the barrel and to add to that the barrel is glued to the recoil extension “post/mount” at the rear which in turn does not allow the barrel and mantle to be separated. Given the flimsy plastic of the barrel it will make it challenging to just cut the factory brake off without a high chance of damaging the barrel and flash LED. It would be best to just make a completely new barrel and brake combinations, preferably out of metal.

I will post photos of the above shortly and it will be more clear as to the challenges posed. Nothing an experienced modeler can’t handle, but with no spare parts if one messes up?

Caps to cover the idler and sprocker screw would be nice. I did find that the screw caps from my Challenger 2 sprockets fit almost perfectly over the idler screws and look rather convincing to all but the most trained eye. These will be seen as well in the next photo up load.